Steroids for six-pack abs: A dangerous combo

WHEN Angad (name changed) started his rigorous routine for a toned body, little did his parents know the changes in their son’s behaviour were not part of a transition phase from adolescence to adulthood but something really serious. He was not a fitness freak but was crazy about the six-pack abs. The urge for achieving it in a short span even led him to high dosages of anabolic steroid.

Angad’s parents and his gym trainers did not have a clue that he was injecting a synthetic steroid in his body just to look better. He was experiencing side effects like acne on the back, deepening of voice, headache, high blood pressure, difficulty in sleeping and mood swings. Everyone around him attributed it to a transition phase. Reality hit the family when Angad told them that he was passing blood in urine. It was the effect of high dosages of “Winstrol” a synthetic steroid, similar to that of testosterone, used for losing weight and gaining muscle strength. All this resulted in a damaged kidney for Angad. Using anabolic steroids to get a desired look is very much in vogue these days.

Teens/fitness enthusiasts are ready to compromise their health in order to get that chiseled physique by using growth hormones and other performance-enhancing drugs. These anabolic steroids are nothing but synthetic hormones which might boost the body’s ability to produce muscle and prevent muscle breakdown. But not many understand the serious side effects the steroids cause. “It’s the influence of Bollywood and hip-hop culture that is affecting people,” reasoned Nitin Kori, a certified trainer, on the disturbing trend.

“Bollywood actors have achieved the physique after putting substantial effort, regular exercising, discipline and diet. But not every individual has the patience to follow this onerous procedure and eventually they resort to steroids,” added Nitin. Use of performance-enhancing drugs or anabolic steroids can have a negative effect on overall health of a person. Many are still fighting the negative side like aggressive and erratic behaviour, high cholesterol and even lower sperm count. It almost ruined the career of a budding actor from Nagpur.

He was preparing for a TV show. The young man concentrated on a good muscular body and resorted to anabolic steroids to make himself ready in quick time. During the initial phase of interview, an altercation broke out between him and the interviewer. It was all due to his erratic and defiant behaviour. Not only he was rejected from the show but was also advised to consult a psychiatrist. The psychiatric evaluation revealed that anabolic steroids like Nandrolone (Deca-Durabolin) and Methandrosteolone (Dianabol) which he was consuming were responsible for his irrational, aggressive behaviour.

“Use of performance-enhancing drugs can lead to serious health issues like aggressive behaviour, high cholesterol levels, enlargement of heart, decrease in the sperm count, shrinking of testes, sudden cardiac death, baldness, depression, and development of gynecomastia or feminisation of the breast tissue in males. Oral consumption can also be extremely harmful to the liver,” warned Dr Sonali Kirde, MD (Medicine). Dr Kirde said, steroid use has become pandemic because these drugs are cheap and easily available. It costs somewhere between Rs 100 to Rs 500 and can be bought at any local medical stores or even on-line. Most of the cases are result of inadequate knowledge about these “tablets”.

Without consideration many fitness freaks fall to the so-called “gaining tablets” or “cutting tablets”. Experts in the field of bodybuilding and weightlifting also have a word of caution for fitness enthusiasts. It is not appropriate to copy the steroid cycle of professional bodybuilder or weightlifter, they warned. “These individuals are always under doctors’ supervision and it is the nature of their profession that demands them to look a certain way,” said a veteran trainer in the city. The remedy they suggest is -- traditional way of gymming. “Steroids don’t add anything to your physical fitness and there is no such thing as safe steroids use,” the veteran added.