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Bodybuilding drugs, also known as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), are substances used by athletes and bodybuilders to increase muscle mass, strength, and overall physical performance.
These drugs can include anabolic steroids, human growth hormone (HGH), insulin, and other compounds that enhance muscle growth and recovery.
While they can provide significant benefits in terms of physical appearance and performance, they also come with a range of potential health risks and legal issues.
The use of these substances is often controversial and heavily regulated in competitive sports.

What are bodybuilding drugs?

As sports have become increasingly competitive and lucrative, some sportsmen have been condemned for consuming banned and hazardous drugs such as anabolic steroids or simply steroids as well as some other drugs.

In today’s world of modern sports and athletics, drug-taking for physical and athletic enhancement has become a social problem and scourge.
As sports have become increasingly competitive and lucrative, some sportsmen have been condemned for consuming banned and hazardous drugs such as anabolic steroids or simply steroids as well as some other drugs.

Bodybuilding and drug-taking are not the same things.
Bodybuilding is taking prescription or non-prescription drugs by non-athletes with the sole purpose of improving physical appearance and gaining social and media attention.
Bodybuilders have been described in medical science as persons bearing an altered perception of body image, leading to psychopathology.
‘Drug-taking is a habitual abuse of illicit drugs due to drug dependence’.

The long-term dangers of drug-induced bodybuilding are not immediately apparent, but they cause irreparable harm to internal body organs such as the liver, kidneys, heart, and brains well as psychosocial problems.
The adverse effects of drug-induced bodybuilding relate to a distorted physical, personal and social image

The bodybuilding drugs are also called performance-enhancing drugs when used by sportspersons.
The use of performance-enhancing drugs to gain an edge over rivals is illegal and the term doping is used for this.

Bodybuilding drugs (examples)

Anabolic steroids
Androstenedione
Clenbuterol
Creatine
Diuretics
Ephedrine
Erythropoietin,
Human chorionic
gonadotrophin
Human growth hormone
Insulin
Tamoxifen
Thyroxine

Diuretics are abused to nullify the water retention property of steroids and growth hormones. Their side effects are dehydration, severe muscle cramps, and sometimes collapse during an action.

Ephedrine, clenbuterol, and thyroxin are abused by athletes and bodybuilders to increase metabolic rate and promote lipolysis and as a stimulant. Their side effects are palpitations.

Tamoxifen is abused to prevent gynecomastia.

Insulin is abused to increase total body mass. Its side effect is hypoglycaemia.

Growth hormone is abused to promote lipolysis and to increase muscle mass and strength. Its side effects are milder like weakness, water retention, and headache.

All steroids are associated with some risks and bad effects. There’s no such thing called as a safe steroid; their non-medical use is illegal too.

Anabolic steroid

Anabolic steroids are synthetic analogues of the primary male sex hormone ‘testosterone’.
The term “Anabolic” means muscle building, and “androgenic” means inducing male sex characteristics.
There are more than 30 types of anabolic steroids on the market.
Some of the commonly taken anabolic steroids today are Anadrol, Deca-durabolin, Oxandrin, Dianabol,   equipoise, and Winstrol.

On the street, steroids are sometimes called roids or juice by illegal abusers.

Some steroids are used as oral swallow pills.
Others are used as injectables and are injected through hypodermic needles directly into muscles.

Apart from medical use, anabolic steroids are used and abused by young as bodybuilding or performance-enhancing drugs because these drugs increase body proteins and stimulate muscle growth, hair growth, bone density, and sexual drive.

Mixing steroids with other drugs, such as growth hormones and insulin, is also believed to increase muscle mass.

Medical doctors can prescribe steroids (corticosteroids) to treat hormonal diseases, chronic inflammations, and some life-threatening conditions.
But anabolic steroids are not the same as corticosteroids.

Anabolic steroids have been used as performance-enhancing drugs to increase muscle mass and decrease fat.
Some sportspersons and bodybuilders misuse this category of drugs to boost sports performance or to improve physical appearance. These promote muscle building, especially if aided by exercise.

Male weightlifters and wrestlers are very much fond of abusing this drug for the above purposes.

Anabolic steroids are taken orally or as injections in muscles or as creams to apply over the skin.
Adolescent boys suffering from body dysmorphic disorder often misuse these drugs because they have a distorted body image and don’t believe themselves as being adequately robust or strong.
Watch this useful video to know more.

Anabolic Steroids: Uses & Side effects – Dr.Ravi Sankar Endocrinologist MRCP(UK) CCT – GIM (UK)

Modes of misuse

Common modes of misusing(consuming) steroids include:

Anabolic steroids are Class C drugs.
These can only be prescribed by physicians on a prescription.

Bodybuilding drugs (Side effects)

Habitually taking anabolic steroids can lead to physical and psychological adverse effects and potentially serious medical disorders such as:

Multi-ingredient pre-workout supplements (MIPS) or Legal steroids

In the last few years a new class of bodybuilding and a physical performance-enhancing dietary supplement called multi-ingredient pre-workout supplements (MIPS), nicknamed “legal steroids” has gained popularity.
These are taken before a workout or exercise program and typically consist of a blend of substances such as beta-alanine, amino acids, caffeine, creatine, etc.
These supplements when taken as together as a blend, provoke a synergistic effect on physical performance and athletic outcomes compared to when taken alone or separately.
There are many “commercial blends” of MIPS but do not disclose the true composition of ingredients in a given brand.

Research suggests that the consumption of MIPS immediately before exercise may enhance muscle exercise capacity, force, and power generation.
Long-term consumption of MIPS together with a resistance training program may provoke lean mass accumulation and positive changes in body composition.
MIPS ingestion seems to be safer in the short term, but more research is needed, on the safety aspect of its long-term consumption.

From the perspective of implications for the athletes, they should be warned that formulations may contain banned ingredients or contaminants. Therefore, it is imperative that athletes be fully aware of such ingredients present in a given MIPS brand or formulation before consumption.

In conclusion, further research is needed regarding the long-term safety of MIPS in different populations.

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