Androgenic-Anabolic Steroids have become so prevalent in our society, especially in professional sports.  Outside of sports, the popularity of the use of steroids has gained an increase in popularity for aesthetic purposes.  It is our job as fitness professionals/personal trainers to recognize and address these issues and coaches, parents, and friends to have some insight on the usage numbers.

It has become general knowledge that the use of anabolic steroids does work.  They promote tissue growth and an increase in strength and endurance.  Up to this point, it appears that the current anti-steroid campaigns have remained unsuccessful.  

In the sporting world, the use of such substances has become more of an ethical  and role modeling issue rather than a health issue.  Studies have shown that there is now a higher percentage of high school/college/adolescent users than those actually in professional sports.  Mixed messages regarding body image are constantly being forced upon our youth.  

There are specific signs of a user which include acne, changes in mood or aggressive behavior, and of course, a dramatic increase in muscle mass.  It remains a top priority of any strength and conditioning professional to grasp these signs and promote education and prevention.

Establishing specific and measurable goals can have a dramatic influence on the outcome of your fitness program.  Doing so will exponentially increase the effectiveness of your program and give you insight on how your body responds along the way.  Remember- The goals that you establish will be customized to you as an individual.  Do not compare yourself to anyone else.  Goals should be designed to reflect short term (12 weeks) outcomes and long term (6 months) outcomes.

Periodic physical assessment is vital to this process.  A thorough assessment should include body fat, flexibility, height, weight, circumference measurements, resting blood pressure, resting heart rate, muscular endurance, muscular strength, and any other more specific test.  The assessment process should be repeated every 2-4 months depending on the program and the individual.  At this time, the program is reevaluated and adjusted to reflect any changes.  

You should entrust a qualified personal trainer to assist in defining your goals and guidance on how to realistically reach them.  A “good” personal trainer has trained many clients and has seen how different people respond to a similar program with different results.  This is quite often a time when many will give up, but a trainer can adjust a training program to best address any roadblock along the way.

All too common in life and at Studio Element are clientele who have one side of their body stronger, bigger, and/or more flexible.  The good news is that this is common.  One bicep can be stronger than another.  One quadricep could be bigger.  One side of your chest could be bigger and stronger.  In fact, if it is not regularly addressed, this is quite often seen.  Many ask the obvious question, “How do I fix this?”  

The first step would be to put down any type of exercise where a grip with two hands is necessary.  Instead, opt for dumbbells and cables where you can work each side independently.  At this point, always start each set going forward with the non-dominant side.  Complete as many repetitions as you can with that side and then move on to the stronger side.  Make sure to only duplicate that number of repetitions with the stronger side to allow the non-dominant side some time to catch up.  

Work with this strategy in mind over a few weeks and slowly start incorporating some barbell-type work back in to your routine.  As long as you try to form a balance between the dumbbell-type work and barbell-type work, you should remain symmetrical.  It may be a lifelong battle since many of us tend to use different sides of our body in life, but it remains an important part of your fitness to reduce injury.

A personal trainer at Studio Element can offer you a whole host of different exercises that allow you the variety that your muscles will need to overcome a lack of symmetry.

No matter what we do in terms of prevention, injuries happen from time to time when living an active life.  Of course there is an increased risk of injury with increased activity.  Besides prevention techniques, there are several things to consider to enable you to return to your normal activity and/or sport.  Any qualified, certified personal trainer should be able to assist you in your return.  

Often, muscle surrounding injuries becomes stressed and tight.  A professional massage or self massage should help to alleviate this tightness and/or pain.  By self applying pressure at the point of tightness and holding for 30 seconds, your range of motion should slowly increase over days.

Depending on the injury, it may be wise to attempt single-joint movement that are most closely associated with the point of injury.  Start small from this point and slowly add in multi-joint movements that require more stability and challenge.

Back off from the workout level that you have been doing.  Listen to your body as you rebuild.  This is another time that working with a fitness trainer would be extremely beneficial.  If a certain exercise just isn’t feeling right, a trainer can make adjustments for you.

To make sure that certain injuries that you may be susceptible to do reoccur, make sure that you train your body in all of the surrounding areas that support your larger muscles.  These are areas that may be weak and lead to decrease performance from the larger muscles.