Bodybuilding and Steroids

During the early years of modern bodybuilding, it was not uncommon for professional and competitive bodybuilders to make use of prohormone and anabolic steroids to increase muscle mass. During the 1970s, this was openly discussed and a well known fact. Of course, at that time anabolic steroids were perfectly legal for use in this country. Their use increased in bodybuilders and other sports participants throughout the 1980s despite rules in international competitions that banned them.

Anabolic steroids have been found to have several negative side effects. Some of the worst are increased chance of certain cancers, damage to internal organs, and reduction of the body's natural production of testosterone. That last can result in testicular atrophy and have negative impacts on male sexual performance.

In 1990, the congress passed a law that declared anabolic steroids illegal as schedule III controlled substances. This law makes the use of anabolic steroids by any athlete for performance enhancement a crime. Most sports, including bodybuilding have since instituted mandatory tests for the use of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs, a practice known as doping. Urine tests are capable of detecting the use of steroids, but most sports limit their tests to simple polygraphs to determine if the athletes are lying about the use of steroids.

Unfortunately, many athletes, especially bodybuilders, still manage to get hold of and make use of anabolic steroids to make it possible for them to build up their muscles quicker and larger than is normally possible without the use of steroids. Athletes caught doping are generally publicized and become the center of scandal that is often harmful to their sport as well as their personal reputation.

In recent years, there has been a growing movement toward a practice known as natural bodybuilding. The goals of this movement are reduction of the use of steroids by bodybuilders and encouraging a healthier lifestyle for all, regardless of whether they are bodybuilders or not. All competitive bodybuilders are tested for steroid use before they are allowed on stage to pose for the judges. Any bodybuilder found guilty of using steroids is banned from all competition for life. This creates a very strong deterrent to the illegal use of steroids for bodybuilders. The movement is geared toward building up muscle mass strictly through strength training and diet. The use of diet supplements designed to reduce body fat is even discouraged.

Steroids were a very common part of the routine of bodybuilders for many years. In recent years, since steroids became illegal, their use has dropped off considerably, but has not been eliminated completely. Steroids have the ability to increase muscle mass faster than diet and exercise alone. Unfortunately, they have been proven to have more risks for the health of users than benefits. For this reason, in addition to the legal implications of being caught doping, the authorities that govern all sports, including bodybuilding, have instituted penalties for being caught that can include a lifetime ban from competing in these sporting events. 

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