Bodybuilding and Steroids: An Ongoing Controversy

Throughout many generations as well as the present day, bodybuilding has been a much favored sport in the fitness industry. The question first begins with what a sport is determined to be. The definition seems to be: “a human activity capable of achieving a result requiring physical exertion and skill, which by nature, is competitive” (Kennedy 121). Conceivably, bodybuilding fits the definition; However, the primary problem that bodybuilders, the industry, and just the name, bodybuilding, in general face are the numerous controversial issues about the usage of anabolic drugs commonly referred to as steroids. The FDA has banned any and all steroids, causing them to be illegal; Yet, in the sport of bodybuilding, in order to manipulate one’s body, one must consume hormones that are beyond a days dosage of organic foods and minerals. The sport of bodybuilding, is without a doubt, one of the most respected sports due to its extreme discipline of the body and mind. Thus the controversy remains as this: why would the FDA continue to ban anabolic drugs from an industry that, for a portion of its influencers, need these hormones to continue to live up to the bodybuilding legacies? Why is the FDA banning these substances? Also, another controversy that is frequently brought up is: why cant fitness experts, such as master trainers and nutritionists, etc... come up with substitutes that correspond to the drugs, yet remain legal?

As a fitness model and competitor in the fitness industry, it is understandable that other competitors, most men and few women, do take supplements which increase both strength and muscle mass of the individual. It is also a known fact in the fitness industry that most supplements taken, whether it be anabolic steroids which are stated to be, “synthetic steroid hormones that resembles testosterone