Balding and Steroid

Anabolic steroids are a common class of steroid hormones that can influence a person’s physical and sexual development.  

Besides its ability to boosts physical performance, this type of steroids can also be a main contributing factor to genetic hair loss in both women and men so if you are a regular user of this class of drugs, it’s best for you to know what you are dealing with.

Steroids actually represent a large group of chemical substances derived from naturally occurring or synthetic fat-soluble compounds. Many types of body’s hormones, reactive compounds and other constituents like cholesterol are steroids.

Women and men contain sex hormones of both sexes. For men, the dominant sex hormones are androgens mainly consisting of testosterone, Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and others. Estrogens and progestagens are the female sex hormones that are highly abundant in women. All of these steroid hormones play a crucial role in your sexual development and proper structural growth.

Steroidal drugs are compounds manufactured and synthesized from these natural hormones in order to influence or stimulate a reaction from your body. 

The main classes of these steroids are:

• Sex steroids - This type of steroids usually includes androgens, estrogens and progestagens that are usually prescribed for Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and to treat hormone related conditions.
• Anabolic Steroids - The most well known among the 3, this class of steroids are responsible for stimulating muscle development and other male related characteristics.
• Corticosteroids - Mainly used medically, this class of steroids is used to mimic the activity of cortisone. Cortisone is produced naturally in the body to regulate inflammation, control auto-immune disorders and many other types of diseases. Many types of auto-immune related hair loss like Scarring Alopecia and Alopecia Areata utilize this treatment.

The real term for this class of steroids is Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids (AAS) because of its androgenic properties. Anabolic, which means ‘to build’ in Greek is represented by the steroid’s ability to help improve protein synthesis and cuts recovery time. Androgens on the other hand are a group of male sex hormones that control the development of masculinity and male sexual characteristic.

As most anabolic steroids are derived from androgens like testosterone and DHT, you are likely to face side effects from high levels of androgens in your body like

• Acne, oily face and scalp
• Low sperm count
• Deepening of the voice
• Liver damage
• Impaired sperm production
• Aggression (Roid Rage)
• Cardiovascular disease

Many other health conditions are also reported from unsupervised use of steroids so you have to be very careful.

First things first, not everyone that uses anabolic steroids will face hair loss. It seems that only people who are genetically predisposed to Male Pattern Baldness will notice an increased level of hair loss. If you are not genetically predestined to lose your hair, you are likely safe from this ordeal.

The cause of accelerated pattern baldness is due to the increased of the male hormones DHT and Testosterone in your body. Your body’s enzyme converts testosterone into DihydroTestosterone (DHT) a highly potent form of testosterone. In some males, a large portion of the hair in the front and top are very sensitive to this hormone and once the hormones bind with androgen receptors at the hair follicles, it causes the follicles to cease growing and eventually die.

Women are not spared too, high levels of testosterone in their bodies will also trigger diffuse thinning all over the scalp because most of the women’s hair follicles are much more sensitive to the male hormone. The situation can be much worse if they are using potent anabolic steroids with harsher androgenic effects.

Get Huge

For many reasons, building muscle is vital to the health of your body. It will improve your physical appearance, make you stronger and have great health benefits as you get older. It can be quite enjoyable, as well. 

Eat meat to help build up your muscles. Try to eat at least one gram of protein-rich meat for each pound on your body. This will help you store more protein, and the more protein you have, the more your muscles will grow.

Keep the “big three” exercises in mind when developing your routine. This refers to bench presses, dead lifts and squats, all of which are common exercises for building bulk. These exercises simultaneously increase both muscle mass and strength. Make these exercises a part of your weekly routine.

Don’t keep your routine the same all the time. As you repeat any particular workout routine, it could become boring, which can prevent you from working out. Arrange your workout to concentrate on different exercises to work different specific muscle groups each time you visit the gym. Having a new workout to look forward to each time you go to the gym makes it more likely that you will stick with your bodybuilding program.

Though they get a bad rap, carbohydrates are an essential part of exercise nutrition. Carbs provide fuel for your body, giving it the energy to complete your daily routine. If you are training extensively, you must be sure to consume about two to three grams of carbs for each pound of body weight, on a daily basis.

In each workout, train the opposing muscles. For example, work out your chest and back together, and your hamstrings and quads together. By doing this, one muscle can relax as another one works. The result is increasing your workout intensity by limiting the time you need to spend at the gym.

If you want to build muscle mass, your body must be properly hydrated. If you’re not drinking enough water, you could injure your muscles or yourself. Additionally, hydration plays a role in increasing and maintaining muscle mass, so it is important for several reasons.

Short terms goals are important, but make sure they are realistic. Trying to lift too much too fast is a surefire way to sink your long-term goals and cause your body injury. Once you determine your starting strength, try to improve just a little bit each time you workout. You may surprise yourself and improve over the goal you set for yourself. This can act as encouragement, helping you to remain positive about your future rate of success.

When you are trying to build muscle, make sure your diet is full of whole, fresh foods. Do not eat processed foods that are full of preservatives and artificial ingredients, which can lead to impairment of your immune system and make you sick. By consuming the healthiest of foods, your immune system and muscle focus will be much improved.

You may want to mix up the grip you use on your back. When doing deadlifts or rack pulls, use mixed or staged grips, if you want to attain more strength. Using this staggered grip allows you to twist the bar in one direction while your other hand twists in the opposite direction. Using these grips will prevent rolling of the bar in your hands.

A well-balanced exercise routine must include a cardio portion. At first, it may seem counterproductive to do cardio when focusing on strength training, but it’s better to incorporate some cardio into your routine, as it promotes heart health. Working out about 1 hour per week, divided into 3 sessions is a good way to keep your heart healthy and ready to support your muscle development goals.

When you lift weights, your technique has more importance than how much weight you lift, how quickly you do the sets or how often you do them. Each exercise needs to be practiced and mastered. Perfecting one’s form early on with light weights is best, and when more weight is added later, the benefits are maximized.

Always do 10 minutes of stretching prior to lifting weights. You’ll be less likely to get injured lifting heavy weights if you warm up first. An additional advantage of preventing injuries is that you can spend more time working out instead of recovering.

If you are starting out in bodybuilding, perfect your form before going for power. If you allow your form to be off, it will compromise your workout. The result will be increased vulnerability to injuries, and that is not something you should allow to happen.

Make sure to stretch before exercising. You get two benefits from stretching consistently. Stretching helps prevent soreness so you do not lose time in the gym. Doing stretches regularly will improve your flexibility, which will help you move more freely during your muscle-building workout.

If you ever feel like you are in pain, stop your workout immediately. While you may be tempted to push your body to its limits so that you can build more muscle, your muscles and tendons can be damaged easily, and you shouldn’t take the risk. If you feel any pain or are sore, take some time off, allowing your body to regain its strength.

Meat For Your Muscles

                 Older men need to eat more meat to slow muscle loss.

Older men may not be eating enough beef. In a study of 35 men, all around 60 years old, it was found that bigger servings of beef – six ounces rather than the USDA's recommended three – helped most to slow muscle loss caused by lower testosterone, inactivity, and a diet too low in protein. "Men and women in their fifth decade of life begin to lose muscle mass," says lead author Stuart Phillips. "But you can almost reverse it by doing enough resistance training and eating enough protein." To test just how much protein is needed for aging men, researchers at the Exercise Metabolism Research Group at Canada's McMaster University gave five groups a weightlifting regimen and served them varying portions of lean ground beef. By measuring amino acids in the blood (needed to repair or form new muscle), they found that the biggest serving of beef was best for muscle synthesis.