Anabolic steroids are so deeply ingrained in pop culture and sports that you might assume there’s nothing left to know about these miracles of modern medicine. But you’d be wrong. There’s more to these drugs than meets the eye. So, if you’re a bodybuilder, put down that dumbbell for a minute and read this article to learn about the history of anabolic steroids. You might just learn something interesting.
The Beginning Of The Beginning
Although anabolic steroids in their modern form did not come onto the scene until the mid-20th century, the use of pure testosterone can be traced back to antiquity. In Greece, early Olympic athletes were known to ingest animal testicles before a competition. And they would sometimes do this for extended periods before their event was set to take place. It is doubtful our forefathers understood what they were doing but they were on the right track.
The 19th Century Breakthrough
Arnold Adolph Berthold, the founding father of endocrinology, first removed the testes of a Cockerel in 1849. After doing so, Berthold observed that the animal began losing all of its defining male characteristics. This led to a more apt understanding of the importance of the male testicles and how they carry with them the necessitating factors that make a man a man.
Modern Anabolic Steroids And The Age Of Anabolics
The history, however, of what we think of as anabolic steroids today began with a German chemist named Adolf Butenandt in 1931. By this point it was understood (thanks largely to Berthold) the importance and effects of male hormones. But it was the work of Butenandt that first led to finding a way to pinpoint and purify the hormone androstenone. Butenandt achieved this scientific feat via extracting the hormone from a mere few liters of urine.
Next, in the late 1930s, came another chemist named Leopold Ruzicka, also German. Ruzicka developed a means to synthesize the hormone making it safe for human use. From there, inevitably, the first batch of synthetic testosterone was produced. This, most would agree, was the true dawning of the anabolic age.
Thanks to a combination of Ziegler’s breakthrough work and the successful testimonials of the Soviet athletes, Olympic lifters in the United States would soon began using both testosterone and Dianabol as part of their regular routine. By 1967, anabolic steroid use was widespread among Olympic athletes. This, eventually, lead to the drug’s fall from grace in the minds of the American public.
Today, however, many of the reactionary opinions to steroids are beginning to settle into more rational opinions. While yes, most people agree that anabolic steroids should be banned in sports, many are also starting to recognize their incredible muscle building benefits. Just because professional athletes can’t and shouldn’t use anabolic steroids doesn’t mean nobody else can use them either. In spite of this, many anabolic steroids remain illegal in the U.S., which is why many have started to turn to legal anabolic steroid substitutes/alternatives.
There you have it, the history of anabolic steroids. Now that you’ve grown your brain, how about growing your muscles. Check out our selection of prohormones at Legal Steroids today!
