In the twentieth century, doping increased as sports became more popular, competition became more intense, and medical science created more powerful substances. . Anabolic steroids were first developed in the 1930s for medical use. These compounds, which may be either natural or synthetically produced by humans, are made up of body substances called hormones. They may be taken in pill, powder, or liquid form. Many athletes inject liquid steroids with syringes.
Testosterone, the hormone that increases a user's male characteristics, promotes muscle growth by increasing the amount of protein delivered to muscle cells. This infusion of protein greatly aids the rebuilding and recovery process that follows a strenuous workout. It enables an athlete to regain strength quickly and tackle his or her next workout sooner and in much better condition. When the cycle is repeated many times, a steroid user can develop incredible levels of strength and endurance. (Encyclopedia article, 2004)
Anabolic steroids containing testosterone became the substance of choice for many athletes of both sexes, particularly those who participated in track and field and swimming, which require months of intense and exhausting training. Athletes in the Soviet Union and other communist nations used steroids with great frequency in the 1950s and 1960s. At that time, neither the Olympic Games nor other international competitions had drug-testing programs.
Their record-breaking performances startled observers and gave rise to one of the enduring stereotypes of the cold war era: communist athletes as joyless, muscle-bound automatons who won medals simply as if they were putting in a day's work in a factory, doing their patriotic duty to demonstrate the superiority of their economic system over capitalism. (Unuma, Tatsuya Yamamoto, Takeshi Akiyama, Toshio, 1999)
If someone told you that they could give you a pill or some juice that would make you better at your........
