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Building Mass and Strength Mass- and strength-enhancing drugs used by athletes include: Anabolic steroids Beta-2 agonists Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) Luteinizing hormone (LH) Human growth hormone (hGH) Insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) Insulin

A steroid is a chemical substance derived from cholesterol.

he body has several major steroid hormones -- cortisol and testosterone in the male, estrogen and progesterone in the female. Catabolic steroids break down tissue, and anabolic steroids build up tissue. Anabolic steroids build muscle and bone mass primarily by stimulating the muscle and bone cells to make new protein.

Athletes use anabolic steroids because they increase muscle strength by encouraging new muscle growth. Anabolic steroids are similar in structure to the male sex hormone, testosterone, so they enhance male reproductive and secondary sex characteristics (testicle development, hair growth, thickening of the vocal cords). They allow the athlete to train harder and longer at any given period.

Anabolic steroids are mostly testosterone (male sex hormone) and its derivatives. Examples of anabolic steroids include: Testosterone Dihydrotestosterone Androstenedione (Andro) Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) Clostebol Nandrolone

hese substances can be injected or taken as pills. Anabolic steroids have a number of possible and well-known side effects, including: Jaundice and liver damage because these substances are normally broken down in the liver Mood swings, depression and aggression because they act on various centers of the brain In males, the excessive concentrations interfere with normal sexual function and cause: Baldness Infertility Breast development

In females, the excessive concentrations cause male characteristics to develop and interfere with normal female functions. The drugs can: Stimulate hair growth on the face and body Suppress or interfere with menstrual cycle, possibly leading to infertility Thicken the vocal cords, which causes the voice to deepen, possibly permanently If pregnant, interfere with the developing fetus

Unfortunately, sometimes so are steroids. For decades, athletes have used anabolic (meaning muscle-building) steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs to build strength and endurance. And those drugs are getting more and more sophisticated in an effort to evade detection. Doping, as the practice is called, is illegal and, by most people's standards, unethical. Athletes who have been caught using these drugs have been stripped of their Olympic medals and world records and banned from their sports, sometimes for years, and on occasions for a lifetime.

"There are rights and wrongs in life, and if it's against the rules, it's cheating to do it," says Wiese-Bjornstal. "I love sports, but some athletes treat elite sports as if they are life itself, more important than their health, their loved ones, and even their lives."

In addition, steroids mess with your body. Potential side effects include high blood pressure, strokes, nausea, sleep problems, increased aggressiveness, and severe mood swings. In men, steroids can reduce sperm count and cause impotence, breast growth, and shrunken testicles. In women, side effects can include reduced breast size, increased body and facial hair, a deepened voice, and menstrual problems.

With the risks and consequences of steroid use so high, why do some athletes continue to dope?

"The major underlying factor [with steroids use] is that winning at all costs is the most important thing," says Diane Wiese-Bjornstal, associate professor in the School of Kinesiology.

She says that athletes that use steroids often have the mindset that "they are demonstrating that they are as highly committed to their sport as they can be and are doing whatever it takes to prove to themselves, their coaches, and to the world that they are true athletes who will do anything to win."

From a moral and ethical framework, Wiese-Bjornstal believes this is twisted thinking. "There are rights and wrongs in life, and if it's against the rules, it's cheating to do it," she says. "I love sports, but some athletes treat elite sports as if they are life itself, more important than their health, their loved ones, and even their lives."

She also says there is pressure to dope because of the belief that everyone else is doing it, and that if an athlete wants to compete at the highest level, she or he has to do it, too.

Nancy Cullen, a sports psychology consultant for the University, says the temptation to use steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs simply comes down to the rigors and pressure of elite competition and the desire to win. She cites an alarming poll taken in 1995 of 198 sprinters, swimmers, power lifters and others, most of whom were Olympians or aspiring Olympians. The poll asked if the athletes would take a banned performance-enhancing substance if they knew if would help them win and they wouldn't be caught--195 responded, yes.

