What is the steroid that fitness people talk about
Steroids are a general term for a large class of cyclopentadiene-rich hydrogenated phenanthrene derivatives widely distributed in the biological world. They are also known as steroidoids and steroid compounds. Steroids include sterols (such as cholesterol, lanosterol, sitosterol, stigmasterol, ergosterol), bile acids and bile alcohols, steroid hormones (such as adrenaline, androgens, estrogens), insect molting hormones, cardiac glycosides and saponin aglycones, and toad venom. In addition, there are also synthetic steroid drugs, such as anti-inflammatory agents (prednisone, dexamethasone), steroid drugs that promote protein synthesis, and oral contraceptives. The human body can naturally secrete steroids. Only when there is a deficiency of steroids leading to disease or when treatment is needed do we need to use steroid drugs.
There are many types of steroids, and many steroids have clear therapeutic effects. However, they must be used strictly according to the doctor’s advice and cannot be abused. The steroids mentioned in fitness usually refer to steroid hormones with the effect of increasing muscle mass. There are many types of steroids, and with the development of science and technology, new types of hormones are constantly emerging. These hormones are mainly obtained through artificial synthesis.
Hormones can promote the process of anabolism, which promotes the body to generate new tissues, and can also promote catabolism, which helps the body break down old tissues. Steroids are often used by athletes to improve their performance. Anabolic steroids are similar to synthetic male sex hormones. They are a class of chemically synthesized derivatives that are structurally and biologically similar to human testosterone. On October 27, 2017, the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization announced that androgens (anabolic) steroids were classified as Group 2A carcinogens. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the abuse of synthetic steroids can also cause some adverse changes in the body. These changes include breast development and atrophy of male genitalia, masculinization of female bodies, and acne and hair loss in both sexes.
Steroid hormones can inhibit the body’s ability to produce hormones, resulting in severe dependence on exogenous hormones, and some dependencies are irreversible, meaning that after several injections, the body’s ability to secrete certain hormones will be inhibited until it is completely lost, necessitating lifelong hormone injections. For example, some hormones can cause male testicular atrophy and even loss of testosterone secretion, resulting in a smaller penis. The use of steroids leads to visceral hypertrophy, and the increasingly rare vacuum abdomen in modern bodybuilding is the result of steroid abuse. The second right athlete in the image below has a very prominent abdomen, with clear abdominal muscles and visceral hypertrophy.
Women who inject steroid hormones may also develop significant masculine characteristics, and even affect normal physiological functions.
Abuse of oral or injectable steroids increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. Most people who abuse oral steroids are at increased risk of developing liver disease. When sharing needles or using non-sterile techniques for injection, there is a risk of contracting infectious diseases.
In professional bodybuilding, steroid abuse is very common, especially the use of steroids to increase muscle mass. Normally, the human body can increase muscle mass by 3-8 kilograms per year, and with the increase of exercise time, the muscle growth rate becomes lower and lower. Moreover, muscle synthesis and decomposition are always going on, so while muscle mass is increasing, it is also being decomposed. Only when the increase is greater than the consumption can the expected muscle-building effect be achieved. However, muscle cannot grow indefinitely, especially with the increase of age and exercise time, the amount of hormones that can promote muscle growth in the body becomes lower and lower. Therefore, many people start to use exogenous hormones to promote muscle growth.
A bodybuilder named Michael Westwood had very obvious effects after using steroid hormones for 20 weeks, but the side effects of steroid use would be “unforgettable for life”.
