[tribal]

Veteran Consensus Statement on the age of initiation of Anabolic use


Anabolic steroids promote strength gain, muscle synthesis, and increased metabolic capacity. Their responsible, moderate use improves athletic performance, cosmetic appearance, and perceived social opportunity and self-esteem. However, anabolics achieve their effects by perturbing the human endocrine system, a complex feedback mechanism of glands and organs that are, in healthy and youthful persons, in an exquisite state of natural balance. Compounds like anabolic steroids that alter this balance are appropriate for use only by mature, well-trained athletes who understand these drugs, their risks and their benefits. Except in the case of prospective users of clear promise for national or international ranking in a sport, realistically hopeful for the kinds of benefits such ranking confers, the following should be characteristic of anyone, of any age, prior to the addition of anabolic steroids to a training regime:

1. PHYSICAL MATURITY. Anabolics can, through either direct or indirect effects, cause premature closure of the epiphyseal plates (“growth plates”) at the end of bone, an irreversible effect that may result in permanently shorter stature than the athlete would otherwise achieve. Therefore, the athlete should have reached full physical stature and maturity of the skeleton before contemplating anabolic use. In most cases, full stature is not reached until the very late teens and, in many cases, development of both long skeletal bones and joint assemblies (hips and shoulders) continues into the early 20's, development of the larynx (“voicebox”) into the mid-20’s.

2. SIGNIFICANT MATURE MUSCULARITY. Anabolics have poor effect, or transitory effect, on athletes in mediocre condition; in addition, their tendency to boost muscle strength ahead of the strength of supporting tendons and ligaments can lead to debilitating injury in athletes without substantial prior training. Therefore, the athlete should have accumulated a significant amount of mature muscle mass and tendon strength through a dedicated program of resistance training prior to beginning anabolic use. Recognizing that there is substantial individual variability in training efficiency and effects, a minimum of 3 years, perhaps as many as 7, of dedicated weight training is required to achieve this necessary physical foundation, on which anabolics can be used safely and to best effect.

3. THOROUGH KNOWLEDGE. Anabolics are not a substitute for proper technique or applied knowledge of the basics of exercise physiology. Therefore, the athlete considering the use of anabolics should have a very thorough and detailed knowledge of lifting technique, dietary practice, recuperative processes, and hormonal and nonhormonal supplementation, and should if possible prepare for the use of anabolics under the guidance of a trusted mentor who has mastered these issues. In particular, the athlete should have an excellent understanding of the uses, effects, and risk profiles of anabolics, and should be thoroughly conversant with the kinds of ancillary agents that minimize side-effects and speed post-cycle recovery. Recognizing that there is substantial individual variability in the pace at which this knowledge is acquired, at least a year of arduous study and reading is necessary to understand anabolics and post-cycle recovery, and at least 4 years of practice is required to establish the requisite knowledge base of lifting technique, recuperation, and diet.

4. PSYCHOLOGICAL MATURITY. Anabolic steroids can have marked effect on mood and disposition, either during the cycle of active use, or its aftermath. Therefore, the athlete considering the use of anabolics should have the psychological health and maturity that will enable him or her to use anabolics with minimal social, psychological, and legal risk to both him/herself and his/her network of partners and collaborators. In addition, the athlete should be firm enough in purpose and balanced enough in approach to understand not only how and when to initiate use of anabolics, but how and when to curtail or abandon use safely should that need arise.

The use of anabolic steroids is unwise for persons who have not satisfied these prerequisites, though exceptions may be made in cases of very unusual athletic promise. While not a function of mere calendar age per se, it is unarguable that, on average, the likelihood that these conditions will have been met increases as the age of the prospective anabolic user increases.

For the reasons adduced above, the following statement of consensus opinion is made:

Allowing for substantial individual variability, and with the exception of cases of truly outstanding athletic promise, the athlete considering the use of anabolics should be socially and physically mature, psychologically healthy, and should have completed 4 to 7 years of dedicated, mentored training in strength/endurance athletics and study in lifting technique, dietary practices, recuperation skills and supplementation. In most cases, the athlete will have reached the age of 21 before these prerequisites are in place, recognizing that many athletes will not have achieved the necessary experience, physical maturity, and psychic balance until their mid-20's or even later.

Anabolic steroids have legitimate uses in the pursuit of important life goals, including physical strength, aesthetic appeal, psychological wellbeing, and longevity. However, few drugs have as broad and profound an impact on body chemistry as do anabolic steroids. These drugs can have unpredictable effects on all body systems, including the immune, circulatory, nervous, endocrine, and excretory systems (liver and kidney), as well as on the integument (skin and hairline) and on the joints and muscles that comprise the musculoskeletal system. The athlete contemplating the use of anabolic steroids must bear constantly in mind the idea that the point of their use is not to take drugs for drugs' sake, but rather to grow stronger and healthier and to live a more satisfying and long life, through the combination of anabolic steroids with proper diet, recuperation, and training practices.

But even the wisest and most conservative use of anabolic steroids is contraindicated by two main categories of pre-existing or concurrent problems - certain medical illnesses, and a small class of psychiatric disorders. The use of anabolics when these other conditions are present is unwise, and the user who moves ahead with a program of anabolic steroid use, despite the presence of these conditions, should be acutely aware of the risks taken.

1.) Medical conditions that contraindicate the use of anabolics by posing unacceptable levels of hazard to the prospective user include liver disease (hepatitis, jaundice, cirrhosis, which may be aggravated by 17-alpha-alkylated anabolics, though agents such as oxandrolone may have beneficial effects in some cases), kidney disease (which anecdotal reports suggest may be aggravated by such steroids as trenbolone), uncontrolled hypertension (blood pressure above 150/90, which may be boosted further by anabolics' effects on water retention and erythropoeisis, though it can be minimized through the wise use of certain ancillaries), cholesterol-dependent heart disease (steroids often precipitate a rise in serum cholesterol), morphologic abnormalities of the heart muscle such as hypertrophy of the ventricle's walls or irregular valve development (which can be exacerbated by androgens), a history of or significant risk for malignancy (because anabolics can accelerate tumor growth), and idiopathic endocrine disturbance including some irregularities of adrenal, thyroid, and hypothalamic function (though anabolics may be beneficial in some cases of endocrine insufficiency, such as hypogonadism). High but perhaps acceptable levels of hazard are present in prospective users with a history of severe acne (though some cases may benefit from non-testosterone based cycles or the use of certain ancillaries), male-pattern baldness, prostate disease and gynecomastia (all of which may be exacerbated by androgens), gastrointestinal disorders such as acid reflux disease (which may be aggravated by the use of some steroids), and joint and soft-tissue injury (which may be aggravated by steroid-induced strength gains, though Human Growth Hormone and nandrolone may be beneficial in some cases). The prospective user of anabolic steroids should also be aware that some ancillary drugs (such as Arimidex) have risk profiles of their own, and are not wholly benign simply because they combat unwanted side effects of anabolic agents.