Most athletes train for perfection," says Cullen. "The drive to achieve and win is so strong. If the difference between winning or losing is a hundredth of a second, and there is a drug that might give you the edge, the temptation can be great."

For some Olympic events, steroid scandals have cast a pall over the games, leaving viewers to wonder after each win, "Did he take drugs? Did she?"

Both Wiese-Bjornstal and Cullen agree that education, beginning with young athletes, is important in the fight against steroid use, as are drug testing and stiffer penalties for those who are caught. They also believe that coaches and parents play an important role in supporting the healthy ambitions of developing athletes.

"It's important to teach athletes to know what the consequences are and to learn other training practices that are legal and don't involve taking drugs," says Cullen. "Strive to win, strive for perfection, but do it within the rules of the game."

Another method for improving oxygen concentration is blood doping -- infusing whole blood into an athlete. An athlete who infuses his own blood may cause infection or cardiovascular problems because of the increased blood volume (high blood pressure, blood clots, heart failure and stroke). An athlete who uses someone else's blood runs the risk of acquiring viral infections such as HIV/AIDS. These are huge risks for a result that can also be achieved by training at high altitudes.

In addition to taking drugs that build mass and strength, some athletes take drugs and engage in practices that increase the amount of oxygen in tissues. Endurance athletes, like cyclists or cross-country skiers, may use Erythropoietin (EPO). EPO can increase an athlete's oxygen supply by as much as seven to 10 percent. As mentioned earlier, EPO is extremely dangerous, if not deadly in some cases. The increased red cell density caused by EPO can thicken the blood. The thickened blood -- which is more like honey than water -- cannot flow through the blood vessels well. To pump the thickened blood, the heart must work harder. This increases the chances of heart attack and stroke.

Athletes looking to build mass may also abuse Human Growth Hormone (hGH). Excessive hGH levels increase muscle mass by stimulating protein synthesis, strengthen bones by stimulating bone growth and reduce body fat by stimulating the breakdown of fat cells. Use of hGH has become increasingly popular because it is difficult to detect. Side effects include overgrowth of hands, feet, and face (known as acromegaly), enlarged internal organs, especially heart, kidneys, tongue and liver and heart problems.

Athletes use anabolic steroids to increase muscle strength. Anabolic steroids, which can be injected or taken as pills, allow the athlete to train harder and longer at any given period. The possible and well-known side effects of anabolic steroid use include jaundice and liver damage, mood swings, depression and aggression. Men may also suffer from baldness, infertility and breast development. Females may grow excessive hair on the face and body and suffer from infertility. The substances Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG), Luteinizing Hormone (LH) may also produce the same side effects.

A recent study by McLean Hospital researchers has found widespread abuse of steroids and the use of other performance-enhancing drugs in many women bodybuilders. In addition, the study also found that many women bodybuilders suffer from eating disorders and other body image disorders.

It's for this reason that the off-season is used to follow a training program to develop endurance, strength, speed, coordination, and agility. In order to be successful

Warm-up 5 to 10 minutes to increase blood flow and lubricate the joints.Flexibility exercises to slowly stretch muscles and tendons that cross and surround the joints.Strength development to increase muscular power and force.Endurance work to increase and maintain a high level of cardiovascular conditioning and interval workouts to increase speed and stamina.A cool-down period of 5 to 10 minutes after the exercise has finished to let the heart rate return to normal and facilitate the return of blood from the extremities.Post-exercise flexibility exercises of 5 to 10 minutes to prevent muscles from shortening.

