In the world of sports, many athletes make wise choices throughout their careers. They compete for the love of the sport itself. But others will do whatever it takes to win, even if it is unfair to other athletes. Performance-enhancing drugs have been used for decades to give athletes an extra edge over the competition. But while the use of performance-enhancing drugs can provide improved strength and focus, the drugs can also cause great pain and disgrace.
Types/Risk
There are several forms of performance-enhancing drugs, such as anabolic-androgenic steroids, peptide hormones and creatine. Creatine is more of a performance-enhancement supplement that can be mixed with anabolic-androgenic steroids. Nevertheless, anabolic-androgenic steroids happen to be the most damaging performance drug of all. Many variations of anabolic-androgenic steroids exist. Some are called designer drugs, an untested group of drugs consisting of synthetic steroids. Anabolic-androgenic steroids are used to promote strength and muscle mass, giving an athlete a feeling of aggressiveness and invincibility. This feeling of empowerment gives the athlete a super confidence that he can win any competition. But the use of these performance-enhancing drugs can result in numerous side effects, including liver and kidney problems, growth abnormalities, heart arrhythmias and obesity. Experimenting with performance-enhancing drugs interferes with the normal operation of the body's metabolism. Therefore, an athlete can experience health problems later in life.
Current State
Whether in the form of pills or injections, a variety of performance-enhancing drugs are designed to maximize an athlete's chances of giving a superhuman performance. The use of performance-enhancement drugs has been banned in many sports organizations. Bodybuilding and professional wrestling organizations are also getting on the bandwagon because of the many dangers presented by using performance-enhancing drugs.
Falls From Grace
The use of performance-enhancing drugs in sports has also brought disgrace to many top athletes. Among them is Marion Jones, who once held the honor as the world's fastest woman in track and field. But when it was discovered that her success was due to the illegal use of performance-enhancing drugs, her honors were revoked. In baseball, Barry Bonds was at the height of his career until it was discovered that he used performance-enhancing drugs.
Personal Best
The best choice that any athlete can make is to forsake the use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs and learn to be grateful that he has the opportunity to compete on a large stage. For example, when an athlete has given his personal best, then he is already a champion. He is a role model of perseverance, courage, hard work and dedication.
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