The Decision
To Use Steroids

I do not recommend steroid use. For myself and the majority of trainers, anabolic steroids simply aren't a good choice. I do, however, understand that despite the potential side effects and ethical questions (as related to athletic competition), there will be those who conclude that the risks are worth the rewards.

This page serves as a last ditch effort to convince you to keep your bodybuilding natural. If my argument fails, hopefully it will convince you to spend a great deal of time and effort educating yourself about safe (or as safe as possible) steroid use so that you do not abuse them, something that could literally cost you your life.

The decision to use bodybuilding steroids should not be taken lightly. Too often people begin use for the wrong reasons and under false impressions of the powers of the drugs. They don't bother to properly educate themselves on the subject. They are unprepared and can pay unnecessary health and legal consequences.

Choosing to use anabolic steroids to better one's body doesn't make one a horrible person. For those whose dedication and desires reach the highest levels, those who are intelligent enough to become responsible users, steroid use can prove to be a safer and more effective way to realize their goals as compared to other more accepted practices of physique enhancement (i.e. surgery).

Wrong Reasons for Steroid Use

Some wrong reasons to conclude that steroid use is for you are listed below:

• Under the age of 23 - Under this age (and even in some cases a few years beyond it) and there is the very real chance that you are not done growing. Using at this time means you face the very real risk of having your growth plates closed prematurely and whatever you achieve with anabolic steroids will ultimately be less than you could have achieved had you waited until you were done growing.
  
• Just beginning weight training - If you are just beginning to train your body, this is not the time to mess with anabolic steroids. The best results attained from anabolic steroid use occur in experienced trainers who have mastered lifting technique and who are dedicated dieters.
  
  A minimum of 2 years of dedicated bodybuilding dieting and training should be in your immediate past before the thought of steroid use is considered. This does not mean that you have trained two times a week for a couple of years, only missing about 50 scheduled workouts, and downed a couple of protein shakes. It means that you don't miss workouts, that you rarely deviate from a muscle building diet and you have made some very impressive gains naturally and now are nearing your genetic potential (though you are likely still far away from it).
  
  Consider 2 years as an absolute minimum, many experts and pro-steroid people recommend more. In his article, Fast Gains, Dr. Marshall Brown suggests as many as 8-10 years of natural training should be in your rearview mirror before steroid use is considered.
  
  The results of bodybuilding steroid use, like the results from any bodybuilding supplement, are highly dependant on training and diet and if you do not have knowledge, dedication and experience in these areas you are unlikely to achieve the results that can possibly justify the risks and the costs.
  
• You believe yourself when you tell yourself, "I can't gain any weight or muscle no matter what due to my metabolism and genetics, my only hope is steroids." - This is a complete lie.
  
  Your troubles (assuming good health) instead are a result of you not being able to consistently eat an excess of calories and/or train sufficiently. If you can't eat beyond your maintenance diet on a consistent basis, if you can't train intensely, not even steroids will help you. They are not magic, they can't create something out of nothing. You still have to supply them with something to build with and a reason to do so.
  
• Normal frustration with a lack of gains - Bodybuilding can often prove to be a frustrating pursuit. Rarely are gains consistent, rather you tend to get times where gains seem to come easily and other times when you seem endlessly stuck at a plateau. Plateaus are part of the sport for both natural trainers and steroid users. Learning to break through plateaus comes from experience and the only way isn't through drugs.
  
  If you are not making consistent gains, try changes in your diet, supplementation, weight training program, and tracking practices. Try a radically different approach, try a completely new program. Pages on this site can give you some suggestions.
  
• Feeling safe from side effects because you know a user who is not experiencing any - We are all unique. Doctors cannot predict the side effects you will have to a prescribed drug, they can only make you aware of the potential side effects. All people react differently to both the positive and negative effects of drugs.
  
  One person may gain big muscle and never experience any of the harmful side effects of anabolic steroids whereas another person, on the exact same dosage of the exact same drugs, may experience great problems.

The majority of trainers should choose not to use bodybuilding steroids. They simply aren't a good option for anyone but the most dedicated. In my own case, they are not something would consider in my own personal quests to gain weight and muscle. The reasons for this go beyond just the horrors of the potential side effects or the ethical and legal questions.

To me, bodybuilding is a sport where the only competition is myself. There are enough gains to be gotten through hard work and proper nutrition and these gains undoubtedly leave me with a greater sense of accomplishment than would those that could happen with the help of bodybuilding steroids.

For Those that Choose to Use...

If you do decide to use bodybuilding steroids, you must do extensive research and educate yourself about their proper use. Many of the horror stories you hear about anabolic steroid use come from use that is plain ignorant. Taking the advice of the big guy at the gym is a recipe for disaster.

Read everything on the subject you can get your hands on. Never rely solely on the advice of someone with dubious credentials. Have a qualified doctor supervise your use and monitor your health.

One reputable internet source that can help guide you towards responsible steroid use is Mick Hart's Layman's Guides to Steroids.