:Forest Folk

Do not buy illegal steroid fakes!

Steroids come in a wide variety of assorted, forms, shapes, sizes, textures, and colors. It’s because of such variety that there are more steroid fakes and counterfeit drugs on the market than there are real anabolics. Fakes are plentiful because they are cheap to manufacture and easy to pass on to unsuspecting bodybuilders. To the untrained eye they can be almost identical to the real drug. If you or someone else is purchasing steroids from any source but a close friend or relative, you stand an excellent chance of being taken in by a con artist.

Two types of fakes

With the crackdown on anabolic steroids in the early 1990’s, bodybuilders and other athletes have turned to the black-market to obtain the drugs for their cycles. There are basically two types of bogus (fake) steroids on the black market. The first type is not bogus in the usual sense, but rather semi-bogus. They are real steroids, but they have fake labels, and the dosages listed are usually incorrect. Licensed pharmaceutical companies do not manufacture these drugs. Steroid users are well aware of this, but insist that as long as a drug works, and is easily obtainable, they are not concerned.

The second group of steroid fakes (which is the more numerous type) are fake in every sense of the word. For example, users have reported buying bottles of clear liquids (such as distilled water) from other athletes. These bottles have no labels and are often not the type of bottle normally associated with the packaging of the drug. To make the steroid seem more legitimate, many fake steroid producers put cooking oils in the bottle. Injecting such a substance into your body is a short cut to developing any number of serious side effects.

Big Money - Big Fakes - Big Con!

As expected steroid fakers are in operation for one purpose; to separate you from your hard-earned money. If someone at the gym promises you any steroid in any quantity, for an “unbelievable price”, chances are your’re about to be had. The most effective way to spot counterfeits is to compare it to the original. The problem with this, however, is that most bodybuilders have never even seen the original! There is also a pattern between the popularity of the steroid and the number of fakes available. As expected such highly-sought out steroids as Deca-durabolin, Winstrol, and Dianabol, are faked the most. You have to be real careful if you buy these particular drugs.

Take a close look

The best way to identify steroid fakes, is to look closely at how the drug is packaged. Fakers try to maximize profits and minimize expenses so they rarely invest much time or money into making their product look authentic. For every bodybuilder who can spot the difference the faker knows that their are a hundred who will be duped into falling for the scam. Generally fake steroids have packaging that looks close to the original, but only superficially. One way to spot fakes is to look at the batch number and expiration dates. In legitimate pharmaceutical labs these numbers are usually printed on the labels after the labels are produced. If the label on the bottle you are looking at appears to have been printed all at once (numbers at the same time as the labels), then odds are you have a fake in your hand.

Other ways to spot fakes are:

* That the expiration date on the box matches the one on the product as well

* You should not be able to easily peal the label off of the ampule or the bottle.

* Most steroids made by legitimate companies use labels with rounded corners.

* The label is on straight and it doesn’t overlap itself.

* With glass ampules, be sure that they are filled consistently, and of the same color.

Buying fakes

As of 1991 anabolic steroids are classified as controlled (illegal) substances.
Attempting to obtain steroids from an unknown source on the Internet is risky and frankly, stupid. The person on the other end of your keyboard could be some law enforcement agent trying to set you up. At the very least they’ll take your money and sell you a steroid fake. In the dangerous world of the steroid black-market it’s buyer beware.

steroids fakes

Bob Howard
©Article 03/01 2006

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In order for muscles to grow, three things are required:

1. Stimulus - exercise is needed to make the muscles work, use energy and cause microscopic damage to the fibers.

2. Nutrition - after intense exercise the muscles need to replenish their stores of fuel.

3. Rest - it is during the rest or recovery phase that the muscles repair the microscopic damage and grow.

Muscle size increases due to hypertrophic adaptation and an increase in the cross section area of individual muscle fibers. Intensive exercise impacts more on the strength influencing fast twitch type II fibers, therefore the increase in muscle size is accompanied by greater strength.

This will deplete the muscle’s energy stores and cause microscopic damage to the muscle tissue. During recovery, these stores of glycogen and phosphocreatine will replenish from carbohydrates and creatine ingested as food or supplements. Amino acids supplied in the diet will trigger the protein synthesis that repairs the damaged muscle and lead to the creation of bigger muscle fibers.

To achieve continuous improvement you will need to keep reaching for higher levels of training intensity otherwise the improvement process will grind to a halt. Fortunately, this is relatively easy to plan for provided certain basic principles and rules are clearly followed. Subsequent articles in this series will examine these principles in detail.

Rick Mitchell has written numerous articles aimed at helping athletes, from beginners to advanced, understand how to build muscle and increase strength. He has also developed several supporting web resources including Muscle Building Tips

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In one of my recent articles, I spoke about the fact that you must alter your training variables that make up your workouts if you want to continuously get good results, whether it is losing weight, building muscle, or toning up.

While changing your training variables is an integral part of the success of your training program, your workouts shouldn’t be drastically different every single time. If you are all over the place on each workout and never try to repeat and improve on specific exercises for specific set and rep schemes with specific rest intervals, then your body has no basis to improve on its current condition. The best way to structure your workouts to get the best results is to be consistent and try to continually improve on a specific training method for a specific time period. A time period of 4-8 weeks usually works best as your body will adapt to the specific training method and progress will slow after this amount of time.

