- What’s the difference between testosterone and anabolic steroids?
- Why you need testosterone - testosterone functions
- Testosterone boosting methods
- What are anabolic steroids and what they are used for?
- Benefits of natural testosterone boosting methods and natural supplements in comparison to TRT and anabolic steroids
- Conclusion
What’s the difference between testosterone and anabolic steroids?
There is a lot of confusion surrounding the status of testosterone and anabolic steroids. They are often thought to be the same, but that simply isn’t true.
To describe them both simply:
- Testosterone is a sex hormone that naturally occurs in your body and is produced in your testes. Due to it being a natural product of your body, it is 100% safe.
- Anabolic steroids are man-made, synthetic versions of testosterone that have been created to increase your testosterone levels and mimic the functions testosterone performs around your body. As it is man-made, it is not a 100% safe way to boost testosterone. PLUS they are illegal.
Now some might argue that testosterone is an anabolic steroid because of its involvement with the anabolic and androgenic processes within your body (of breaking down protein; building muscle, and enhancing your strength and physical performance).
Related article: Does eating oyster extract have an impact on your testosterone levels?
But the reality is that the how and why behind their uses is what makes them different, especially when you throw TRT (Testosterone Replacement Therapy) into the equation.
Why you need testosterone - testosterone functions
Testosterone is a type of androgen that is primarily produced in your testicles in cells called Leydig cells. The amount you have is controlled by your brain and pituitary glands, which trigger its creation before releasing it into your bloodstream to perform an array of bodily functions.
Related article: Natural Steroids The Secret to Increase Muscle Growth And Testosterone
Like we mentioned before, testosterone plays an important role in your body. From regulating your sex drive, fertility and fat distribution, to improving your bone and muscle mass, sperm count/quality, red blood cells, and strength; this sex hormone has got its hands in a lot of pots.
And herein lies the problem…
When testosterone levels start to fall (due to aging and physical stress), it can trigger a whole host of problems in your body, including: infertility (as testosterone helps with the development of mature sperm); reduced libido; falls in sperm count; swollen breast tissue; loss of body hair, muscle mass and strength, and increased weight gain (body fat).
Worse, prolonged drops in testosterone can lead to osteoporosis, mood swings, fatigue, and testicular shrinkage.
Testosterone Boosting Methods
There is more than one way to achieve a testosterone boost. Yes you can go the route of testosterone supplements or anabolic steroids, but you can also try going a more natural method:
1 - Food or exercise
Your body needs two key nutrients to produce testosterone: zinc and Vitamin D. Luckily, they can be sourced from a range of foods:
-
Tuna – one serving can fulfill your daily Vitamin D needs (NOTE: only have 2-3 times a week to minimize your mercury intake).
-
Low-fat milk – rich in protein and calcium, you can also opt for milk that has been fortified with Vitamin D.
-
Egg yolks – rich in Vitamin D, one egg a day can raise your testosterone levels.
-
Fortified cereals – fortified with Vitamin D, they are also good for your heart.
-
Oysters – high in zinc.
-
Shellfish – an occasional serving of crab or lobster can provide you with plenty of zinc. In fact, a 3oz serving of Alaskan king crab can give you 43% of your daily zinc requirements.
-
Beef – beef liver is great for Vitamin D, whilst ground beef and chuck roast can offer you zinc. Just remember to have lean cuts of these meats to help protect yourself from cholesterol issues.
-
Beans – white, kidney and black beans are all great sources of Vitamin D and zinc.
The zinc these foods can offer your body is especially important, as our bodies are not equipped to store this essential mineral.
But that is not all you can do…
You can also try the following exercises:
-
Sprints – short but intense six-second sprints can boost testosterone levels. Aim to do 5-10 short sprints (3-4 times a week) with full recovery between sprints.
-
Lifts – you can either do high reps with low weights or low reps with high weights. You should also do full body heavy exercises e.g. squats, deadlifts, bench presses, and Olympic lifts 2-3 times a week.
-
Planned rest periods – resting for 120 seconds between sets is believed to be better for building testosterone.
