These two lines are ones you will often here when speaking to a truly competitive athlete. They will not stop at any cost to be the best or get an edge. Although I am an athlete and would love to have an edge over my competitors, I disagree with the use of life threatening drugs to provide that benefit. .
Every day, athletes that you may not think are doing anabolic steroids or the human growth hormone are the athletes who are the big users. There are three major performance-enhancing drugs that are used by athletes who want an edge: anabolic steroids, amphetamines, and human growth hormone. These performance-enhancing drugs are found in just about all fifty states and the problem is rapidly growing. In almost every type of sport there is one form or another of performance enhancing drugs. Some of the most common sports you will find them in are power/strength sports and endurance sports. Athletes may come up with the strangest ways of using the drugs that can sometimes be a major threat to their lives. .
Performance enhancing drugs have a major impact on sports and athletes. The sports of today are experiencing more problems with performance enhancing drugs mainly because of the popularity of the three most common drugs: anabolic steroids, amphetamine, and human growth hormone. Many of the so-called jocks that play the rough and tough sports like football are the ones who are using anabolic steroids. There are different effects for men and women but all of the problems are very serious. Males are subject to hair loss, acne and liver cancer, which can be a life threatening disease. Females are exposed to growth of body and facial hair and they are also liable to contract deepening of the voice. Gaining that little bit of competitiveness can lead to greater increases in performance. Steroids increase muscle mass and strength which helps athletes recover quicker from injuries. The most common sports where you would find the anabolic steroids are in bodybuilding, football, track & field power events and weightlifting.
