Monthly Archives: January 2016

Muscles like hulk

Steroids – are they worth it?

Steroid, testosterone

Steroids is not a magic pill or injection. By taking steroids, you will not automatically inflate to massive sizes, and you will not transform yourself in Hulk in a similar way as the “Hulk”.

Steroids is the name of many different chemicals that have one thing in common: To change your body unnaturally.

Steroids are not worth it!

You can achieve better, longer-lasting results naturally. If you are just looking at becoming lean, ripped and muscular, and  are not looking at competing, don’t use steroids.

Steroid gains do not last, the gains and strength somehow seem to reverse once a user stops using steroids, even if they continue to train.

Natural bodybuilders keep their gains and shape for many years, as long as they keep training.

Even if a natural bodybuilder stops training, the results quickly returns after a few weeks of training due to the magic of “muscle memory”.

Steroids

Steroids are drugs that change the chemistry of your body to produce a specific effect:

  • energy
  • strength
  • Build muscle
  • reduce fat

Steroids are illegal, and is usually purchased through underground (illegal, unlicensed) channels where quality is not guaranteed, and where no professional is available to check and correct for side effects. Irrespective of what is being told to you, if you are caught with Steroids, you will face legal consequence, you may land up in a court and may even get a criminal record.

It may sound unfair that a health freak can possibly get a criminal record, but  governments around the world are trying to discourage their use because of the devastating damage that steroids cause to people.

Early symptoms of steroid abuse are:

  • significant, sudden increases in body weight – this is the desired effect of body builders
  • serious cystic acne
  • headaches
  • dizziness
  • severe leg and abdominal cramping
  • premature hair loss

Side effects of Steroids:

  • cholesterol modifications
  • heart disease
  • anaphylactic shock
  • high blood pressure
  • septic shock
  • death

Reproductive system problems:

  • genital atrophy
  • genital swelling
  • sexual dysfunction
  • sterility, impotence
  • prostate enlargement
  • fetal damage, and menstrual irregularities.

The liver and kidneys are under constant attack by steroids. Individuals do use liver tonics and tablets available at pharmacies, but these do not reverse the damage. These liver tablets are manufactured for infrequent alcoholic drinker, but the keyword is infrequent.

Effects to the liver includes:

  • cancer, jaundice, tumors, and Pelosis hepatitis.

Damage to the kidneys includes:

  •  kidney stones, kidney disease, and kidney malfunctions.

Taking steroids can also affect your skin and hair

  •  Acne, oily skin, rashes, purple or red spots on the body, hives, increased body hair, baldness, and increased facial hair in women.

Other side effects include edema bone pain, nausea, chills, diarrhea, insomnia, deepening of the voice, and changes in bowel and urinary habits.

Steroids can also affect the user psychologically. They can become depressed, aggressive, and very hostile. Some athletes are so aggressive that they have to use tranquilizes when not competing to cope with their hostility.

Are Steroids addictive?

Steroids are not addictive in that it does not change the chemistry in the brain in the same way alcohol or recreational drug would.

A person can stop using steroids at any time with no withdrawal or life-threatening symptoms, there are no cravings.

It is the desire to grow larger and to get leaner that pushes a user to use steroids over and over again.

Some steroid users stop growing,  or they are not happy with the results, and as a result, they continue to abuse new steroids to squeeze everything that they can out of their bodies.

Someone who starts receiving compliments feels good about themselves, and this pushes them to continue abusing the steroids.

And the feeling of achievement is also a strong contributing factor to the abuse.

The “addiction” is not the drug itself, but the mental and the self-esteem effect it has on a person.

Steroid users

muscles

What muscles groups can be trained together?

Gym supplements, ,

The muscles can be split into two categories, major and minor.

Major muscles are the very large muscles that are exercised first, followed by the minor muscle groups. The minor group are the smaller muscles.

You can combine 1 major and 1 or 2 minor muscles, or combine a number of minor muscles. Training major muscle groups in one session, or even in the same day, is not ideal.

The major muscles:

  • Chest
  • Back
  • Legs

The minor muscles:

  • Shoulders
  • Triceps
  • Biceps
  • Hams
  • Calves
  • Abs
  • Forearms

 

The worst foods that make you fat

Gym supplements

All food makes you fat if you too much of it, and if you eat it regularly. The worst offenders are junk food and sugary drinks, which includes fruit juices, 100% pure or not.

The obvious fattening foods includes any type of take out foods:

  • Pizza 266 Calories / 100gram, and one pizza slice is approx 107g (285 calories)
  • Burgers – a popular burger comes in at 257calories / 100g, and one burger is 219g (543calories),. And there are much larger burgers on offer that are loaded with many more calories.
  • French fries is even worse, even though they look like a smaller portion, and comes in at a whopping 312 calories / 100 grams, with a medium serving sitting at a mega 365 calories (117grams).  If you think of skipping the burger and taking the fries to save on calories, think again, it is better to take the burger than the fries!
  • Fizzy drinks and juices come in at 32 to 38 calories per 100grams, with artificially sweetened drinks coming in at 8 calories per 100grams.
  • Any processed foods, such as processed cheese and sausages, contain too many calories and chemicals, avoid. This includes that borewors. If you love it and cannot do without a weekly braai, limit the intake, eat more greens and drink more water so that the craving is less and you get fuller faster.  A smaller piece of wors will satisfy your cravings if you eat healthy greens beforehand, and if you eat slowly.

Fattening foods that seem like a healthier

  • Pasta, brown or white, is loaded with calories. Replace with brown rice, potatoes or cauliflower rice.
  • Sweetened yogurt is full of sugar. Replace with unsweetened yogurt or even Greek yogurt.
  • Salads with salad dressing. Salad dressing packs a whole lot of calories, and tghe tastier, the more likely it is laden with fats and sugars. Replace the salad dressing with vinegar or lemon juice, or purchase an off-the-shelf low fat, low sugar, low sodium alternative.
  • Almost all breakfast cereals, with the exception of Oats (Not instant oats) and a few of the newer health cereals,  are bad news. They usually have sugars, and a lot of sugar. Read the labels before buying.
  • Brown bread, seeded breads and Rye combination breads. These may seem like great alternatives, but they are just as destructive to your weight as white bread. Avoid any wheat breads, replace with 100% rye.