Steroids

Last night, August 7, 2007, Barry Bonds hit homer 756 taking the sole position of All-Time Home Run King. Although I would like to congratulate him on this wonderful accomplishment, many serious issues have been raised over his alleged use of Anabolic Steroids; thus, one of the greatest American sports records has been severely blemished. I for one would like to state that I am totally apposed to any non-medical use of these drugs, and hopefully these reasons will help you understand my stance on this controversial issue.

There are certainly serious health issues that arise from the illegal use of steroids, yet this is not my main problem with these drugs. For me, lifting is an activity in my life that I find great pride in. I find joy each time I am able to squeeze out an extra rep than I did the time before or every time I am able to increase my sets by even 5 pounds because of the feat I have accomplished. Putting up big weights isn't something that anyone can do right away, but this takes many hard days, weeks, months, and years of training to achieve. When I meet someone who is able to bench or squat more than I can, I am greatly impressed by the amount of time and effort they have put into lifting, and I personally strive to someday be as strong and hardworking as they are. However, whenever I hear of lifters who have used steroids, even if they are still no where near my strength, it saddens me because they are taking the easy way out of hard work and cheating themselves to the top. One can not truly take pride in an accomplishment, unless they have struggled to achieve it. Lifting weights is the same as anything else in that respect; therefore, I have little respect for anyone who uses steroids.

Even if taking pride in your body and weight training was not an issue, many obvious health issues still surround the illegal use of anabolic steroids. They lead to increased blood pressure, harmful cholesterol levels, cardiovascular disease, coronary artery disease, acne, baldness, high estrogen levels, decreased testicle size, infertility, ALTERATION OF YOUR HEART STRUCTURE, heart attacks, hypertension, cardiac arrhythmias, and DEATH. To some, these risks might be worth it. If they are for you, I sincerely urge you to rethink your priorities in life. Premature death shouldn't be a good tradeoff for big muscles (with acne and baldness) when having big muscles can be obtained by everyone through hard work and dedication to a weightlifting program for an extended period of time.