The molecules of some steroids can remain active for several weeks, while the molecules of others quickly change in the body, turning into ineffective forms within a couple of days after use. Some steroids are significantly more effective than others.
What determines and what determines the effectiveness of anabolic steroids?
To answer very briefly, it all depends on the following factors:
- the specifics of the steroid itself;
- individual characteristics of a particular person’s body;
- steroid use regimens;
- the presence of a sufficient amount of amino acids and energy for the synthesis of new protein in the cell (the problem of adequate, including specialized nutrition for an athlete);
- level of physical activity when taking medications, since insufficient volume will negatively affect the effectiveness of the drug (the problem of correct selection of the training regimen and intensity).
Not all steroids have the same chemical structure, which determines the rate of conversion of the drug in the liver into a biologically inactive compound and its excretion from the body and, accordingly, have different degrees of impact on the human body.
In general, drugs that have the greatest anabolic effect promote muscle tissue growth to the greatest extent. Traditionally, for example, it is believed that drugs such as Anavar, Winstrol and Primobalan are steroids with a high degree of anabolic effects on the body. Anadrol, Dianabol and Testosterone have even stronger effects.
In medicine, the anabolic activity of a drug is determined in relation to the anabolic activity of testosterone, which is conventionally taken as 1.
The androgenic activity of steroids is expressed in a similar way in relation to the androgenic activity of testosterone. The ratio of anabolic to androgenic activity is called the anabolic index. From here it becomes clear that the most valuable drug is the one that has the highest anabolic index (AI), as an indicator of the maximum predominance of anabolic activity over androgenic activity.
As we have already said, another important factor influencing the effectiveness of anabolic steroids is the individual characteristics of the body of a particular user. Some athletes have extremely high individual sensitivity of biotransforming systems, as well as a large number of receptor molecules that interact with the steroid and initiate a biological effect in combination.
This ensures the connection of receptors with a much larger number of free molecules, which in turn radically enhances the anabolic effect. This explains the well-known fact that some weightlifters, taking small doses of steroids, continuously increase their performance. Among athletes there are also individuals with a small number of receptor molecules in muscle cells; therefore, only the most potent steroids and in large dosages are effective for them.
Very often these users take large doses of a mixture of different steroids without any visible effect. As for the schemes for the use of anabolic steroids, foreign authors describe at least several methods of introducing anabolic steroids into the body of athletes, which, in their opinion, cause maximum effects with minimal side effects: o the “combination” method consists in the simultaneous use of several anabolic steroids (oral and injectable), which enhance each other’s effects; o the “plateau” phenomenon involves the use of anabolic steroids in the casewhen already used drugs do not provide the desired increase in muscle mass and strength; o a method of “quick switching” from one steroid to another, which allows the effective action of the next drug after the end of the influence of the previous one;
- the “tapering” method consists of slowly (4-6 weeks) reducing the dosage of steroids after a long course of use to reduce side effects and return to the original state;
- The shotgun method allows for the use of many drugs in small doses in the hope that one will complement the action of the other.
But whatever the regimen for taking steroids, one should not forget about fairly intense special training and a corresponding nutritious high-protein diet. And if an athlete takes steroids, but does not train enough and eats anyhow, then no anabolic effect should be expected.
The effect here will be exclusively negative, associated with a toxic effect on the body and, above all, on the liver. This truth is especially useful to remember for young people who do not particularly like to train regularly and a lot and rely, first of all, on the miracles of “chemistry”. There are other reasons for the different effects of anabolic steroids and their effectiveness on different individuals, which we will discuss in subsequent articles in this section.
Based on all of the above, we can name the following positive effects from the use of anabolic steroids: increased strength as a result of adequate nutrition and training due to an increase in the number of contractile fibers in muscle cells; reduction in fat as a result of increased respiratory quotient, effects on metabolism, nutrition and training; increased endurance due to an increase in the number of mitochondria and increased oxygen consumption; improved blood supply to muscles associated with accelerated blood flow in microvessels; preventing the breakdown of muscle fibers caused by intense training; recovery after injury and surgery depending on increased protein synthesis and the effect on metabolism. However, there is another side to the coin.
Anabolic steroids are known to cause a number of side effects that should be known to those who are considering recommending them or using them on themselves. Only by carefully studying this negative side of steroid use will each athlete be able to make the only right decision for himself.
