Benefits from bodybuilding is tremendous ranging from increase strength to healthier lifestyle. Nowadays almost all sport incorporates some type of lifting weights that gives them extra mile in their own field of sport.

Many are into this kind of sport NOT to compete but to look good as they grow older. Professionals are often set as an example following their styles of training. Many professionals even releasing their own fitness regimen to get those extra source of income.

Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes.

The unfortunate reality in this sport is that the dangers it poses are clear to those who are roided. But why do they use steroids?

Steroids are popularly known as performance-enhancing drugs. They are used by bodybuilders to-

• Increase muscle mass and strength

• Decrease body fat

• Improve athletic performance

Steroid use and abuse

Back to the 1950s and ’60s is when steroids were first created. Back in those times not much information was available on the side effects and dangers of most of the steroids available. Nobody, back then, knew that it could also lead to liver and kidney toxicity with regular use. Neither did anyone know that it could lead to other problems such as testosterone suppression.

But that was then…

Dangers and side effects are all well-known now and have been so for many years, so much so that the use of these steroids is banned in many countries without a medical prescription of course.

And yet, countless bodybuilders still continue to use them, putting their lives at stake. To be a top athlete is the reason to some hoping for some big returns.

Hundreds of bodybuilders who have lost their lives and died at an early age because of steroid use and abuse.

1. Rich Piana (Died Age 45)

Rich Piana is one such bodybuilder who died of a massive heart attack in 2017. He is one of the few bodybuilders who publicly acknowledged taking steroids.

2.  Dallas McCarver (Died Age 26)

Dallas McCarver passed away when he was just 26.

It was on the fateful day of August 22, 2017, that he was found lying on the floor of his house with food scattered all around him. He was declared dead the next day. Some of the complications that came to light include enlarged liver and kidneys, heavy lungs, and papillary thyroid carcinoma in his autopsy.

3. Shawn Rhoden (Died age 46)

It’s highly unfortunate for Shawn Rhoden to have joined the list of dead bodybuilders at a young age. He is known to have passed away on Nov 6, 2021, at the age of 46. At the moment, all that he is known is that he seems to have succumbed to a massive heart attack.

4. George Peterson (Died age 37)

Peterson passed away days before competing at the 2021 Olympia. The 37-year-old bodybuilding star was found in his hotel room, face down after his coach was unable to reach him. Reportedly, George was found with blood around his nose which suggests that his passing could be related to an aneurysm. 

5. Cedric McMillan (Died age 44)

At just 44 years old, professional bodybuilder Cedric McMillan died after suffering from heart problems. The news of his death was confirmed on Tuesday by his sponsor, Black Skull USA, after months of health problems.

Although the cause of death has not yet been confirmed, different sources told Generation Iron that he would have died of a heart attack while training on a treadmill.

Steroids may seem to be the best and easiest way to enhance your body, but they only work for so long. Once the side effects start surfacing, the user will have trouble exercising or may not even be able to exercise. Therefore, everything that they have worked for will goes down the drain.