Steroid use from an inside perspective.

Love or hate it, the topic of steroids and professional bodybuilding isn’t going anywhere. To some degree, everyone has to come to the realization that steroids is a subject that’s important to the growth of the sport for a couple of reasons. First off, anyone who’s a bodybuilding fan is going to want to know which one of their favorite bodybuilders are using steroids. The second thing is that people are curious about its health effects.

T-Nation recently posted an article written by an anonymous bodybuilder; an IFBB pro who was willing to share a few things about steroid use in the sport, as long as their identity was kept secret. The guys over at T-Nation claim that they were able to verify that this athlete, simply known as “Shadow Pro,” is legit. So while we can’t personally verify who this person is or if his insider information actually holds up – it is a very detailed perspective.

He freely admits that steroid use is not only present in the sport, but is a fairly common practice for most pros. With that knowledge out in the open he mentions a few of the “laws” he follows for taking steroids. You can read the full in-depth article here – but we’ve broken down some of the key points for you…

Trusted Doctors help monitor your health

Carefully monitoring your health is the number one rule to live by, according to the article writer. He sites that bodybuilders have trusted doctors that take care of all of their medical needs and are sure to monitor the effects of steroids on their body closely.
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Steroids + recreational drugs/narcotic pain killers = terrible reaction

Using recreational drugs while on a competition cycle can prove to be not only dangerous, but deadly. He claims that steroids on their own isn’t that big a deal, but mixing them with drugs and alcohol, along with a crappy diet plan will lead to some pretty horrible results. This might seem like an obvious point to make, but it is also an important fact to reaffirm when hearing the horror stories of steroid users whose lives are destroyed. There’s probably more than one type of drug gunking up the system.
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$8,000 to $15,000 per competition cycle

Another thing pointed out by this anonymous whistle blower is the fact that steroid cycling costs a pretty penny. At $8,000 to $15,000 a cycle you have to wonder how the hell anyone can fund their usage throughout the year, particularly when knowing that a majority of bodybuilders aren’t raking in the doe. Between the high price of steroids, their strict diets, and entering competitions – it all starts to add up to a pretty penny.
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Liver and Kidney supplementation is a must

Lastly, the writer stresses the fact that correct supplementation is a must in order have optimal health while on a cycle. Anyone taking a continued dosage of steroids will likely face the ramifications, namely some liver and kidney imbalances. Is this a worthy sacrifice in order to compete on a pro level and dedicate yourself to what you love? That’s for the individual to decide. But according to this anonymous bodybuilder – the health ramifications are not a lie… just maybe not as bad as the media makes it out to be.
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It can be a bit of a risky game, using steroids. Ultimately the anonymous pro is confident in saying that steroids alone aren’t all that dangerous. But having to follow a strict regimen and fish out so much cash in the hopes of making gains, does put some things in perspective. If you want to be on a continuous cycle you’re going to have to shell out a whole lot of money and in the end, is it really worth it?

So what do you think about this anonymous IFBB Pro coming clean? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook and Twitter.

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Thanks to T Nation for breaking this information. Make sure to visit their official website right here.