True, they're usually just the fellow juice monkeys that hang out there. It amazes me you never see police crackdowns on something like this, but I can't speak for other areas or cities.
That's because they're out on the streets in front of all the dollar stores, adult video stores and pawn shops that litter your city, dude.
Unrelated to a new years resolution, but I do want to get back to the gym. I might hold off for a month to avoid the extra bodies. There was also a huge surge of stupid new posts at the calorie counting site I use. These motherfuckers need a lesson in forum search function! For god's sake, there were 2 posts about friggin potassium intake, back to back by different posters. Blah.
You could not have chose a better word than "stupid". In my eyes, they are the worst drug there is. They cause deformities, make your pores explode with goo, trigger violent psychotic outbursts, not to mention crippling, demented depression that lead to suicide way more often than any drug should. The big problem is they have the "pharmaceutical" tag so people don't bother to accept how evil they really are. They work in the same way as the stupidity of "cosmetic surgery": they work out for a little while, then you get to enjoy as lifetime of disaster at its expense.
I think it was someone on this site who posted a link to a site that was a compilation of clips that people have taken at their local gyms, where people are doing the craziest/dumbest shit. Anyone know what I'm talking about? Edit: Oops, found it: <a class="postlink" href="http://www.wtfgym.com/category/videos/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.wtfgym.com/category/videos/</a> Some of the videos are hilarious.
Not to mention that they destroy connective tissue. Enjoy tearing your Achilles whilst stepping down a curb, Capt. America.
I don't "go to the gym" - I "use the fitness center." But, even at my club's fitness center, I am amazed by the people that do all those things you have listed there. We have about 12 bikes/ treadmills / elliptical, free weights with several benches and squat racks, and about 12 weight machines. There are usually 2 or 3 other people in there when I go. I know you'd hate me being there, though. The way I learned to use the weight machines was back when circuit training was the thing, and I like to do a set on one machine, move to another, then another, etc. and back to the first one. It always messes up my routine when somebody comes in and sits on one machine I wanted to use to do 3-4 sets, resting on the machine in between. Based on what I've seen, I think I'm the only person on the planet that still does circuits.
The gif is fucking hilarious. Makes me wished I filmed the guy hitting the 200 lb. heavybag with NOTHING but barehanded straight rights for forty straight minutes. I have given a name to Hell: it is called "Fractured Coccyx".
I haven't seen any research reliably showing that steroids directly weaken connective tissue. However, due to the rapid muscle hypertrophy while on steroids, faster than what supporting ligaments and tendons can handle, injuries can occur, especially during the time when you get off cycle and you don't have as much fluid retention. A recipe for injury is guys post-cycle trying to lift what they were while on cycle. But I do have to thank CR for the alarmist post, much akin to what people post about marijuana (It'll ruin families! It's the devil!) when they have no idea what they're talking about.
Reminds me of this. http://thechive.com/2012/10/16/a-workout-so-bizarre-even-this-mans-body-is-all-like-wtf-man-video/ Looks like it could possibly be staged but is fucking hilarious.
Strong evidence showing a direct relationship is limited by the fact that you're investigating an illegal substance. There is some research with subjects who use prescribed anabolics, but they also have the co-morbidities which required hormone replacement therapy in the first place.
There's Pradaxa, a blood thinner with no antidote for people who start hemorrhaging and which kills hundreds of people a year. You could also add the older antipsychotics like Haldol and Risperdal which are still prescribed in institutions. Meth is another good bet. Cipro and those drugs destroyed tendons while supposedly treating bacterial infections. In terms of older prescription drugs, Vioxx killed 12,000 people each year while it was on the market. Other than that, though, sure, steroids.
Ok, guys, you remember how in the gun thread there was all sorts of people whining about how people who don't know which end the bullets come from have no business commenting on gun control? Well, this thread is now people who don't know which end the bullet comes out of commenting on the finer points of marksmanship.
Impossible. Those drugs have the letters Q, X and Z (or end with "ol")in their names, hereby making them safe, serious medicine for all.
Let me sum this up for you, if the only reason you're taking roids is to get huge at the gym, you're an idiot, and almost certainly overcompensating for lack of a personality/other desirable attributes, there's not even any middle ground here. If you are taking them to cheat your way to glory in professional sports potentially making millions then perhaps the rewards outweigh the risks. But if there is no financial gain, you are a nipple head. However I don’t think they should be illegal, anything that makes stupid people die earlier or be more likely to be sterile should be supported.