-
Forced reps – you will need a spotter for this, as the idea revolves around you doing as many reps as you can before adding a further 1-5 extra reps under the supervision of a spotter e.g. do 5-6 repetitions on your own, then get someone to assist you to do 3-4 more reps.
-
All body workouts – you should never skip your legs, but should aim to do both lower body training and upper body training. This will ensure you achieve lean muscle mass, more energy, and a higher sex drive.
-
Avoiding intense cardio sessions – endurance sports such as cycling, weight lifting and running on a treadmill for long stints can actually lower your testosterone. Whilst this can give some athletes a competitive edge, if you’re building muscle you don’t want this to happen. Instead, avoid cardio and long jaunts on the treadmill.
2 - Testosterone boosters
Similar to TRT, there is a lot of confusion surrounding testosterone boosters.
They too often get caught up in the same questions of: ‘is testosterone a steroid hormone’; ‘is testosterone booster a steroid’ or ‘are testosterone booster’s steroids’?
However, testosterone boosters are nothing like anabolic steroids or TRT as none of their ingredients mimic testosterone.
Instead, they aim to support the processes within your body which are responsible for testosterone production.
Take for example,
testosterone booster TestoGen. This supplement is formulated using 100% natural ingredients that are designed to help elevate your natural testosterone levels and improve strength, muscle mass and endurance.
In fact, every one of its ingredients has been purposefully chosen for their ability to bind with SBHG; free up testosterone and boost circulation and blood flows. In doing so, this unique combination of Bioperine, Zinc, Vitamin B6, Red Ginseng, Fenugreek extract, D-Aspartic acid, Vitamin K1, Nettle leaf extract, Boron, Vitamin D and Magnesium, can help to encourage testosterone production and keep your levels at optimal capacity.
There is nothing synthetic about them.
3 - TRT
More commonly known as Testosterone Replacement Therapy, this treatment is a medical procedure that is designed to help restore some of the functions that are lost/reduced by low testosterone levels.
Administered via skin gels, creams, subcutaneous implants, transdermal patches, injections or tablets, they have been known to:
- improve your quality of life, sexual prowess, energy, and strength;
- increase your testosterone levels to optimal amounts
- positively impact on your bone strength and hemoglobin levels.
Now, unlike anabolic steroids which contain testosterone or chemicals that act like testosterone; TRT gives you just enough of a dosage to help you achieve physiological (normal) levels of testosterone in your blood.
This means that you’re unlikely to gain a lot of muscle mass, as that is not the goal of TRT. Instead, the differences you’ll see to your muscles and strength will be subtle - although studies have found that TRT can help to lower your body fat percentage. This is due to TRT raising your energy levels and helping you to overcome fatigue. With more energy you will be able to work out and exercise easier, leading to fat loss.
Things to remember
Whilst TRT is good for keeping your testosterone levels within the normal range, TRT can trigger some side effects including:
- increased red blood cell counts
- enlarged breasts or prostates
- acne
- breathing difficulties (whilst asleep)
- increased risk of cardiovascular disease
What are anabolic steroids and what they are used for?
What are steroids?
Anabolic steroids (or anabolic-androgenic steroids) are man-made synthetic versions of testosterone. The anabolic in their name refers to their ability to build muscle, whilst its androgenic properties help to increase male sex characteristics.
How do steroids work?
By mimicking the natural anabolic effects of testosterone e.g. muscle growth and protein production, steroids can help you to recover faster from a workout and build up more muscle mass.
Basically what happens is - when they enter your system, they are broken down and start attaching themselves to your androgen receptors. This causes them to become activated and speed up the muscle building process (by increasing the amount of protein it makes). This extra protein is used to build up muscle.
At the same time, these androgen receptors inhibit hormones such as glucocorticoids, causing your body to breakdown proteins into amino acids faster. Again, this helps your muscles to receive energy faster and reduces recovery time between training sessions.
In one study, anabolic steroids helped participants to see a 5-20% increase in strength and a 2-5kg increase in lean muscle mass in just 10 weeks.