The Warm-UpAll exercise should be preceded by a short warm-up period of 5 to 10 minutes. The purpose of this is to prepare your body for more strenuous activity to follow. An excellent warm-up is rope skipping with little or no resistance. Once your body starts to lightly perspire, you are probably sufficiently warmed up. Rope jumping will greatly increase the flow of blood to the muscle tissues and lubricate the joints. This allows you to bend, stretch, jump, and run to the maximum of your ability without fear of injury. Exercise without a proper warm-up is very taxing to the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints. Failure to warm-up may lead to injury. Flexibility: Stretching Exercises

Prepare to be a WinnerA high level of personal motivation is critical to the success of anything that you do in life. No matter how much or how little basketball talent you have, if you are motivated enough to follow the program set forth here, you will get in shape. Therefore, you will be better able to achieve your goals. All the many hours that you put into your conditioning program will eventually yield results. In the final minutes of a game when your team is desperately looking for someone to score, grab a rebound, or block a shot, it is you who will come through. Why? Because you are in shape and, even in the waning minutes when everyone else is tired, you can still perform at a high competitive level. With the base built from your preseason training program, you are the one who still has the mental toughness, the strength, the power, and the motivation to get the job done. Although you may never have all the tools to be the most talented basketball player, by working hard and following this preseason program, you will become a well conditioned athlete, able to maximize all your basketball talents. In the end this will enable you to come as close as possible to achieving your basketball dreams.

Methandrostenolone (Danabol) Stanazol(Winstrol) Oxandrolone(Oxadrin) Methyltestosterone (Android,Virilon,Testred) Oxymethyolone (Anadrol, Anapolon) Testosterone proprionate (Andriol, Climacteron, Androderm, Testex) Testosterone cypionate (Depo-testosterone, Duratest) Nandrolone (Deca-durabol)

Almost all steroid users do get some side effects. Some get bad acne. Some get headaches and nosebleeds.. Steroids can also stop bones from growing: if you're a teenager, you may never grow to your full height - and there's no second chance. Steroid use can also affect your hair growth and can cause premature baldness!

Steroids can contribute to high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels - the leading causes of heart disease, the number one killer in North America. Steroids have also been linked to kidney disease and liver disease or cancer. Men may have an increasing chance of developing prostate cancer later in life.

disputes that Qingdao is more polluted than other courses around the world.

"The water's not poison and it won't harm the athletes," he said.

He said the stomach problems experienced by athletes following previous races in Qingdao could be caused by a variety of factors, such as not being used to Chinese food.

The government has invested heavily to clean up Qingdao's water, he said, with new facilities moving sewage away from the coast and into the deep sea.

"Now you can see the bottom of the marina, before I couldn't see it," Qu said.

With the Olympics only a month away, athletes cannot risk falling sick and are taking few chances.

"You don't really want to go sailing around in pollution and I've never sailed in a place that's more polluted than this," said Australian coach Euan McNicol, a former skiff world champion.

The most shocking story is that of Australian sailor Elise Rechichi, who swallowed water when she slipped on a boat ramp during a test event here in 2006. It took her 10 months to recover from severe gastric trauma that had her in and out of hospital.

"It's made us all reasonably wary of what's going on,"

But for many Olympic sailors it's what they can't see in the water that is their greatest concern.

Boats, bulldozers and the military have been deployed to remove the eyesore.

On Saturday, officials briefly claimed victory over the algae saying the course had been cleared.

But Qu Chun, the 2008 Olympic sailing competition manager said the bloom has not been totally wiped out, estimating that 2-5 percent of the course was still affected, down from nearly a third a week earlier.

state athletic associations have rules as to how much time you can spend with your players in the off-season, so make sure you understand the rules first. The off-season is a good time to try to correct individual shooting technique and other fundamental errors.

he off-season is a good time to experiment with your players. If you have a few team camps and scrimmages, now is the time to try a player in a new role or a new position... for example, moving a player into the post, or a wing player to the point guard position, etc. The off-season is also a good time to try out a new offense or defense. But I wouldn't show all my favorite plays in scrimmages. Finally... let's go back to our first discussion point. Play a little golf, go fishing, take a family trip, etc. Enjoy the off-season!

Exercise Bike - 30-45 minutes. Jogging - 30 minutes. Stairmaster - 30 minutes. Aerobics Class - 30 minutes. Water Exercise - 30 minutes. Versa Climber - 30 minute