The ethics of blood testing as an element of doping control in sport. Researchers/Authors:Alister Browne, Victor Lachance, and Andrew Pipe Division of Health Care Ethics, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia; and the Canadian Center for Ethics in Sport, Ottawa, Ontario; Division of Cardiac Surgery, University of Ottawa Heart Institute & Department of […]
Anabolic Steroid Articles
Our steroid articles provided detailed, practical information on how anabolic steroids are used to build muscle size, strength and otherwise improve physical performance. They cover topics such as the history of steroids, steroids in baseball, the medical uses of steroids including testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), the side effects of steroids and how to manage steroid side effects.
Researchers Too Quick to Blame Steroids for Changes in Heart Muscle
Left ventricular wall thickening does occur in elite power athletes with or without anabolic steroid use. Researchers: Dickerman RD, Schaller F, McConathy WJ Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, Tex., USA. Source: Cardiology 1998 Oct;90(2):145-8 Summary: Researchers examined 4 elite resistance-trained athletes by two-dimensional echocardiography. In addition, they […]
Banning Prohormones: The Threat and the Legal Issues
Introduction In December, 1996, Patrick Arnold announced the public availability of androstenedione, a natural precursor to testosterone which could be legally sold for oral consumption as a dietary supplement. Since then, various prohormones have been produced and marketed for the purpose of enhancing testosterone and nortestosterone (nandrolone) levels, including androstenediol, norandrostenedione, and norandrostenediol. Prohormones remained […]
Anabolic Steroids and Aggression, Part 2: Does the Evidence Support a Causal Inference?
Findings regarding the AAS use and aggression relationship are inconsistent and vary with the nature of the study and design. Although widely accepted as fact, a review finds little, if any, strong evidence for a direct causal relationship. This may, in part, stem from confusion regarding the specific questions that are answerable by various research […]
Charting Progress on the Baseline Diet Part II: Methods for Measuring Body Composition
In part 1 of this article, I made some general comments about body composition as well as discussing some of the possible methods of measuring changes in body composition. These methods included underwater weighing, the scale, tape measures, and calipers. In the second part of this article, I’d like to discuss some other methods of measuring […]
Charting Progress on the Baseline Diet, Part 1
In my last two articles, I talked about how to set up a baseline diet for basic bodybuilding purposes. In this article, I would like to talk about how an individual might monitor how well (or poorly) that diet is working for them in order to determine if a change is necessary. There are a […]
The Baseline Diet, Part 2: Protein, Carbohydrates, and Fat
Last article, I discussed three of the primary aspects of the baseline diet: meal frequency, caloric intake and water intake. To recap briefly, at a bare minimum bodybuilders (and probably everybody else for that matter) should be eating 4 times per day. Six time per day is probably closer to ideal, although this depends on […]
The Baseline Diet, Part 1: Meal Frequency, Caloric Intake and Water Intake
I’m going to start this article with a few questions. How much mass have you gained in the last few months? If you’re like the average lifter, the answer is ‘Not as much as I’d like’. Ok, next question: how much money have you spent on exotic supplements hoping they’d be the secret to freaky […]
The Demonization of Anabolic Steroids, Part 1 – What Makes These Hormones So Evil?
In the United States, anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) have always been considered drugs. Contrary to what today’s young athletes may believe, these substances were never stocked on the shelves of the corner grocery store. However, only within the last decade have these drugs been classified as “controlled substances,” thereby placing them in the same general category […]
Captopril, Alpha-2 Receptors and Fat Loss
The Permissive Substance Angiotensin II is a polypeptide which is required for the expression of some (but not all) alpha-2 receptors. This means that without angiotensin II, alpha-2 receptors cannot be developed in some cells. As a result, if we somehow get rid of angiotensin II which is naturally produced by the body, the normal […]