Here are the good muscle-building supplements from the bad and the ugly.
Anabolic Steroids
Androstenedione
Caffeine
Clenbuterol
Creatine
DHEA
Ephedra/Ephedrine
GHB
hGH
HMB
L-carnitine
Protein
AnabolicSteroids
SOURCES: Hormone drugs available by prescription; also commonly obtained by bodybuilders through the black market.
CLAIMED BENEFITS
Used in conjunction with vigorous strength training, steroids can significantly increase lean muscle mass and create an “Arnold-Schwarzenegger” look.
Jean-Claude Van DAMMMM!, you’re looking good!!!
POTENTIAL DOWNSIDES
Can cause breast development, acne, and serious health problems, such as heart disease, liver tumors, and infertility. Banned by the NFL, the NCAA, the International Olympic Committee as well as bodybuilding competition. But there are always loopholes in the system.
Androstenedione
SOURCES
Health-food stores, though there is growing pressure to reclassify andro from a “supplement” to a “medicinal drug”.
CLAIMED BENEFITS
The same muscle-building effects as anabolic steroids.
POTENTIAL DOWNSIDES
Banned by the International Olympic Committee, NCAA, NFL, and men’s and women’s tennis tours. The limited studies to date have yielded mixed results – most show little, if any effect on muscle strength. Same potential health risks as steroids.
Caffeine
SOURCES
Coffee, tea, many carbonated beverages, and over-the-counter “stay-awake” pills.
CLAIMED BENEFITS
Stimulates the central nervous system; may cause your body to burn more fat during endurance exercise and in so doing spare energy for use in a final “kick”.
POTENTIAL DOWNSIDES
Relatively safe and modestly effective if taken in reasonable doses; can cause heart irregularities, tremors, and other health problems if taken in high doses (equal to 10 cups of coffee). The NCAA and Olympics ban high-dose use.
Clenbuterol
SOURCES
Asthma medication available by prescription only.
CLAIMED BENEFITS
Studies on livestock indicate that these drugs may cut fat and increase lean muscle mass.
POTENTIAL DOWNSIDES
Though the muscle-building effectiveness of these agents has not been proved in humans, many elite athletes seem to think these drugs work. Side effects have not been determined.
Creatine
SOURCES
A natural substance found in meat and sold in supplement form in health-food stores.
CLAIMED BENEFITS
Boosts strength by providing muscles with more fuel.
POTENTIAL DOWNSIDES
Creatine causes weight gain because of fluid retention. No studies on side effects of long-term use by teenagers.
DHEA
SOURCES
Another so-called testosterone precursor available as an over-the-counter supplement.
CLAIMED BENEFITS
Taking DHEA will increase your body’s supply of testosterone, in effect doing what steroids do.
POTENTIAL DOWNSIDES
Not a single study has shown that DHEA has any muscle-building effect. As a teen, you have more natural DHEA than you need, so supplements are a waste of money.
Ephedra/Ephedrine
SOURCES
A stimulant found in numerous over-the-counter products, from decongestant cold remedies to the herb ma huang.
CLAIMED BENEFITS
Like caffeine, ephedra stimulates the production of adrenaline, increases metabolism, and allegedly helps burn fat. Ephedra is sometimes packaged with caffeine and aspirin to create the so-called fat-burning stack.
POTENTIAL DOWNSIDES
Ephedra has never been shown to have any substantial benefit in sports performance. Taking too much of it can trigger irregular heartbeats, convulsions, and seizures. The FDA has reported 17 deaths due to ephedrine overdose since its release on the market.
GHB
SOURCES
A drug developed as a potential treatment for uncontrolled sleeping, GHB has gained an unsavory reputation as both a recreational and a “date-rape” drug.
CLAIMED BENEFITS
Bodybuilders have long believed GHB can help build muscles by increasing levels of human growth hormone.
POTENTIAL DOWNSIDES
Many athletes have suffered life-threatening complications or even death due to GHB. Last December, Phoenix Suns forward Tom Gugliotta took a GHB-style supplement, collapsed on the team bus, and almost died in the emergency room of a Portland hospital.
hGH
SOURCES
A prescription drug used to treat certain developmental problems; human growth hormone (hGH) can also be obtained on the black market.
CLAIMED BENEFITS
Injections of hGH, when taken in high doses costing upwards of $4,000 per month, can build muscle and strength. Indeed, hGH was the most popular illegal substance used by sprinters and strength athletes in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
POTENTIAL DOWNSIDES
True hGH has a host of undesirable side effects that include, in teenagers, the premature fusion of growth plates, which can stunt growth permanently.
HMB
SOURCES
Derived from protein, HMB was originally developed to help grow leaner cattle; it’s now also being sold as a supplement.
CLAIMED BENEFITS
HMB supposedly builds muscle by sparing the breakdown of protein. Also may cut body fat.
POTENTIAL DOWNSIDES
Numerous studies have failed to find any significant effects of taking this supplement.
L-carnitine
SOURCES
An amino acid sold in supplement form.
CLAIMED BENEFITS
Some marketers claim this helps you lose weight and build strength; others say it can cut down on lactic acid, a by-product of exercise that limits how much intense work your muscles can do.
POTENTIAL DOWNSIDES
Your body can make all the L-carnitine it needs. Supplements are often contaminated with another form of carnitine, which actually lowers beneficial L-carnitine in the body.
Protein
SOURCES
Protein supplements come in powdered form.
CLAIMED BENEFITS
Supplements such as whey protein are touted as quick, easy sources of high-quality protein, necessary to help rebuild muscles depleted by strength training.
POTENTIAL DOWNSIDE
It’s expensive. You’re probably getting all the protein you need by eating a normal diet of chicken, fish, eggs, milk, and beef. No advantage to taking protein supplements, unless you use them in place of high-fat sources such as cheeseburgers.