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In April 2009 I had a Radio Interview with Ray Clark from the BBC Essex Morning Breakfast Show. In relation to a death of a young male using anabolic steroids to bulk up for his marine career

What are anabolic steroids?
Your body naturally produces steroids to enable growth & helps to lower bodily stress; however Anabolic steroids are related to the hormone testosterone. Anabolic Steroids increase protein synthesis, as protein is a major component in muscle cells it therefore increases muscle size.

• Steroids can be known as roids, juice, stackers etc
• They can come as creams, gels, pills or even injections, most commonly in fitness environments they would come in pill or injection form
• Anabolic Steroids can be used in medicine to aid bone growth, appetite, and treat muscle wastage especially within cancer patients. 
• Anabolic steroids are banned by all major sporting bodies.
• Serious damaging health risks can be produced by the usage of anabolic steroids for example;
• acne
• High Cholesterol levels
• Liver problems
• Corony heart disease
• High Blood pressure

Signs for steroid users
Aggression, acne, excessive hair gain etc.

You work in the industry and promote a healthy, drug free lifestyle....but do you have concerns about this teen age group ?

I do, I’ve had firsthand experience of this, at a young age. Gaining muscle between the ages of 14 to 17 was my main focus, I had little interest in anything else other than gaining muscle weight, which became very obsessive & took over my life.

Teenagers and young male adults especially are dis allusioned by what the ideal body shape is? Magazines, computer games, tv commercials, certain sports and fitness companies over exaggerate how we are supposed to look and feel, most young gym goers will dream of being like their hero on the front cover of their favourite magazine, however the majority of the time that individual on the front cover has taken drastic measures to achieve such a body shape.

Including

• Dieting for weeks upon end, draining water & fat from the body to an unsustainable risky level. In some cases below the 4% body fat
• Have trained in some cases in excess of 6 to 10 times per week and have an intense training and diet plan.
• Have pumped up with weights prior to the photo shoot to give the vain & more defined look.
• Can have spray tans and lighting to influence their look and also have their muscles outlined with makeup.
• All of this is done to sell products to young naive teenagers and young men; it gives them false hope and draws them in to a state of insecurity

Is there peer pressure within the body building community?
Yes, I’d say many people are aware there is such peer pressure especially in gyms and I feel such peer pressure is an understatement.

Many young new to the gym teenagers want results now and are determined to do whatever it takes to be like the guy who is 5 stone heavier than they are, but sometimes these teenagers are trapped into thinking they must train everyday and take every drug or magic powder in site to achieve such results.

It’s by years of hard work, dedication to regular routines, measuring progression with the muscular weight training, having a good tailored diet plan and ensuring you have plenty of rest, sleep, lack of stress which influences muscle size and growth.
There is never a day which goes by I don’t hear any of the following comments

• He’s stacked
• I want to get massive like................
• How do get a bigger chest?
• How can I get ripped like.....................?
• What Supplements do I take to be like?

It’s as if people are fixated on being like someone else and not accepting who they are.
Unfortunately for some there are deciding factors which influence how they look.

• Genetics
• Your general frame? Tall and slim or short and stocky
• How your body retains fat
• How well your body maintains muscle
• Hormones

What about advertising, picture perfect, toned bodies?
I feel that most of the advertising done in the fitness industry is promoting false hope. People often or not want what they see, they just don’t know of the leg work gone into achieving such a perfect figure.

• 90% of the nation cannot train twice per day everyday like most models
• Most of the nation cannot stick to a strict diet and rest routine
• Most of the nation don’t get paid to look after they’re figures 24/7.
• Many perfect body pictures are cropped and edited by experts to hide flaws
• Often or not companies will promote a product with someone saying they have had great results from using such a product, yet they’ve never used it in their life.

I always say to my clients don’t fixate on the scales, or being like your ideal celebrity, set small simple goals and work towards them each day, then it doesn’t become a huge daunting task.

You have a good friend who’s a UK champion in body building so ultimately it can be a great way to stay fit and healthy?

Yes and he dedicates his whole life to the gym and diet, in season he has 8 meals per day with 5 different supplements, protein powders, weight training 2 per day 5 times per week with good sleep and rest intervals with light morning cardiovascular sessions. He works very little and that’s what he pretty much does, for most people this would bore the living daylights out of them, yet this is a way of life for him.

I know of many amateur natural bodybuilders, they have an on and off season, as they know they couldn’t maintain their perfect figure all year round due to the health risks involved, also it can be a very expensive game, when I was modelling for a sportswear company, I once spent over £500 in one month on food and supplements, which is a mortgage payment for some people.

Bodybuilding can be a great part of anyone’s life, it helps to keep fit and strong and in women especially it helps to offset osteoporosis. Muscle building in my eyes is a perfect way to keep fit as it helps to boost the metabolic rate and in turn increases fat burning!

For if you have any fitness related questions please email me.

Thank you for reading

 

Gavin Townsend

www.GTPT.co.uk

 

If you have any comments or queries do not hesitate to contact me via our online form.

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