What if you could acquire a muscle building supplement that provided some of the same benefit as anabolic steroids but was cheaper, safer, AND legal? Well, for quite a few years, you COULD.
Prohormones are a category of synthetic products that basically force the body to make more testosterone, or produce bi-products that then encourage the body to do so.
Prohormone basically means that the substance is not the hormone itself but causes a reaction in the body to make the substance. Anabolic steroids are actually synthetic versions of the hormone itself so if you take steroids, you are basically increasing the amount of testosterone in the body. By taking prohormones, you are taking something that CAUSES the body to make testosterone. Confused yet?
It can be confusing at first but if you look at it this way it is easily understood: Steroids basically act as testosterone. Prohormones cause the body to MAKE testosterone.Because prohormones do not act as the hormone itself, they were legal for quite some time. It was legal because in the end, it is actually the body making the increased testosterone.
After some further research and investigation in their effects, prohormones were eventually banned from professional sports (the Mark Mcguire, Andro incident should come to mind) and most were eventually made illegal by a law based in 2004 by President George Bush. There are still some supplements that can be considered prohormones, such as DHEA that are legal, but if you are in doubt, make sure to do your research before attempting to acquire the product as possessing one of the illegal substances can surely land you in jail.
As far as their effects on muscle building, the proof was never 100% that all worked as they were touted to be effective anabolic steroid replacements, especially considering their relatively high price in the marketplace. They did increase the production of testosterone in the body, but the amounts were often thought to be quite a bit less than would be experienced with the use of regular steroids.
Because of the fact that they DID have an effect on your hormones, some of the same positive AND negative side effects were often experienced by users. This included skin disorders including acne cysts, increase hair grown in certain areas and hair loss in others, and even the growth of breasts in men. The usage was never properly regulated, as the products were not on the market long enough for consistent and effective usage to be demonstrated.
The fact is most prohormones are illegal so when in doubt, simply stay away from them. There are still plenty of natural substances, such as creatine and protein that can have extremely positive effects on muscle growth without the serious side effects or threat of jail time.
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