Steroid News
News bot on steroids
Iron Men is among about 200 gyms that have sprouted in the capital since the time of the Taliban government, which allowed bodybuilding to reemerge as one of the country's favorite pastimes. Some women are even training at a dozen female-only gyms.
Along with the proliferation of gyms has come an increase in anabolic steroid use among bodybuilders. Afghan authorities say they have struggled to combat doping but, unlike in the U.S., the drugs are not considered controlled substances here.
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Steroids were on sale last week at Bush Bazaar, a maze of stalls named after President George W. Bush because merchants hock U.S. military surplus and other American wares, including bodybuilding vitamins, shakes and powders with names like Mega Mass and Great Gainer.
Among the vendors was Zalmai, 23, who goes by one name and keeps steroid vials and tablets stashed on a shelf in his shop behind bottles of "power capsules" sporting the likeness of Jay Cutler, former Mr. Olympia.
Steroids for sale include systanol, testoviron and deca durabolin. He also sells human chorionic gonadotropin, or HCG, a hormone used to enhance steroids' effects.
Each box of steroids sells for about $5, he said. The Health Ministry inspector who visits regularly does not ask about the steroids — he mainly checks to make sure the protein powders have not expired. Steroids are not illegal, so Zalmai — an aspiring bodybuilder himself — has never had a problem.
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It was rumored that steroids contributed to the death of last year's Mr. Afghanistan heavyweight title winner. Arif Sakhi, 26, died last June after suffering liver and kidney failure, typical side effects of longtime steroid abuse.
Ustaad Bawar Hotak, the head of the Afghanistan Bodybuilding Federation, and others in the Afghan bodybuilding community deny that Sakhi was doping. In a country rife with corruption and organized crime, where conspiracy theories abound, they insist he was killed by his enemies.
Read more: Bodybuilding bounces back in Afghanistan - Los Angeles Times
Along with the proliferation of gyms has come an increase in anabolic steroid use among bodybuilders. Afghan authorities say they have struggled to combat doping but, unlike in the U.S., the drugs are not considered controlled substances here.
[...]
Steroids were on sale last week at Bush Bazaar, a maze of stalls named after President George W. Bush because merchants hock U.S. military surplus and other American wares, including bodybuilding vitamins, shakes and powders with names like Mega Mass and Great Gainer.
Among the vendors was Zalmai, 23, who goes by one name and keeps steroid vials and tablets stashed on a shelf in his shop behind bottles of "power capsules" sporting the likeness of Jay Cutler, former Mr. Olympia.
Steroids for sale include systanol, testoviron and deca durabolin. He also sells human chorionic gonadotropin, or HCG, a hormone used to enhance steroids' effects.
Each box of steroids sells for about $5, he said. The Health Ministry inspector who visits regularly does not ask about the steroids — he mainly checks to make sure the protein powders have not expired. Steroids are not illegal, so Zalmai — an aspiring bodybuilder himself — has never had a problem.
[...]
It was rumored that steroids contributed to the death of last year's Mr. Afghanistan heavyweight title winner. Arif Sakhi, 26, died last June after suffering liver and kidney failure, typical side effects of longtime steroid abuse.
Ustaad Bawar Hotak, the head of the Afghanistan Bodybuilding Federation, and others in the Afghan bodybuilding community deny that Sakhi was doping. In a country rife with corruption and organized crime, where conspiracy theories abound, they insist he was killed by his enemies.
Read more: Bodybuilding bounces back in Afghanistan - Los Angeles Times
