How do steroids help build muscle mass?

Those with an interest in improving their muscle mass and muscle definition will at some point have looked into the subject of steroids. While many people will be aghast at the mention of the word steroids, it is worth remembering that while there are risks associated with any steroid not all are potentially harmful. In layman’s terms, it is difficult to confirm without continuous blood tests how an individual’s body will react to the injection of additional steroids, predominantly testosterone, on a regular basis.

How do muscles grow naturally?

If you look at muscle growth in layman’s terms, it is fairly straightforward although the underlying physiological process can be quite complex. Each time you work out and place stress on your muscles this effectively causes “tiny rips” which are essentially the pain you can feel for up to 2 days after exercising. The body reacts to these rips, essentially destroying and rebuilding muscle, by building new muscle fibre which is stronger. This repair naturally increases the size and strength of your muscle and is known as muscular hypertrophy.

This muscle regeneration does not happen overnight which is why it is imperative that you have rest days when exercising. So, what does the addition of additional testosterone do to this process?

Steroids, testosterone and rebuilding muscle

We have researched muscle growth over many years now and perhaps one of the best analogies is highlighted on the www.crazy-bulks.com website https://crazy-bulks.com/blog/exactly-steroids-increase-muscle-mass/. The website compares the rebuilding of muscle to the process of trying to fill up a bucket full of water when there is a hole at the bottom. The bucket will only hold more water if the amount of water poured in is less than that escaping through the hole. So how does this analogy work with muscle rebuilding?

As a natural process there are two activities ongoing which impact the growth in the regeneration of muscle. Muscle will only grow when the rate of muscle protein synthesis is greater than the rate of muscle protein breakdown. So, the introduction of testosterone increases the rate of muscle protein synthesis thereby increasing the rate of muscle growth (or pouring more water into the bucket to use the above analogy).

Steroids and muscle growth

As we touched on above, testosterone is one of the most common elements of many steroids. Testosterone is a vital ingredient in the muscle growth process and has also been shown to reduce the impact of muscle protein breakdown. There is also evidence to suggest that testosterone is able to activate cells associated with muscle building thereby beginning the muscle building process sooner and strengthening the repair process. The reason why steroids are regularly used in a detrimental fashion in professional sports is because they also improve recovery time. So, professional sports people using steroids are able to push themselves further, significantly reduce their recovery time and build significant muscle mass in a relatively short space of time.

Conclusion

Upon reading this article you may be tempted to look towards steroids as a means of increasing your muscle mass and reducing your recovery time. However, as we also touched on above, the regular injection of testosterone into your body, as well as other elements, can be detrimental to your long-term health. It is imperative that you take professional advice on steroid use, ensure that your health is not put at risk and where possible use natural methods to increase your muscle mass. While some may see steroids as a shortcut to a lean, mean fighting machine of a body, used incorrectly they can for some be a shortcut to major health problems.