There are weight rooms, training assistants, blenders, packs of powder drinks for players. Teams thought that if they have to spend, they needed to do the best to get the most out of their players. But some guys do not want to take the hard way of going to the weight room and learning from a strength tutor. They prefer taking performance enhancers and they get desired results. They make up only 5% and they talk about what they do to those who have a hard time making money or stretching their budget. These athletes also feel others are getting ahead and that they have to take something to catch up or get to their highest level of performance. When those who take the hard way get bigger and stronger, everyone assumes that steroids are behind the progress. The 5% who resort to steroids do not shoot steroids in the open. But those who choose to progress the hard way are visible. They are seen drinking shakes, eating health bars, taking supplements and using joint lubricators for better performance. They deserve greater notice (Faraudo).
Steroids and Sports
All the controversy about steroids draws from the lack of knowledge about them.
Steroids affect the body in two ways (Dobbins 2009). One is the androgenic effect on male sexual characteristics. The other is the anabolic effect on muscle mass and strength. Chemists devise anabolic steroids in such a way as to increase the anabolic effect and decrease the androgenic effect. The purpose is to increase mass, strength and endurance. Anabolic steroids also possess ant-inflammatory properties to rehabilitate injuries. Steroids are actually similar to cortisone and share the same negative and positive effects with cortisone. Anabolic steroids increase the body's ability to us protein. This allows the athlete to train more strongly without losing muscle mass. They help build muscle mass, strength and endurance. They have anti-inflammatory properties for protection from injury or for recovery from it. But they do not automatically produce these results. Hard training must complement them. Simply taking anabolic steroids will not make an athlete train harder or longer without getting over-trained (Jones).
Doctors say that anabolic steroids do not produce the desired or imagined athletic benefits yet pose risks to health (Jones 2002). The true and main elements of athletic excellence or achievement are good genetics, hard training, good coaching and the proper diet. All the elements have to be present. The lack of even one will deter success. Just taking steroids will certainly not bring that success in. Test results on power-lifters showed that the younger and less-experienced performed much less. This indicates that anabolics do not increase the potential of highly trained athletes (Jones).
The potentially harmful side effects of steroids include a temporary and short-lived increase in sex drive, shrinkage of the testes, suppression of natural testosterone in men; masculinization in women; and acne in both sexes (Jones 2002). Masculinization symptoms include deepening of the voice, menstrual irregularities, facial hair, enlargement of the clitoris and male baldness. Anabolic steroids may also increase aggression and irritability, and changes in blood pressure and blood chemistry. They are particularly risky for teen-agers who are still developing physically. The risk depends on the form, dosage, duration of use, and the user's age, gender and state of health. Oral steroids appear to produce more serious side effects because they pass through different body systems through the process of digestion (Jones).
Prevalence among the Young
A recent study was conducted on approximately 10,000 Norwegian high school students to predict patterns of behavior in latter years with the use of anabolic androgenic steroids (Wichstrom 2006). The students were aged 15-19. They were followed up by the same researcher 5 years later. Follow-up survey measured frequent alcohol intoxication, cannabis use, hard drug use, getting offered with cannabis, eating disorder, conduct problems, sexual experience before age 15, engagement in power sports, perception of physical appearance and satisfaction with different body parts. Results showed that young age, male gender, use of anabolic androgenic steroids, involvement in sports, and alcohol intoxication predicted prevalent steroids use. The results implied that frequent alcohol intoxication and involvement in power sports tended to follow from future use of steroids (Wichsrom).
The non-therapeutic use of steroids is high among high school students in the U.S. And other Western countries (Wichstrom 2006). Recent statistics showed that there are 2-6 times as many male as female youngsters who use steroids. The risks are not limited to liver and vascular problems and permanent secondary sex changes and characteristics. Psychological effects may also develop, such as increased aggression, irritability, mania, depression and suicidal tendency. Steroids use offers competitive edge by providing muscle mass and impressive strength, which are essential to winning in sports competitions. It was, then, no surprise that the high-level...
This is especially true if, as has been suggested (Staudohar 2005), that despite stricter testing procedures, professional athletes still use anabolic steroids and human growth hormone in large numbers that greatly exceed those acknowledged or caught by their respective league governing bodies. By process of elimination, it would appear that the primary impetus for anti- steroid regulations in professional sports is public perception, and that favorable public relations and maintenance
Lyle Alzado, who played with the Cleveland Browns and the L.A. Raiders as well as with the Denver Broncos, died in 1992 because the chemicals in steroids caused him to develop brain cancer. Prior to his death, Alzado stated, "I started taking anabolic steroids in 1969 and never stopped. It was addicting, mentally addicting. Now I'm sick, and I'm scared. Ninety percent of the athletes I know are on the
E., their use of anabolic steroids (and whether they had ever been offered steroids), their involvement in power sports, appearance and eating problems, and problem behavior. Background information about the participants included their degree of urbanization, parental socioeconomic status and the region to which they belonged. Analyses of the study's results show that the prevalence of steroid use among Norwegian youth was lower (lifetime use was 0.8% and 12 months prevalence
They have serious psychological effects as players begin to be dependant on steroids and begin to feel that the player needs steroids to maintain their performance. This becomes very apparent when players stop using steroids as then the positive effects is slowly lost and the players feel that they are no longer competitive. This leads to serious depression. (Effects of Steroids on the Human Body) the health risks that
Athletes may take simulants, narcotic analgesics, anabolic steroids, beta blockers, diuretics, peptide hormones, or engage in blood doping, a technique to increase packed cell volume by re-infusing previously drawn blood. Drug testing is not standardized enough and is too widespread to identify drugs reliably, therefore failing to serve as a valid deterrent. (Doping in sports, p. 211). But Canseco also may not be the best of messenger-ex-athletic stars, since he
As long as children and adults are being conditioned that winning at all costs is acceptable steroid use is going to be an issue in sports. In an interview with the Kansas City Star, Jeremy Giambi became the first active baseball player with significant major-league experience to publicly admit that he knowingly used steroids (Passan, 2005). " Statements from professional athletes can be a first effective step in stopping the use of
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