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hay all i got a mate who is in the Royal Green Jackets, and i just found out he has been useing steroids, only the pills but he says he is starting the injections soon, will he be caught out on a CDT because i think he is throwing his lifa away, and looking for some advise, should i inform some1 in his battalion??

para001 wrote:hay all i got a mate who is in the Royal Green Jackets, and i just found out he has been useing steroids, only the pills but he says he is starting the injections soon, will he be caught out on a CDT because i think he is throwing his lifa away, and looking for some advise, should i inform some1 in his battalion??

para001

Tell you mate to get a life! There is no need to take steroids just take up a balanced exercise programme of CV and weights. If he is trying to gain weight to build his upper body then stick to protien or creatine supplements either of these are natural and I think acceptable - If he is found injecting steroids he'll be in real trouble.

Interesting point about building muscle - An ex SAS bloke I who used to know on this site used to say about the US elite units they might be "full of muscles" but give them a big rucksack and a 100 mile tab and they would never do it!

Tell him to do some research into it and he will realise it's not worth throwing his career away and damaging his body at the same time.

If he's going to look for shortcuts in things such as fitness when joining the military...maybe the military isn't for him.

Set him straight..

MrC wrote:If he's going to look for shortcuts in things such as fitness when joining the military...maybe the military isn't for him.

Set him straight..

I'd love to see what a PTI like Sandy would do if he saw him shooting up inside the barracks... man he'd spend the rest of the time running around with a shell about his head LOL

mfat_man wrote:

MrC wrote:If he's going to look for shortcuts in things such as fitness when joining the military...maybe the military isn't for him.

Set him straight..

I'd love to see what a PTI like Sandy would do if he saw him shooting up inside the barracks... man he'd spend the rest of the time running around with a shell about his head LOL

Shoved up his backside morelike...

Sonne

Steroids won't do him much good, besides the obvious health risks, they build "un-natural" muscle, you can always spot someone on steroids as they just have an odd build

Also because the muscle growns so quick you don't have enough time to develope the muscle fibers which are the key to endurance hence why you see huge guys in the gym who are no where near as impressive doing real world tasks. Obviously I'm not talking about the kind of steroids athletes take but I'm assuming your friend is using the run of the mill stuff you'd get down most gyms as the "real stuff" the athletes use would be well to expensive.

He'll bulk up far quicker than his body can cope with so this will effect his cardio fitness as he'll suddenly find himself lugging round a few extra stone without having the time to get used to carrying it around, I suppose a rather simplified example would be putting on a bergan weighing 2 stone then trying to do your normal fitness routine.

Also if he stops taking them all he has gained in size and strength will disapear as a lot of the size benefits come from water retention in the muscles.

he aint listening to a word on any advise im givein him, but will it affect him if he gets caught out on a CDT, i hered they dont test for steroids and if they do u get another chance anyway but he said he aint gonna stop no matter wot

Just tell him he'll get stretch marks as a result of unnatural muscle growth....

Now, pretty please with sugar and cream on top, do something about your spelling...

I have done some searching and as far as I can tell, any soldier who is found to test positive on a CDT will face detention time followed by a discharge, and that includes performance enhancing drugs (including Steroids).

Oral anabolic steroids are often just as dangerous to a persons health as injectables, often more so. This is because oral steroids contain C-17 alpha alkylated which is incredibly toxic to the liver. This is found in extremely high quantities in Anadrol (Oxymetholone), which is the only anabolic steroid to be conclusively linked with liver cancer.

Clearly the risks with injectables mostly revolve around the hygiene aspect of use (storage of needles, injecting drills etc). However steroids also pose a risk when taken in larger doses, users often believe that more is better. However once you understand how Steroids work you will see how these risks can be minimised.

Anabolic steroids are basically man made versions of the hormone testosterone. There are two components to steroids, the androgenic effects and the anabolic effects; androgenic effects are masculine effects such as deepening of the voice and hair growth and are quite often contributors to the side effects. The anabolic effects include muscle and tissue growth. So far science has been unable to produce steroids which separate these two components, hence the acronym of AAS.

Steroid molecules, upon entry to the body, travel around the blood stream looking for receptor sites to latch onto. There are many of these receptor sites around the body including muscle cells and hair cells (the latter can sometimes causes an increase in facial hair but a shut down in the bodies process of growing hair on the head). Three things can happen when Steroid molecules attach themselves to muscle cells:

1) If the user is on a high calorie diet and train regularly, muscle tissue can be built faster because more protein can be used by the body's muscles.
2) More muscle fuel can be stored in the muscles (similar in effect to creatine), making more energy available to work.
3) An increase of red blood cells in the body enables more oxygen to be delivered to the muscles whilst training which improves the endurance ability of the muscles

The main problems then occur if there are too many Steroid molecules with not enough receptor sites. Through a process called Aromatisation, excess testosterone gets converted to oestrogen which often leads to gynaecomastia (bitch tits) amongst others. Before aromatisation occurs, damage is done to the liver and kidneys by the excess molecules.