At this point, it is time to change around some of your training variables as I described in the “exercise variables” article, and then stay consistent with your new training program for another 4-8 weeks. To refresh, some of these variables are the numbers of sets and reps of exercises, the order of exercises (sequence), exercise grouping (super-setting, circuit training, tri-sets, etc.), exercise type (multi-joint or single joint, free-weight or machine based), the number of exercises per workout, the amount of resistance, the time under tension, the base of stability (standing, seated, on stability ball, one-legged, etc.), the volume of work (sets x reps x distance moved), rest periods between sets, repetition speed, range of motion, exercise angle (inclined, flat, declined, bent over, upright, etc), training duration per workout, training frequency per week, etc.

For example, let’s say you are training with a program where you are doing 10 sets of 3 reps for 6 different exercises grouped together in pairs (done as supersets) with 30 seconds rest between each superset and no rest between the 2 exercises within the superset. If you are smart, I’m sure you are tracking your progress with a notepad (weights used, sets, and reps) to see how you are progressing over time. Let’s say that after about 6 weeks, you find that you are no longer improving with that program. Well, now it is time to change up your variables, and start a new program.

This time you choose a classic 5 sets of 5 reps routine, but you group your exercises in tri-sets (three exercises performed back to back to back, and then repeated for the number of sets). This time you decide to perform the exercises in the tri-set with no rest between them, and then recover for 2 minutes in between each tri-set to fully recoup your strength levels.

There you have it…a couple examples of how to incorporate both consistency and variability into your training programs to maximize your results. Want to take the guess work out of all of this? Pick up a copy of my book today at http://truthaboutabs.com and try the scientifically designed programs already illustrated within.

Visit http://truthaboutabs.com/Training-and-Nutrition-Articles.html to receive your own personalized metabolic rate calculator as well as 4 of my secret hard-body workout routines - both FREE, with no purchase necessary.

Michael Geary is a nationally dual certified personal trainer (NCSF-CPT, AFAA-CPT), and author of “The Truth about Six Pack Abs” ©2004-2005.

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Are you a Baby Boomer? If you were born between the years of 1946 to 1964, you are part of the 79.1 million Boomers, comprising 29 percent of the total US population. According to the AARP, every seven seconds a Baby Boomer turns 50! And, about one-third of Americans who take part in sports activities are Boomers.

As this generation grows older, they are working harder to keep their youth and vitality, are staying active with physical activity, and unfortunately are experiencing more injuries than the generation before them.

A US Consumer Product Safety Commission report states there were 1 million sports injuries to persons between the ages of 35 and 54 in 1998. This is a 33% increase over the same statistics of 1991. While this sounds like distressing news for aging bodies, many sports-related injuries are minor aches, sprains and strains that can be treated or even prevented using self-treatment techniques. Whether you are a weekend warrior or a lifelong athlete, the following suggestions may help you stay limber and relatively pain-free.

Warm-up before stretching or an activity. Muscles that are warm through slow-paced pre-exercise such as jogging or walking, will be less likely to tear.

Stretching before and after exercise. Stay limber and flexible. Stretching is one of the best preventive measures against injury.

Get fitted with the proper shoe. This is a top priority especially for running, hiking, and cross training. Go to a running store with someone on staff who will analyze your walk, arch, and how your foot turns in or out during activity. They will then fit you with a shoe having the right amount of support or cushioning for your particular body type. This alone can substantially reduce the incidence of injury.

Start daily conditioning. Do some type of activity every day to help condition your body for more strenuous weekend exercise.

Try adding low-impact activities to the mix. Such as: Pilates, Yoga, Tai Chi, Elliptical Trainer, Recumbent Cycling, Spinning.

Add strength training to your weekly routine. Stronger muscles mean better joints and a more energized body.

Create a workout program with balance. Combine stretching, strength training and cardiovascular exercises to keep your body in balance.

Use R.I.C.E. If pain does creep into your body after an activity, use the technique of R.I.C.E. immediately to reduce inflammation. Never use heat in the first 48 to 72 hours after an injury occurs, as this will increase swelling and bruising. Rest-Ice-Compression-Elevation can make the difference in a fast, effective recovery from a sprain or strain.

Try massage. For tight, stressed muscles, massage therapy can be a relaxing and helpful treatment for minor pain. Self-message is easy to do on legs, ankles and feet.

Give cognitive behavior therapy a go. This therapy works on the concept that you can reprogram your mind to increase performance or decrease pain triggers, incorporating relaxation and other visualization techniques. Professional athletes have been using it for some time to rehearse a perfect performance in their mind before an event.

Physical activity may produce its own set of challenges for Baby Boomers. But inactivity itself is a threat to health. A sedentary lifestyle is associated with an increased risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, osteoporosis, stroke and some cancers. Regular physical exercise helps Boomers strengthen muscles, which in turn stabilizes joints, increases flexibility and keeps age-related diseases at bay. Better to be a buff Baby Boomer than a middle-age couch potato!

This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical treatment or consultation. Always consult with your physician in the event of a serious injury.

About The Author

Louise Roach is the editor of an on-line health and fitness newsletter. She has been instrumental in the research, testing and development of SnowPack, a patented cold therapy that exhibits the same qualities as ice. Her injury prevention and treatment articles have been published on running, walking and fitness websites. For more information visit: http://www.snowpackusa.com or NewsFlash*SnowPack at: http://home.netcom.com/~newsflash. Louise Roach can be reached at: info@snowpackusa.com

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