Despite the horror stories, the wrecked careers, the physical degradations and the general illegal nature of it all – steroid abuse sadly appears to be on the rise in the MMA world. In 2012, fighter Bubba Jenkins put forward the theory that a spate of injuries could be linked to steroid abuse, while over in England, the BBC recently reported a shocking six-fold rise in anabolic steroid abuse. Clearly this is a serious issue affecting the mixed martial arts community – and one which is particularly pertinent to vulnerable young men.
What Are Steroids?
Anabolic steroids, as the term ‘anabolic’ suggests, usually consist of synthesized testosterone. This encourages the body to grow more skeletal muscle, as well as promoting ‘masculine’ bodily attributes. They have been used since the 1930s to treat men suffering from delayed puberty or sexual development problems. The idea of pumping more testosterone (which is, after all, the male sex hormone) into the body leads many young men to hopefully believe that their masculinity itself will be enhanced by the process. This is a fallacy. While steroids do frequently result in an increased musculature, steroid abuse can in fact cause impotence and even make the testicles shrivel up and wither away – sometimes irreversibly. This occurs because the body is gaining what it believes to be testosterone from external sources (too much testosterone for it to deal with, in fact) and as a consequence it shuts down its own natural source of testosterone production – the testicles. Perhaps conversely, an excess of synthetic testosterone gained through steroids can also cause men to develop breasts. One of the male body’s ways of dealing with too much testosterone is to convert it into a hormone which resembles the female estrogen. This in turn causes the development of breast tissue. Given that gynaecomastia surgery (surgery to remove man-boobs) is expensive and sometimes painful, it’s arguably too big a price to pay for a pair of chemically enhanced biceps.
Gender-Bending Results
The use of anabolic steroids in women causes the body similar gender-confusion. Too much testosterone in a female body can even cause female genitalia to begin to mimic male genitalia. Some female steroid abusers have reported the growth of a mini-penis as a consequence of their addiction, along with thickening body hair, a deepening voice, facial hair growth and so forth. In both sexes, steroid use can cause the hair to fall out, cover the skin in acne, and make the teeth splay.
Seriously Bad For You
However, these changes are merely superficial, and some may consider such superficial effects worth it for a body coated with slick, rippling muscle. Such people should be informed of the very serious health risks posed by anabolic steroids. Steroids, when taken (as they often are these days), by growing adolescents can stunt all kinds of growth – physical, mental, and sexual. Not only this, but they can seriously damage the liver and kidneys, encourage blood clots, and put the heart in very serious danger. Perhaps most worrying of all, anabolic steroids are highly addictive. This means that users who initially wanted merely to ‘kick-start’ their regime in fact end up using extremely unhealthy amounts for prolonged periods – putting their health at serious risk. Like any addiction, a steroid addiction is hard to kick and often requires years of rehabilitation, so if you know someone, or know someone who knows someone who is on steroids, it is strongly recommended that you attempt to get them some professional help immediately.
A Temptation Which Must Be Resisted
The reasons behind steroid abuse are understandable. Modern society’s worrying preoccupation with physical perfection leads many young men to feel desperately unhappy with their bodies – and willing to do almost anything to get the ‘body beautiful’ so feted by the world’s media. The idea of a ‘quick fix’ at the end of a steroid needle is exceedingly tempting when this desperation to look ‘buff’ is compounded with self-induced pressure to excel at a chosen sport. Western society encourages perfection, competition, winning, and ‘being the best’ in a way which can lead many young mean to feel quite inadequate when (as everybody inevitably does at some point or another) they fail to meet the requirements of these high criteria. In such situations, steroids become increasingly alluring. Nonetheless, it is very much worth resisting that temptation. Should you wish to gain muscle fast, it is always better to do this the natural way – through training and diet. To give nature a helping hand you could try taking a protein supplement. Protein is the device used by your body to build muscle naturally, so providing it with more of this will give it more materials with which to build muscle in a healthy manner, rather than causing it to go into hormonal overdrive and bulk up with watery, unhealthy muscles through steroids.
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