Now it is important to note here that steroids can easily become abused by users, as their high dosages (compared to TRT) make them ideal for anyone wishing to bulk. Yet the consequences of taking such high dosages for a prolonged period of time can have a severe impact on your health. From acne and oily skin, to shrunken testicles, reduced sperm count, hair loss, strokes, breast development, blood clots, liver failure, mood swings (roid rage), delusions, hallucinations, and tendon rupture… the risks steroids pose is so much higher than TRT or natural testosterone boosters.
What are steroids used for?
Originally, anabolic steroids were used to help those whose testes couldn’t produce enough testosterone. However, continued use of steroids quickly how they could help users to increase skeletal muscle and bone density, as well as speed up recovery, cut fat fast and improve stamina, endurance, and energy.
As a result, anabolic steroids are now typically used by athletes, bodybuilders, football players, and even baseball players to help improve their physical strength and stamina.
Now, these are not the only steroids around. There are others that can assist your body in other ways:
-
Corticosteroids – this steroid is used to treat diseases and conditions such as arthritis and asthma. They work by helping to reduce inflammation and pain in the joints as well as open up air passageways. Corticosteroids have also been known to treat skin conditions (Crohn’s disease and multiple sclerosis) and reduce nausea (as a consequence of chemotherapy).
Benefits of natural testosterone boosting methods and natural supplements in comparison to TRT and anabolic steroids
The benefits of using natural testosterone boosters and natural supplements far outweigh the benefits of TRT and anabolic steroids.
And here is why:
Natural testosterone boosters/supplements
- They are not steroids – they are formulated using natural ingredients e.g. herbs, plant extracts, minerals and Vitamins, that can supply your body with the nutrients it needs to increase testosterone production. There is no ingesting or synthetically adding testosterone to your body. It is achieved naturally.
- They are 100% safe and legal – due to their natural formulation, as long as you take the correct dosages, there are no negative side effects e.g. aromatization, excess estrogen etc.
- They can produce the exact same results as anabolic steroids, but without the risk of abuse or damage to your body – every one of their ingredients is purposefully chosen to increase muscle mass, cut fat, improve your libido and sex drive, and boost stamina, energy, and endurance.
TRT and Anabolic steroids
-
TRT - are designed to give you just enough to help you achieve normal testosterone levels. This means changes to strength and muscle mass are minimal. Their job is to purely reverse the damage done by low testosterone levels, nothing else.
-
Anabolic steroids – alongside the high risk of substance abuse and negative side effects (some of which are incredibly severe); anabolic steroids are basically chemically created, synthetic products that are designed to mimic testosterone. There is nothing safe or natural about them. In fact, they are 100% illegal because of the dangers they pose to the body.
Conclusion
So is testosterone a steroid hormone? In its natural form, no it is not.
And that is the difference you need to bear in mind when picking a product.
Testosterone boosters such as TestoGen are 100% natural. They utilize herbs, plant extracts, Vitamins and minerals that can help your body to work more efficiently. There is nothing fake about what they do. They simply help your body to perform better.
Yet in doing so, you can benefit from more than improved testosterone levels, but also all of the same positive benefits that can come from TRT and anabolic steroids.
TRT, for instance, is great if you want to overcome testosterone deficiency and the consequences of low testosterone levels e.g. erectile dysfunction, loss of libido, muscle loss, weight gain etc. But that is all it is designed to do. It is a medical procedure which can potentially add muscle and strength (if you make the effort to work out).
Anabolic steroids, on the other hand, are a time bomb waiting to happen.
Can they mimic testosterone and help with testosterone elevation? Yes, they can. Can they offer you improved muscle mass, strength and endurance? Yes, they can.
However, for all the benefits this synthetic product can create; it is prone to substance abuse, dangerous side effects (when taken in excess and for prolonged periods of time) AND it is illegal.
So why subject yourself to a fake, man-made illegal supplement, when a
natural testosterone booster such as TestoGen can produce the EXACT SAME RESULTS but safely?
That is why, if you want to raise your testosterone levels – the right way – we recommend sticking to a 100% natural route that is completely legal and safe. After all, no muscle gain is worth endangering your body…never.
