Every sports fan wants to see a fair contest when watching two people, or two teams battle it out. But when some athletes secretly take steroids, it gives them a very unfair advantage. As an athlete, taking steroids is not the smartest decision to make on the fact that if the word gets out to people it could be potentially career ending for them. Steroids also will harm a user in many ways. When it comes down to it, harming yourself or getting disqualified aren’t smart ways to improve your athletic performance.
First of all, what are steroids? Well according to the San Diego Hospital ““Steroids (sometimes referred to as 'roids' or 'juice') are the same as, or similar to, certain hormones in the body. The body produces steroids naturally to support such functions as fighting stress and promoting growth and development.”
Basically steroids work by making the tissue in the users muscles enlarge, which mimics the effect of training and naturally producing testosterone in the body. These steroids, also known as anabolic steroids, can stay inside the users body anywhere from a couple of days to a full year. People abuse this drug because it can increase endurance, strength, and muscle mass, but steroids are also said to not affect the users skill, agility, and athletic performance.
My opinion on this topic is that steroids are bad and that no one should use them unless prescribed by a doctor for a medical reason. I think this because steroids create an unfair advantage when it comes to sports and frequent use of steroids create medical problems.
The use of steroids will affect the mental and physical health of the user.
Taking Steroids will change the male and female bodies in very abnormal ways. Some side effects that it causes are similar between the male and female bodies and some side effects are different. Some side effects that they have in common include acne, hair loss/balding, gaining of weight, lack of sleep, high blood pressure, increases the chances of injuring/tearing a tendon or muscle, makes the skin yellow, liver damage, stops growth, increases the chances of heart disease and blood clots as well as strokes and some types of cancer, and worstly; it is an addictive drug which means that it will leave you wanting more.
Some specific changes for girls include: increased facial and body hair growth
development of masculine traits, such as deepening of the voice, and loss of feminine body characteristics, such as shrinking of the breasts, enlargement of the clitoris, menstrual cycle changes. Some specific changes for boys include: testicular shrinkage, pain when urinating, breast development, impotence (inability to get an erection), reduced sperm count and infertility. Users who inject the substance into themselves can also manage to get HIV, which is the virus that causes AIDS, that is because they are sharing needles with other users, although is sounds stupid to share needles, some people still do it. .These changes that occur to a person after taking steroids may leave them unsatisfied with the way that they look or they may develop a life threatening disease which obviously is not their goal.
Taking steroids can affect a user mentally
Usually, steroids leave a user feeling more confident/cocky and the user will have an increased self-esteem. Some users tend to become more aggressive and or combative, they may also start believing that something’s that occurred aren't true (this is called delusion), or they may start to have feeling of mistrust or fear (this is called paranoia). Lastly people who use steroids also are more than 50% of the time using other drugs such as alcohol and cocaine, to go against some of the negative effects of steroids.
Steroids are extremely addicting, and will leave a user wanting more. Steroids do not chemically produce any feelings that make you happy or excited (euphoria), like most addictive substances do, but it will leave you feeling good about yourself and your appearance. Eventually after taking this drug for a while, until you feel as if you've reached your fitness goals, you are used to this drug making you feel good about yourself and your appearance, so you won't want to stop because it helps make you happier.
Although Steroids are illegal without a doctor's prescription, some athletes will still illegally abuse these drugs to enhance their performance. There are several risks for athletes when they decide to take steroids. Many sports associations have banned steroid and drug use since a long time ago. Despite that fact, some athletes will still want to risk it all and abuse this drug because they want to have a competitive advantage above their opponents. In many cases, if an athlete is caught using steroids, it could completely shatter his dreams of continuing as an athlete, as this would destroy their career.
Steroids can be expensive, if they're frequently used
Generally, a 6-12 week steroid cycle, for a beginner, should be very affordable. But on the other hand, if you choose to be on this drug all year long on a competitive level for athletes and/or bodybuilders, this can come at a very costly price. Instead of wasting your money buying these drugs to help you look better and enhance your performance, there are many things that you can do without spending your money and staying completely healthy but you'll get stronger, build muscles so you'll look better, and enhance your skills and performance. You can train safely, without using drugs. Eat a healthy diet. Get plenty of rest. Set realistic goals and be proud of yourself when you reach them. Avoid injuries by playing safely and using protective gear. And more.
Some examples of athletes who chose to take steroids in the past;
Diego Maradona: At the 1994 FIFA World cup, most people thought that diego maradona was done for and wasn't gonna make a big impact on the tournament. But when the first two games came around for the Argentina national team, Diego was showing signs of his old self and he had 1 goal and 1 assist to show for it. But just six hours before argentinas third game of the tournament, maradona was removed from the world cup after he tested positive for ephedrine. Ephedrine is a drug which is used to increase one’s energy and alertness, and it helps the user lose weight by speeding up their metabolism.
Tyson Gay: Back in 2013, Tyson Gay was said to maybe put on competition for the reighning 100-metre dash champion, Usain Bolt, at the moscow world championships. But instead of that, Gay ended up surrendering his spot from the race for testing positive to some sort of drug, although in his case, he was taking a drug that he did not know was banned (he has not revealed this drug to the public), he still got banned but for a shorter amount of time then others also because it was his first time, and because he cooperated with authorities. But he was still banned for a year and forfeited the Olympic silver medal he won as part of the United States 4×100 metres team in London.
In conclusion I believe that steroids are very bad for the people who abuse the drug because it can affect a person's health physically and mentally as well as it can get a user addicted. I also believe that athletes who think they can secretly take it without getting caught should also stop taking it because there are many risks for them if they get caught by a sports association, or the authorities, and taking steroids all year round can be a very costly commitment. The risks that athletes have when taking steroids secretly have shown in the examples of Diego Maradona and Tyson Gay.
If somebody wants to get in shape they don't have to use drugs, they just need to have patience so that over time of working out they can finally get the body that they've always dreamed of having. Steroids may appear to help an athlete perform better, but the risks are much more than the gains in this situation. The long term effects of these performance enhancing drugs have not been studied or proven yet, so we don't know what could happen to a person who uses steroids now in a long time from now. Using steroids is a risky business, in any situation, for sure.