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Health and Fitness Articles by Reese Kemp,
Personal Trainer - Long Island, NY
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Reflections on Steroids Part II
by Reese KempBack in the mid 90's Major League Baseball experienced a surge in homeruns. Analysts were fixated on the physical baseball itself, investigating the factory in Costa Rica where the balls were manufactured and slicing them in half to look for differences between the new baseballs and the old ones. A few analysts pointed to the players' emphasis on strength training to account for the newfound power, but I don't recall hearing much of what I suspected back then: baseball was being overrun by steroids. Looking back on it now it all seems so obvious. It's remarkable that it wasn't until Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa exploded past Roger Maris' homerun record in 1998 that there were even whispers of steroids in baseball. Even then, the press and the vast majority of fans were gullible enough to believe that the supplement Androstenedione—conveniently on display in McGwire's locker—accounted for McGwire's 70 dingers that year. I had read up on andro prior to McGwire's announcement that he took the supplement and concluded that it was more likely to grow a man breasts than his biceps. When the story of McGwire using andro broke (remember, he was endorsed by a supplement company) my first thought was, that's a nice cover story.
The public and press was ignorant of the signs of steroid abuse for years. During that period professional bodybuilders swelled into freaks (getting called a freak is something most bodybuilders take as a compliment) who could carry around almost 300 pounds of mass and still have under three percent body fat. Also, Maris' 37-year-old homerun record was eclipsed by McGwire, Sosa, and, later, Barry Bonds who topped everyone with 73; and a great number of Olympic records were shattered. These champion athletes were glorified, adored by the fans, given lucrative endorsements, and often rewarded with rich contracts by their sports. With the recent revelations of rampant steroid use in sports, plenty of blame has been thrown around. Here's the truth. The players, the teams, the sports, the media, the government, and even the fans all have a share in the blame. With all of the glory and riches heaped upon these drug-fueled athletes over the years, it's no wonder kids are turning to anabolic steroids at such an alarming rate. If you read part one of my "Reflections on Steroids" article on my long island personal trainer Web site, you read how I realized as a young weightlifter how it was impossible for me to look like the bodybuilders in the magazines who used anabolic steroids and various other drugs to compete. A young person can do one of two things after such a revelation: adjust his goals, or cave into the temptation of drugs to even the playing field. When young people believe that money and fame are on the line, that temptation is huge.
Readers of my previous article might also be surprised that I do not support the current anti-steroid campaign led by Congress. I think it's fine that the government is finally doing something about the problem, but the way they have chosen to go about it has been both deceitful and ineffective. When Major League Baseball was hauled before the Senate in 2005, also invited to speak before Congress were the parents of Rob Garibaldi, and the father of Taylor Hooton, two Major League hopefuls who began using steroids and ended up committing suicide. Far be it for me to tell these parents that they might be wrong. They are entitled to place the blame wherever it comforts them most. Congress, however, should know better. Truthfully, no one will ever know just how big a role steroids played in Rob and Taylor's suicides. Steroid use often leads to erratic behavior, and quitting steroids, as Rob apparently did, can lead to withdrawal symptoms, so it's entirely possible that steroids did factor into their deaths. But if steroids were so closely linked to suicide, there would be a lot of dead meatheads around. Let's look at the complete picture. Taylor was in his teens, at a time of life where natural hormones are wreaking havoc on his thoughts and actions. He was a successful young baseball player, but not as successful as he'd like to be. Many teenagers get depressed during their teenage years without any assistance from drugs. Suicide rates among teens is probably higher than we'd like to believe. Rob was older, and it seemed his dream of becoming a Major League ball player was slipping away. With or without steroids, he certainly would have been depressed at this point. Floundering dreams of being professional ball players may have been enough to push them over the edge. Steroids may or may not have provided an extra nudge. Let's say, for arguments sake, that steroids did play a major role in both of their suicides. What good does it serve as a warning to their peers? Young people are invincible in their own minds, and that goes double for young people on steroids. This warning to them is saying, in effect, don't take steroids you are in danger of taking your own life. Such a warning won't make a dent among people who haven't yet developed a complete sense of their own mortality.
I make no claims to have the ultimate solution to this problem, but I do know that steroids are so prevalent because steroid abusers are still widely worshipped on all levels. The mass freaks in the gym are the ones with the posse and the pretty girl groupies. But what if they weren't? What if the freaks were the laughing stocks, drug addicts whose bodies have been distorted by these drugs? What if the steroid-using athlete were cheaters, scorned instead of immortalized? Steroids have cultivated a subculture all its own. What needs to happen is a change in the public's perception of the steroid user and that subculture. It starts with the ability to identify them, which usually isn't hard. Some of the more obvious signs of steroid abuse are a distended belly (six pack and a gut), face bloat, acne (especially on the back), erratic behavior, squared shoulders, unusually great increases in strength, and, to a lesser degree, gynecomastia, and male pattern baldness. The perception of the roid freak weightlifter as an Adonis, and the steroid-enhanced athlete as superhuman needs to change in our culture. This will deter people, especially young people, from steroids. Such a change in perception will strip the drugs of their effectiveness.
There are real dangers in taking anabolic steroids, but the most likely of those dangers won't begin to manifest themselves for years after the drugs are first taken. The toll they take on the liver and heart are well-documented. Even the god of pro bodybuilding, and current California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger had to go under the knife to correct a heart ailment. Most roid users are well aware of these dangers, but they have made a conscious choice to risk their future health for immediate gains. They are not in the least bit afraid of suicide from steroid abuse. They sense the imminent dangers of steroids have been greatly exaggerated. Their acne medication is more likely to drive them to take their own lives, (just search for isotretinoin, or Accutane, and suicide and you'll see what I mean) and I haven't heard about any Congressional hearings for that. Half-truths, exaggeration, and unlikely horror stories are exactly what the government used to ban ephedra. To put an exclamation point on their claims they trot out the grieving parents of some kid that died, supposedly as a direct result of its use. Well it's time for Congress to stop and deal with reality. Such techniques will have no effect on steroids. The government already banned the drugs, the booming black market for steroids could care less what goes on in Congressional hearings, and the deceptive nature of the governments claims will surely have users thinking it's all nonsense. The public needs to wake up and recognize a steroid user when it sees one, and Congress needs to stop grandstanding and come up with some effective ideas for curbing steroid use. A change in the perception of the steroid user would be an effective, workable idea towards achieving this goal.
Note: It's a shame that my first two articles have dealt with drugs, but
such is the nature of fitness today. I promise, my next article will have
nothing to do with drugs, so we can get down to the business of getting and
staying in shape.
© Reese Kemp 2006
Reese Kemp is a certified personal trainer and writer from Long Island, New York. More health and fitness articles can be found on his Long Island Personal Trainer Web site.
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Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness News From Medical News Today
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