Things to Keep in Mind

 

For the most part, bodybuilding is a lifestyle associated with several health benefits, but there are some things to know before doing bodybuilding.

Low Levels of Body Fat Can Negatively Affect Sleep and Mood

To prepare for a bodybuilding competition, competitors achieve extremely low levels of body fat, with men and women typically reaching body fat levels of 5–10% and 10–15%, respectively (14Trusted Source, 16Trusted Source).

This low level of body fat, combined with the low calorie intake, has been shown to decrease sleep quality, negatively affect mood and weaken the immune system in the weeks leading up to a competition and even several weeks after (1Trusted Source, 17Trusted Source, 18Trusted Source, 19Trusted Source).

Consequently, this can decrease your ability to function each day, negatively affect those around you and leave you more susceptible to illness.

Risks of Anabolic Steroid Use

Many, but not all, muscle-building supplements are advertised by bodybuilders who use performance-enhancing drugs, such as anabolic steroids.

This misleads many bodybuilders into believing that they can achieve the same muscular look by taking the advertised supplement.

In turn, many bodybuilders, especially those at the beginning of their journey, develop unrealistic expectations of what can be accomplished naturally, which may lead to body dissatisfaction and eventually the urge to try anabolic steroids (20Trusted Source, 21Trusted Source).

However, anabolic steroids are very unhealthy and linked to several risks and side effects.

In addition to being illegal to possess in the US without a prescription, using anabolic steroids can increase your risk of heart disease, decrease fertility and result in psychiatric and behavioral disorders like depression (22Trusted Source, 23Trusted Source, 24Trusted Source, 25Trusted Source)

Summary

When preparing for a competition, make sure you’re aware of the possible side effects. Also, understand that the physiques you see in supplement ads may not be realistically achieved without the use of anabolic steroids, which are very unhealthy.