Training Drug Free

Just taken on my Phone.

I cannot rave about weight training (& sport in general) enough. Anyone reading this, I hope has found that sport has enriched their lives to – whether making them healthier, creating structure, making friends, finding success etc. Unfortunately, I sometimes encounter the opposite (I’ve seen it a couple of times this week alone) and it’s largely due to the misuse of drugs in sport, therefore, I thought I’d share the following with you... 

Aside from a tiny white-lie (so as not to hurt someone), I’m always honest, but, writing under an alias (Gym Professor) gives me the opportunity to be truthful and it not be questioned, which I like :). Most around me know that I’m a true drug free athlete, but my status is called in to question time-and-time again by many. Although a little frustrating, I kind of take this as a compliment (you have to!).

Although I write about (or train) people seeking seeking differing physique or sporting endeavors, my own chosen sport is bodybuilding. Bodybuilding is perhaps the most obscure choice of sport to participate in free from drugs. This strange choice would lead you to think I'm bitter towards those that aren't "natural", but you'd be completely wrong. Provided someone’s open about the use of it within their sport and doesn’t impress their view on others forcibly, I’m relatively okay with this. 

My general reading is typically about the use of drugs within sport (in particular bodybuilding) - it's fascinating! However, what is astonishing is how little the majority of users & dealers know - it's embarrassing! More a case of "I got big using this, so you should use it", "He got massive taking that, I'm going on that". Having spent all of my life in this environment, although I’ve known very many people have good short-term gains, their longevity in the sport (I’m even thinking of national champs here to!) has not been that of the natural weight trainers I’ve known. Indeed, it’s the drug free athletes (making up the minority) that still enjoy their weight training and a stable home life today (& a better physique!). Another annoyance is that it's normally the entirely wrong people using performance and/ or physique enhancing drugs; moreover it's to compensate for serious failings with their training & diet. Please do yourself a favor and purchase sensible reference guides (like Gym Workouts – Maps to Success) to avoid these failings and make gains that are sustainable. Thereafter, the choice is yours - I'm just giving you my personal view point.

I hope you’ve found this information of interest. You may also wish to check out our article ‘Basics about Steroids’.

All the best,

GP

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Basics about Steroids

Hello,

It's difficult to get away from in the gym and fitness world, so, having been asked several times a day this week basic information about steroids, I thought it appropriate to share this article with you......

There are three commonly known types of steroids - androgens (dominant male hormones), estrogens (dominant female hormones) and cortisones (often used as an anti-inflammatory drug). The most abundant androgen in men is testosterone. Increased testosterone is seen as beneficial for athletic performance because it influences our metabolism (body's processes) to increase muscle mass, strength, recovery and regulates less accumulation of body fat. Subsequently, men will typically display a greater muscle mass, strength and lower body fat percentage than women, although I know many women that would argue our ability of greater recovery.

The mention above of testosterone aptly brings me to the reason the majority of us, certainly if you're receiving a gym biased newsletter like this, will associate the name steroid with anabolic steroids. Anabolic steroids (a subgroup of androgens) have primarily been designed as a synthetic copy of testosterone, albeit typically lower in androgen properties. So, encompassing all the "good" aspects that testosterone brings - muscle growth and recovery - while downplaying the "bad" aspects - oily skin, acne, baldness, body hair etc. This is not to say that users of anabolic steroids will not experience androgenic side-effects, as androgen levels will still be increased and, certainly if higher doses are taken, the risk is greater increased.

There are other potential negative side-effects, which we’ll cover in more depth in future articles. Here’s a taster... some potential side-effects are dependent upon your choice of application, such as oral steroids that are 17-aplha-alkylated (Anadrol, Dianabol etc.) and are fairly toxic on the liver, as the coating is applied in order to stop the enzymes of the liver breaking the substance down, placing the liver under stress as it keeps trying. Surprisingly, as you may warrant a greater dose of a weaker 17-aplha-alkylated steroid, a weaker steroid may increase the likelihood of toxicity side-effects.

Although drugs can enhance both performance and physique, the results are unsustainable without regular use, therefore, increasing the temptation of abuse and negative side-effects.

One of the reasons for creating the book Gym Workouts - Maps to Success is that many people will use and/ or abuse anabolic steroids to make up for the failings in both their diet and training. Before considering the temptation of anabolic steroids (or other performance enhancing drugs), I advise that you correct the aforementioned issues first in order to be the best you can be drug free, thereafter, the choice is yours. To help, the book Gym Workouts - Maps to Success provides an infinite structure to apply to your consistent and progressive training.

Resource: This article is an extract from the book Gym Workouts - Maps to Success.

Also worth mentioning: I've noticed another re-emergence over the past couple of weeks of non-commercial steroids marketed and sold as "pro-hormone supplements". These fall in to a bit of a gray area. As they've never really been commercialized, they're not yet classified as a "Steroid", but they are a steroid! Normally, these steroids have not been commercialized due to reasons such as high toxicity and there being "better" steroid choices available (which have been commercialized!).


All the best,

GP
Knowledge is Power!
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P.S. Due to the success of the ebook version (note: read reviews), I have just signed-off the publisher's proof for the paperback version of Gym Workouts - Maps to Success, so this should be printed, released and distributed over the next week. I'll send a newsletter advising when it's ready.

Basics about Steroids

There are three commonly known types of steroids - androgens (dominant male hormones), estrogens (dominant female hormones) and cortisones (often used as an anti-inflammatory drug). The most abundant androgen in men is testosterone. Increased testosterone is seen as beneficial for athletic performance because it influences our metabolism (body's processes) to increase muscle mass, strength, recovery & regulates less accumulation of body fat. Subsequently, men will typically display a greater muscle mass, strength & lower body fat percentage than women, although I know many women that would argue our ability of greater recovery.


The mention above of testosterone aptly brings me to the reason the majority of us, certainly if you're on a gym biased website like this, will associate the name steroid with anabolic steroids. Anabolic steroids (a subgroup of androgens) have primarily been designed as a synthetic copy of testosterone, albeit typically lower in androgen properties. So, encompassing all the "good" aspects that testosterone brings - muscle growth & recovery - while downplaying the "bad" aspects - oily skin, acne, baldness, body hair etc. This is not to say that users of anabolic steroids will not experience androgenic side-effects, as androgen levels will still be increased and, certainly if higher doses are taken, the risk is greater increased. We'll discuss this further (& other side-effects) on GymProfessor.com and future blog posts.

Visit GymProfessor.com for more information on the below subjects:
Are steroids illegal?
Why do people take steroids?
Various types of steroids.
Side-effects of steroids.
Other performance enhancing drugs.
Training drug free.
How steroids are dealt.