Many people play different sports for the pleasure and fun involved in the sports but for professional athletes winning is everything. Athletes are the epitome of professionalism and dedication as they spend years in training to achieve their goals. Commitment, dedication and the sheer joy of winning drives them to practice hard every day. Athletes also have to pay particular attention to their food habits and practice sessions so as to consistently improve their performance. By using anabolic steroids athletes may be tempted to seek a shortcut to consistent performance.

Using steroids may help athletes to improve their performance but such a use goes against the principles of fair competition. Consistent use of steroids can also cause much harm to the body. For this reason use of steroids is banned in all sports. Use of anabolic steroids has continued to haunt professional sports competitions and almost every competition requires athletes to undergo routine tests for detection of steroids. With anabolic steroids athletes may hope to win a competition but it can put an end to their career.

Using anabolic steroids athletes may win but if they test positive to the steroids then not only would the victory be taken away but they may also be banned for a certain period of time by the sports authorities. With anabolic steroids athletes are not able to show their real capability in the field of competition and so anabolic steroids are banned.

Anabolic steroids are basically synthetic derivations of testosterone which is a male hormone. Using these can result in better performance but these can have long term effects on the body. With anabolic steroids athletes can gain 2 to 5 kg weight and there can be around 5 to 20% increase in the strength. The athletes taking anabolic steroids report increase in muscle mass, endurance and strength. However these steroids do not necessarily enhance performance or improve agility.

The other problematic effects of these drugs include increased aggression, problem of acne vulgaris and increased growth of body hair. Anabolic steroids also result in increased risk of cardiovascular diseases and cholesterol problems.

As the anabolic steroids mimic body building effects of testosterone these can help in enhancement of performance. Several types of steroids are used that include combinations of different androgenic and anabolic properties. The committee organizing Olympics has placed around 17 anabolic steroids and other related compounds on the banned list.

Using anabolic steroids athletes also claim that they can achieve faster recovery after injuries but no research has proved this up till now. Athletes taking steroids use them in cycles of several weeks and then stop taking them believing that such cycles will prevent detection of the steroids in the blood and urine tests. Athletes taking steroids should keep in mind some other dangerous effects of steroids which include impotence, reduced sperm count, shrinking of testicles and enlarged prostrate along with development of breasts.

Long term use of steroids can also cause addiction and classic symptoms of addiction including cravings and difficulty in ceasing of the steroids along with withdrawal symptoms.