Side effects can be reduced by the use of anti oestrogen drugs as well as modest doses and plenty of proper planning of cycles with sufficient rest time between them.

Do remember however that they are prohibited in the armed forces and moreover, whilst possession in the UK is legal, distribution and selling is not. This fact means that to obtain AAS, a person must deal with a criminal which could leave him open to blackmail or violence, as well as a breach of the persons integrity. Not to mention that dealers rarely just deal in one substance and the drug trade is a worldwide franchise, which to cut a long story short, could mean that the money your friend spends on his AAS could be used to fund the rounds that are potentially fired at him and his oppos in future operations. Remember those lessons in school where you learnt that drugs are very rarely pure, but often "cut" with other substances such as brick dust and rat poison? Well the same sometimes applies for AAS.

Also because the muscle grows so quick you don't have enough time to develop the muscle fibers which are the key to endurance hence why you see huge guys in the gym who are no where near as impressive doing real world tasks.

The first part of this quote doesn’t make sense I'm afraid, you can't have muscles without muscle fibres. I think what you are trying to get at is that bodybuilders are usually unable to bash out large numbers of press ups etc. Don't forget that this then attributed to training specificity, bodybuilders, by definition wish to add muscle and sculpt their bodies, often with the intention of getting on stage to compete. During these competitions weights are not required to be lifted; therefore bodybuilders are bad example to use. Steroid use is often synonymous with bodybuilders which is not always the case.

Don't fall into the trap of believing that "steroids are bad" or that the use of performance enhancing drugs are "cheating" without first understanding the science behind them. Don't forget that other ergogenic aids such as creatine, hyper/hypo/isotonic drinks and even multi-vitamins could be considered "performance enhancing". Unfortunately in the world of drugs, sports and ethics, nothing is ever black and white and I am glad that I am not an anti-doping officer.

Wow, long post.......

So to summerise; AAS use in the armed forces is prohibited and detention time followed by discharge if caught is likely.

Cheers

Wowza. You get an A+, mate.

One hell of a response.

Cool post

"I have done some searching and as far as I can tell, any soldier who is found to test positive on a CDT will face detention time followed by a discharge, and that includes performance enhancing drugs (including Steroids).

Oral anabolic steroids are often just as dangerous to a persons health as injectables, often more so. This is because oral steroids contain C-17 alpha alkylated which is incredibly toxic to the liver. This is found in extremely high quantities in Anadrol (Oxymetholone), which is the only anabolic steroid to be conclusively linked with liver cancer"

Why oh why would someone take a risk like this with their army career just for some bulges in places they will never need

The guy should stick to some protein or creatine rather than injecting (hite into their body

Spence wrote:

Also because the muscle grows so quick you don't have enough time to develop the muscle fibers which are the key to endurance hence why you see huge guys in the gym who are no where near as impressive doing real world tasks.

The first part of this quote doesn’t make sense I'm afraid, you can't have muscles without muscle fibres. I think what you are trying to get at is that bodybuilders are usually unable to bash out large numbers of press ups etc. Cheers

Yeah I don't think I explained it right, basically I learnt about if from a documentary on TV, basically what they were saying was muscle size and muscle density don't always go hand in hand ie; some one may have bigger biceps than you but it doesn't mean they're stronger.

They found that it was the density of muscle fiber that was the over riding factor in determining strength and endurance and a lot of the quick gains of steroids (the ones people are likely to use, high end ones used by athletes are a different story) are from water retention within the muscle.

Hope this explains it better but I'm not sure it does

That's the problem with relating something you've heard from someone who's a LOT more intelligent than you, I know what he meant in my head just can't explain it like that professor did!

Yes I see what you are saying Alfa, and to be honest I understood where you were coming from before, I was just being a git

One of the side effects of AAS use is sodium and water retention, an action similar to creatine supplimentation. Cell volumisation occurs when water is stored in the body and is actually a sign of anabolism and still occurs without AAS or Creatine use.

Basically para001, your friend wants to take these suppliments and although you are worried about his health and his career, he is intent on continuing. the best thing you can do is ensure he get professional advice so that his use is as safe as possible. His desire to use may stem from a psychological problem such as muscle dysmorphia, or just simply the desire to be the best he can be. Whatever the reason, you as a friend needs to make sure he is being as safe as possible, pointing him in the direction of professional advice, and try to understand his motivation.

Keep us posted mate.
Spence