When you think of bodybuilders and drugs you think steroids. This is far from the only drug that bodybuilder use though. There are currently hundreds of compounds that are available to bodybuilders that boost their muscle-building abilities and fat loss. Here are some of those bodybuilder drugs that are being used:

The first bodybuilding drug that is used by the majority of the bodybuilding world is Lasix. Lasix is a form of diuretics which stimulates the loss of water in the body. The drug works by blocking the actions of aldosterone, or the water-conserving hormone. What this accomplishes is giving you the shredded look you want for competitions without the smooth look that water gives.

Now, Lasix does shed water from the body but it also causes the body to excrete the important substance electrolyte. Sodium, potassium, and chlorine are forms of electrically-charged ions that play vital roles in modulating various metabolic systems such as muscle contraction, heart beat, and nerve conduction. In fact, a number of people have died from using diuretics over the years.

The second of the bodybuilder drugs being used today is thyroid drugs such as cytomel. There are two differences of bodybuilders from the 1980's and from today and those are today's bodybuilders have a lot more muscle from steroids and growth hormones and they also have lower body fat levels than the 1980 bodybuilders.

The thyroid gland produces 2 peptide hormones called triiodothyronine , or T3, and tetraiodothyronine, or T4. These are both iodine-containing hormones that are essential for life and also have effects on how the body grows, develops, and the body's metabolism. When levels of T3 and T4 are insufficient the body's metabolism slows down and the individual gains weight. What Cytomel does is reverses this condition. Cytomel effectively lowers body fat percentages well into the single digit range. The only problem with Cytomel is that you become dependent on it because the thyroid's ability to manufacture its own hormones may never return to normal levels.

The final bodybuilding drug is human chorionic gondotropin, or HCG. This is the most important drug for bodybuilders who use steroids because those who use steroids have a problem with their testes shrinking. HCG is only found in a placenta of a pregnant women but it mimics the action of luteinizing hormone in the body. LH is the hormone that signals the testes to begin manufacturing testosterone. If you use drugs LH stops sending that signal and HCG restarts that signal essentially.

Those are just three of the hundreds of drugs that bodybuilders are using that are legal, just remember to be careful when using them.