And here's another whole plate of crazy: Steroid dealer says users include firefighters, moms, teens, 'elite' hockey players http://www.ctvnews.ca/w5/steroid-de...ers-moms-teens-elite-hockey-players-1.2656918 An excerpt: ...The convicted steroid dealer said his customers were young and old, both men and women, spread across numerous Canadian provinces. The dealer, who is under house arrest, a condition of his sentencing after police found more than $200,000 worth of steroids in his home during a raid, agreed to speak to TSN and CTV/W5 about his once flourishing business. He sold steroids to everyone from teenaged girls looking for a “six pack,” to firefighters anxious to improve their fitness level before photo shoots for fundraising calendars, to “elite level” hockey players. “Everybody is doing it,” said the dealer, who agreed to an interview on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized by his parole officer to give interviews... ...a 2014 study by the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids that found 7 per cent of U.S. high school-aged students reported using steroids from 2009 to 2013...
I think it is because of the prevalence of steroids and their equivalents that many people have a mistaken (exaggerated) view of what can be achieved naturally and in a reasonable amount of time, even for those people with somewhat above-average genetics.
What are your further thoughts regarding steroids? I've never taken them, but I know several who do. A couple have developed serious health issues that you wouldn't expect based on their training, shape, and age. One died recently...reason undisclosed. I've always been in the camp that they may have long term risks, especially when overused in terms of amount and duration.
I know nothing about the specifics of their usage and I would never touch them myself. Others here are more qualified to discuss their risk/reward. I work out and eat well for health and (hopefully) longevity, and to look as good as a weekend warrior reasonably can.
I don't know much about their use either, but I find it interesting that a couple of the guys I know are having unexplained health issues, and one even told me his doc doesn't know what he's talking about when telling my friend to stop using them. I haven't seen him lately, but last I heard, he's in dire condition. He won an amateur contest less than a year ago. In his 40s. Like yourself, I'm trying to add a few years, but do it clean (and still have fun). I didn't realize how many people were using until I read your post.
What kind of issues? TRT is pretty common in the States. Most GP's, ND's and anti-aging clinics will prescribe. Good research shows low T associated with early all-cause mortality. Definitely don't want levels too high. But too low is definite problem too.
One has heart failure, the other had some type of brain problem, but told me he had been taking other drugs most of his younger life. I have no idea what type, how much, or the quality of the substance(s) that were being consumed because I know little about it other than what I read and hear, but I know that the guy with heart failure was reluctant to give them up, even after his cardiologist told him he needed to. He hadn't last time I saw him. I haven't seen him in over a month since he told me that, and have heard he is not in a good health (he was completely ripped with almost no BF 6 months ago). He never indicated that supplementing was why he developed problems. He said it was caused by a virus. I don't know either way. I had a guy who wanted to have me try some a few years ago and told me it would help my sex life after I told him I wasn't interested in gaining size and had no reason to try any. I joked with him that my wife doesn't have a problem with my performance (this was the individual who passed recently, unexpectedly...in his mid 50's). I believe he also had prior history of heavy drug and alcohol use, though he other than supplementing, he was staying clean. HBO did a special on supplements a while back, including growth hormones. The curiosity on my part is based on reports about usage and possible side effects vs the people I know who take them that swear they are completely safe...even over the advice of their doctors. I think you may be suggesting that the amount taken is probably a big factor. For myself, I take supplements, some of which supposedly help your body produce more T naturally. And just to be clear, I have no issue with any supplement one choses to use. It's a personal decision based on a person's reasons or goals. People can put in their body whatever they want. I was somewhat surprised after reading the article FF posted on how large a variety of individuals are attracted to it's usage.
Apart from an ordinary multivitamin and some fish oil, I try to avoid taking anything, either prescribed or OTC, if I absolutely don't have to. It seems that just about everything has some form of unintended consequence or another, that may or may not be known beforehand. Being fairly risk averse, I just don't see the attraction, particularly since I'm just a weekend warrior. When I was younger, I took various health-food-store-type supplements, but they all amounted to not much of anything by way of perceived benefits of any kind. Since I rely mostly on a fairly decent dietary regimen, the whey protein isolate I take is minimal and mostly concentrated post-workout, which is only twice weekly anyway. Dull as mud, eh?
There's a definite difference between use and abuse much like any other "drug". There's also a difference between oral and injectable steroids. TRT is pretty much the most minimal "effective" dosage to bring levels up to a normal state and doesn't necessarily create a huge anabolic state, although it will obviously increase anabolism within someone with low T. Also the doctors will monitor you on a continual basis. There's also a difference between free testosterone and bioavailable testosterone. The test floating around in your blood vs what your body readily uses. One cycle won't kill you but there isn't much point to only doing one. If you're training, nutrition and post cycle therapy is perfect post cycle you should most likely keep roughly 15 lbs of muscle in an 8-12 week cycle. Of course this depends on the chemicals used, dosages, Training experience etc etc. most will experience some weight loss post cycle as you begin to eliminate the excess water you've retained throughout the cycle. I've done a ton of research and there's a lot I Guess I could ramble about but without abusing steroids they shouldn't have any longer term effects no different than consuming too much sugar day in and day out.