| There is no
getting around the fact that anabolic steroids have become a part of our
athletic culture. Every athlete on the planet knows that anabolic steroids
build muscle mass, strength and power. The temptation for athletes to
use anabolic steroids is hard to resist, given their inborn competitive
nature. Even for the millions of guys who aren’t competitive athletes
but bust their asses in the gym trying to pack on muscle, steroids are
tempting. However, we all know that the use of anabolic steroids does
not come without risk. So, some people choose to push the envelope and
use steroids, while others continue to fight the temptation fueled by
lack of progress and a burning desire to take their muscle building potential
to a completely new level. But that’s all about to change- the rules
of anabolic/androgenic enhanced muscle growth are going to change for
everyone!
Over the past 10 years, leading scientists and biochemists have been
working on the development of a new class of anabolic steroid-like compounds
called SARMs (Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators). These compounds
are designed to selectively target androgen receptors on muscle tissue.
So what does this all mean? In a nutshell, it’s the biggest muscle-building
breakthrough of the century! SARMs, due to their selectivity, are actually
more powerful than anabolic steroids, yet present less risk of side effects.
The Pharmaceutical Evolution of Steroids to SARMs
To better understand SARMs’ superiority to steroids and the magnitude
by which they will change the future of bodybuilding, we should first
take a look at how steroids work to trigger muscle growth. Steroids are
hormone complexes that induce anabolic muscle building action by binding
to androgen receptors on muscle tissue where they enter the cell nucleus
and stimulate protein synthesis. However, androgen receptors don’t
only exist on muscle tissue, they also exist throughout the body on other
tissues and organs. So, steroids also bind to androgen receptors on areas
such as the prostate, heart and liver. This “random androgen receptor
binding” of steroids is called non-selective because they target
all androgen receptors and not just those in muscle. This non-selectivity
results in lower potency and may lead to undesirable side effects.
The use of anabolic steroids dates as far back to the 1930’s when
scientists first were able to synthesize testosterone for medical use
in cases where the testes do not produce sufficient testosterone for normal
growth, development and sexual functioning. Athletes quickly took advantage
of this discovery and began taking synthetic testosterone as a sports
enhancement aid. Following the development of synthetic testosterone scientists
began to develop other synthetic anabolic steroid compounds such a D-Bol
and Anavar, which when compared to testosterone had higher anabolic activity,
but still displayed non-selective bioactivity, and subsequently the potential
for undesirable side-effects.
The Search for SARMs
While the use of testosterone and other synthetic derivatives is common
in medical settings and in the gym, this use comes with the risk of possible
side effects. As we’ve pointed out, most of these side effects are
due to the non-selective actions, which can lead to androgenic activity
in tissues other than skeletal muscle, such as heart muscle, prostate
gland and organs of the body. So while the medical community realizes
the benefits of androgenic-anabolic steroids, their potential for side
effects have limited their use and prompted an international search for
selective androgen receptor modulators that target muscle tissue growth.
|
