Why athletes take steroids

Following steroid abuse, regular meetings with someone who has a expertise in psychology can help a person to overcome the underlying insecurities that may have driven them to abuse steroids in the first place. Steroids are often used by young people who want to gain muscle quickly. However, conventional ways of gaining muscle, such as a well-planned workout and a healthy diet, are much safer. As an alternative to steroids, regular exercise and good nutrition can help build muscle safely.

High-intensity workouts, such as CrossFit or high-intensity interval training for weight lifters , can help young athletes build muscle when combined with a diet rich in protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats. Simply put, for the price of steroids an athlete could fill their pantry and refrigerator with healthy foods and develop lean muscle and true health. Steroids may lead to muscle gains in the short-term, but a regular exercise regimen and healthy eating habits will prepare the athlete for lifelong success.

Skip to main content. Understanding and Preventing Steroid Abuse in Sports. Steroids vs. Side Effects of Steroids The side effects of anabolic steroid abuse include: An increase in acne For men: breast growth, shrunken testicles, decrease in sperm count, increased risk of prostate cancer For women: deeper voice, shrunken breasts, facial hair growth, male-pattern baldness For adolescents: stunted growth Hypertension Heart complications, changes in cholesterol levels, increased risk of heart attack and stroke Increased risk of liver disease and liver cancer Kidney damage Increase in aggression, depression, and suicidal ideation The most severe side effects set in after extended use of steroids.

Are Steroids Illegal? Are Steroids Addictive? Steroid Use in Sports Steroid abuse is prevalent in the sports world because some athletes want to win or rise to the top, no matter the cost. Signs of Steroid Abuse in the Home There will always be changes at home when someone engages in prolonged steroid abuse. Steroid Addiction Treatment In some cases, addiction treatment is necessary to solve a steroid abuse problem. Alternatives to Steroids Steroids are often used by young people who want to gain muscle quickly.

Learn more about the online Rawlings sport business management bachelor's program. Get Program Details. This will only take a moment. What degree program are you interested in pursuing? The tests are probably useful in skimming off the worst abuse, requiring juiced athletes to moderate their doses — a pretty valuable effect, if you think about this clearly. The tests may even scare off some potential users, but they won't clean up a sport. Drug-related suspensions, performance enhancing or otherwise, have become commonplace throughout the past ten years.

But what physical advantages make the risk of suspension so tempting to athletes? Simply put, many of the drugs athletes take illegally are designed to increase their athletic performance. For example, steroids and related hormones such as testosterone are used to increase muscle mass and strength by promoting testosterone production.

Steroids can also aid with recovery from workouts by reducing and helping heal the damage to muscles that occurs during workout sessions, enabling an athlete to work out harder and more often while minimizing the risk of overtraining. Marijuana provides an interesting case for the leagues. The leagues tend to treat marijuana as a recreational drug; athletes, however, have cited it as a substance that helps with recovery and pain management.

However, steroids and its related hormones have visible side effects, especially when taken at higher than medically safe doses. Men may experience prominent breasts, baldness, shrunken testicles, infertility, and impotence, as well as acne, an increased risk of tendinitis, liver abnormalities, high blood pressure, aggressive behaviors, psychiatric disorders, and more.

To combat these side effects of anabolic steroid use, many athletes turn to anti-estrogens , which mask many of the telltale signs of steroid use. Adderall is typically prescribed for ADHD and other related conditions as a way to help the patient focus, remain calm, and maintain concentration. However, studies have shown that Adderall and related drugs can help improve hand-eye coordination, acceleration, and strength, which athletes could benefit from in addition to improved focus and concentration.

While the goals of taking drugs — improving performance or recovery time — are largely the same across sports, the policies of major sports all vary considerably regarding their testing methods and penalties. For the major sporting leagues in the United States, the drug policy is generally determined by the league and negotiated during collective bargaining the NCAA , interestingly, relies principally on the testing programs at their affiliated institutions, which vary widely; however, the NCAA typically makes several visits throughout the year to ensure policies are being upheld.

Athletes middle or high school, college, professional, and Olympic usually take steroids for a limited period of time to achieve a particular goal. Others such as bodybuilders, law enforcement officers, fitness buffs, and body guards usually take steroids for extended periods of time.

The length of time that steroids stay in the body varies from a couple of days to more than 12 months. There is increasing concern regarding possible serious health problems that are associated with the abuse of steroids, including both short-term and long-term side effects. The short-term adverse physical effects of anabolic steroid abuse are fairly well known.

Short-term side effects may include sexual and reproductive disorders, fluid retention, and severe acne. The short-term side effects in men are reversible with discontinuation of steroid use. Masculinizing effects seen in women, such as deepening of the voice, body and facial hair growth, enlarged clitoris, and baldness are not reversible. The long-term adverse physical effects of anabolic steroid abuse in men and in women, other than masculinizing effects, have not been studied, and as such, are not known.

However, it is speculated that possible long-term effects may include adverse cardiovascular effects such as heart damage and stroke. Under this legislation, anabolic steroids are defined as any drug or hormonal substance chemically and pharmacologically related to testosterone other than estrogens, progestins, and corticosteroids that promotes muscle growth. The possession or sale of anabolic steroids without a valid prescription is illegal. If this is the second felony drug offense, the maximum period of imprisonment and the maximum fine both double.

While the above listed penalties are for federal offenses, individual states have also implemented fines and penalties for illegal use of anabolic steroids. Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, National Football League NFL , and National Hockey League have banned the use of steroids by athletes, both because of their potential dangerous side effects and because they give the user an unfair advantage.

The IOC and professional sports leagues use urine testing to detect steroid use both in and out of competition. A variety of non-steroid drugs are commonly found within the illicit anabolic steroid market. Anabolic steroids stimulate muscle tissue to grow and "bulk up" in response to training by mimicking the effect of naturally produced testosterone on the body.

Anabolic steroids can remain in the body anywhere from a couple of days to about a year. Steroids have become popular because they may improve endurance, strength, and muscle mass.

However, research has not shown that steroids improve skill, agility, or athletic performance. Steroids can also have serious psychological side effects. Some users may become aggressive or combative, believe things that aren't true delusions , or have extreme feelings of mistrust or fear paranoia. And people who use steroids also appear to be at higher risk for using other drugs, such as alcohol or cocaine, often to counteract some of the negative effects of steroids. Steroid users who inject the drugs with a needle are at risk for infection with HIV human immunodeficiency virus , the virus that causes AIDS, if they share needles with other users.

People who use dirty needles are also at risk for contracting hepatitis , a liver disease, or bacterial endocarditis, an infection of the inner lining of the heart. Some people "cycle" their steroid doses. This means they take multiple doses of steroids over a period of time, stop for a period, then start up again. Other steroid users may "pyramid" their steroids, starting with a low dose and gradually increasing the dose, frequency, or number of anabolic steroids taken, then tapering off to complete a cycle.