What Steve Perceives: A steroid-free case of roid rage

With the increase in sunshine this weekend, I made it a point to get outside and do something active. It s important to stay fit and focused and get your muscles pumping once and awhile, I have always been a firm believer of that (no pun intended).

There is no doubt about it; I am an active young lad. I quit smoking after nine years, I changed my diet and I began running, lifting and biking on a regular basis.

I frequent supplements at the health food store to correlate with my gym rat habits, too. I have taken all sorts of vitamins that deal with fat loss, weight gain, muscle pumps, you name it. I also drink protein shakes by the ounce and I am interested when a new product hits the market that promises I will have increased gains and intense muscle growth, even if it is a lark.

But one thing I have not done: steroids.

But apparently, everybody else has or does. Does this explain why I am not reaching the peak performance of the people lifting around me? Is this why I am not shredded like the actors in films? Perhaps, but I m OK with that.

What got my head churning the subject was the documentary Bigger Faster Stronger: The Side Effects of Being American. It s a film about the clich s behind steroids in America, and how everyone in sports uses them.

Now, bear with me here, this is not a movie review. I am not defending the use of, or promoting the decision to take any muscle enhancing substances such as steroids. I am simply trying to explain to readers that there is an excessive amount of misinformation and lack of truth behind the subject matter in the film. So be warned. My position is this: I do not endorse injecting steroids as a means for performance enhancement.

With that said I ll move on. The movie is about this guy in his mid-thirties named Chris Bell who has been into power lifting his whole life. He is the middle child in a family of big boys who were all obsessed with wrestling and the success of macho American men like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Hulk Hogan and Sylvester Stallone.

The movie is essentially this man s quest to get validation that steroids are good for you, so that he can take them guilt free. He literally hounds superstars, wrestlers, his parents, politicians, members of Congress, practitioners who made an effort to make steroid use illegal like cocaine, hell, he even harasses the father of a boy who committed suicide because he was on steroids (there is a common stigma that steroids cause depression and suicidal thoughts.)

For whatever the reason, Bell goes person-to-person relaying facts, statistics, problems and benefits about the drug. He says how it is just a performance enhancer and people in other sports, like Tiger Woods in golf, who got his eyes fixed so he could play golf better, is not any different than a guy who wants to take steroids to enhance his hitting abilities, like in baseball.

He makes strong arguments for and against the drug and travels around feeling sorry for himself that he is conflicted over using the muscle super-sizer. Boo-hoo. Tragic tale. Tough for you Bell, you think its wrong and you want someone to tell you it s OK, but you can t get validation, not even from your own mom.

Great. But that s not my issue.

My issue is that when explaining the process of how steroids work, and how there really has not been any SERIOUS studies done on its effects and how no one has REALLY ever died from the use, he never, ever says that there is a process to using the drug.

Sure, he tells you six ways you can purchase steroids, he outs all of the American athletes who use the drug, he explains how it works in the body, he explains how it is reversible, but Bell never tells how the body works after the fact and how after you use the enhancer you need to be cautious of the effects it has on your hormones.

I have done the research. I have read many body building books, magazines, and asked questions on steroid-based body building forums online. There are risks and he never seems to address them, which I think is a foul play on his part based on the fact that everyone I walked out of the movie with was convinced by the film that cycling steroids would not be an issue, which was harvested by the information from the film in the first place!

Steroids work like this: They increase protein synthesis within cells, which results in the buildup of cellular tissue, especially in muscles. They reduce recovery time by blocking the effects of the stress hormone cortisol on muscle tissue, so that catabolism of muscle is greatly reduced. Essentially, it is bigger, faster, stronger, now.

The issue that is not discussed is that of a post-cycle treatment. I am not in any way advocating the use of steroids, but important information was not included in this film, which made the use of steroids seem easy, attainable and almost care-free. But that fear needs to be put back into potential users.

What should be known about a PCT is that when finishing a cycle of steroids, you can t just stop cold turkey. They do not address this issue at any point in the film. Imagine slamming your foot on the gas of a high-performance race car and just flooring it down an open strip of road. Then at full speed, just slam on the brakes. What is going to happen? You can t do that. The film doesn t even touch base on the subject.

The aim of a PCT is to return the body's endogenous hormonal balance to its original state within the shortest period of time, while maintaining the gains that were made during the cycle of steroids. Again, I am not trying to give a solution, but I am trying to give a solution to people who would have potentially jumped in head first without considering the aftermath.

We are Americans. We see films, we read magazines, we watch television and we take the facts we see verbatim without ever actually checking the validity of the statements. I am guilty of it myself. I just believe that in this day and age when people are always trying to look their best, it is immoral to release a film that helps support the benefits of a drug like steroids but never explain the ACTUAL PROCESS of how these superstars and athletes use it.

It would be like me advertising heroin as a plausible solution to your hard days at work, but never mentioning that you would have serious withdrawals to the point of sickness and an eventual death wish, unless you took more. Steroids do not have the same withdrawal symptoms as heroin, but it s the void of the aftermath explanation that makes this film a disgrace.

Stick to the exercise bikes, go for a jog, and stay motivated, and most importantly read the label and do the proper research. Almost everything out there is a gimmick.*

* Consult a physician or licensed qualified health care professional before using this article if you have, or have a family history of, heart disease, thyroid disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, depression or other psychiatric condition, glaucoma, difficulty in urinating, prostate enlargement, or seizure disorder, or if you are using a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) or any other dietary supplement, prescription drug, or over-the-counter drug containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine or phenylpropanolamine (ingredients found in certain allergy, asthma, cough or cold, and weight control products). Do not exceed recommended serving of what Steve Perceives. Exceeding recommended reading may cause adverse health effects. Discontinue use and call a physician or licensed qualified health care professional immediately if you experience rapid heartbeat, dizziness, severe headache, shortness of breath, or other similar symptoms from this editorial.

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