Exercise scientist Dr. Mike Israetel dives into the risks and reasoning behind using performance-enhancing drugs. In his latest YouTube video, shared on November 26, 2024, he offers insights into why some choose steroids and the potential dangers involved.
Steroids have become a controversial option for many, especially athletes. While some sports such as baseball, football, and basketball have banned their use in competitions, other disciplines, such as bodybuilding and powerlifting, have long incorporated them to maximize strength, muscle building, and body composition.
These compounds come with inherent risks, but sometimes the potential benefits are just as substantial. This has led physiologist Dr. Mike Israetel to offer his unfiltered opinion on their use, applications, and hidden risks.
Exercise Scientist Reveals Steroid Risks and When Their Use Is Justified
To take them or not to take them? That is the question. And Dr. Israetel has the answers below:
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Reasons to use Steroids
Some valid reasons for using steroids include wanting to be an IFBB Pro bodybuilder, a professional powerlifter, or a strongman athlete. He cautions that individuals shouldn’t pursue this route unless they are over the age of 25.
“Reason number one: you’re interested in becoming an IFBB Professional bodybuilder or a professional powerlifter, strongman, etc.
You’re already over 25 years old when the brain is mostly done maturing on a macro scale. Taking steroids before that is real dumb because it fucks up your brain.”
Dr. Israetel adds that if you’re over 30 and have trained drug-free for over a decade, looking into steroids might be worth the gamble.
“There’s another reason why you could use steroids, you’re in your thirties or later. You’ve been training drug-free for over a decade.
At this point, by this point, because you’ve been training a long time and you’re older, your gains have come to a very slow crawl even as you put more effort into the training, eating, and recovery, you’re barely getting a few pounds of muscle here and there for a few years but you really care about progressing your physique.”
Reasons Not to Use Steroids
If you’re making natural gains without PEDs and have been training for less than 10 years, Dr. Israetel doesn’t recommend using them.
“If you’re younger than your thirties or if you haven’t been training for 10 years hard sequentially yet, or especially if you’re still making strong steady natural gains — if that’s the case, what are you doing? You’re just asking for side effects at that point.”
One of the biggest reasons not to use steroids is the risk of random cardiovascular death, which lingers for a lifetime.
“What downsides am I talking about? Oh boy. Health risks. Random cardiovascular disease death, people that have used steroids are much more likely to get a random stroke, or an aneurysm or a heart attack, for the rest of their lives by the way, that’s fun.”
He adds that steroids age you faster and reduce longevity. Some cosmetic risks include hair loss, body hair growth, and severe acne, though using these compounds doesn’t always guarantee these side effects.
“Steroids age you faster so they do reduce your longevity 100 percent. There are cosmetic risks. And I mean risks and not costs because you might not get these but you might get them and if you get them severely, they are really annoying. Risks like hair loss,” he shares. “Body hair growth as you can see I’m a walking advertisement for that.”
“Gnarly acne, some people get no hair loss, no body hair growth, and no gnarly acne. Some people get all three and everything in between,” he adds.
Is Steroid Use Worth It?
Bottom line: Is steroid use worth it? Dr. Israetel says, ‘Almost all people should reconsider drug use.’
“Almost all people should reconsider drug use if they’ve been interested because it’s probably not the thing for you, especially if your natty gains are still coming,” he shared. “Steroids aren’t these super modern advanced drugs. Most were invented up and around the 1960s,”
Staying natural means fewer downsides and Dr. Israetel doesn’t understate its ‘cost-to-benefit ratio.’
“Your cost-to-benefit ratio for steroid use, it just really tilts in the direction of costs and the benefits is like more of the same of what you’ve already been getting but with almost no downsides. Now you pay huge downsides for a little bit more, maybe even if it’s a lot more, there’s serious downsides.”
Although steroid risks certainly exist, some bodybuilders believe they can be used effectively with minimal harm. Former two-time Classic Physique Olympia Breon Ansley argues that these compounds can be taken safely and can even help athletes remain healthier.
If you’re considering steroid use, approach it with caution. Dr. Israetel acknowledges that there are situations where it makes sense, but for most people, avoiding them might be the best option if longevity is a concern.
RELATED: Phil Heath Discusses the Dark Side of Bodybuilding, Talks Young People Using Steroids
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