The Benefits of Performance Enhancing Drugs
There’s a reason athletes use performance enhancing drugs. They may have a lot of side effects, but they also have a lot of benefits. These benefits allow athletes to play better, keeping their careers going and keeping them employed. With the pressures on athletes to perform, performance enhancing drugs have been a way for them to keep up with the competition. Since their livelihood depends on performance, it’s not a surprise that players take advantage of the benefits of performance enhancing drugs.
Types
There are four types of performance enhancing drugs. These types include stimulants, steroids, human growth hormone and erythropoietin. Stimulants increase energy levels so athletes can work out harder. They can also help athletes lose weight. Steroids and human growth hormones work to increase muscle mass. Erythropoietin increases the red blood cells' capacity for carrying oxygen.
- There are four types of performance enhancing drugs.
- Stimulants increase energy levels so athletes can work out harder.
Benefits
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Performance enhancing drugs help the body build muscle faster. This makes the person stronger with less effort. Some performance enhancing drugs increase muscle mass. Performance enhancing drugs give athletes more energy and increase endurance. Overall, these effects give athletes an advantage over their competitors and allow them to perform beyond their potential without the drugs.
- Performance enhancing drugs help the body build muscle faster.
- Performance enhancing drugs give athletes more energy and increase endurance.
Features
Performance enhancing drugs come in many forms. Some are available in pill form. Other performance enhancing drugs such as steroids are injections. Some athletes use steroids as topical creams that the body absorbs. Blood doping includes blood transfusions that help increase oxygen-carrying capacities.
- Performance enhancing drugs come in many forms.
- Other performance enhancing drugs such as steroids are injections.
Considerations
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After stopping performance enhancing drugs, the body will lose muscle and power quickly. Other side effects include fatigue, withdrawals, increase in body fat, loose and sagging skin and mental problems.
Warning
While performance enhancing drugs have many benefits, there are also issues with overdose. Athletes thinking to increase the dose of substances beyond recommended doses need to consider that the benefits may not increase with the dosage, and that the listed side effects are more likely to occur. Overdose is also possible. Recommended dosage is the optimum dose for athletic benefit.
- While performance enhancing drugs have many benefits, there are also issues with overdose.
Significance
While drug tests are mandatory for most sports, there are still a large number of athletes who continue to use performance enhancing drugs. For them, the benefits of performance enhancing drugs outweigh the risks of getting caught.
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References
- Performance Enhancing Drugs - Physician Guide
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Writer Bio
Katie Duzan is an accomplished writer who lives in Cary, N.C. She has been a writer since 2006. She has published a variety of articles on websites such as Overstock.com. Duzan holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration and computer information systems from the University of Arkansas, and currently attends the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where she is pursuing her Master of Arts in special education.