Wow! Do you think all the hype around anabolic steroids in the media right now is justified? This is making quite a ruckus, and not always for the best reasons. Let’s pause for a minute to think about why these performance enhancers are so widely used, beyond the fact that individuals are “cheating.”
To begin, let’s debate whether or not this constitutes cheating so that we can better understand the situation. We need to be well-versed in the subject matter to do this. To build up, or be anabolic, is the opposite of catabolic, which is to break down or dismantle. Because of their chemical composition, steroids function as hormones in the body, controlling DNA synthesis through getting into the nucleus and binding to various components of the DNA-making machinery. Therefore, anabolic steroids are only chemicals that enhance the growth of muscle and other tissues.
They are, essentially, supplementing something that happens naturally in every single one of our bodies. Those who are genetically predisposed to experience greater levels of hormones such as testosterone will see larger gains from weight training. As a result, we must ponder whether or not attaining superhuman strength is a matter of skill or pure chance. Personally, I favor the latter interpretation, and hence do not consider it stealing so much as enhancing one’s natural talent for a certain sport. There are two main factors that led me to this conclusion. You still need to put in the effort even while using steroids if you want to bulk up. Second, hitting effectively still requires skill with a bat and an eye for a good pitch. When you use sunglasses to better see a fly ball in the out field, for example, you are only utilizing a “tool” to improve your performance; the sunglasses themselves are not responsible for catching the ball.
The fact that I don’t believe steroids that stimulate growth should be legalized could come as a surprise to you. You must listen to my reasoning, however; it’s not that I believe it’s cheating, but that I think it’s bad for the player’s health. The effects of these drugs are not limited to only strengthening the muscles. They raise the chance of cardiac arrest and ultimately cause death. They also increase the risk of damage to the tendons, ligaments, and bones by making the muscles larger than the body can handle. Many other things are also negatively impacted, making these items completely pointless.