Today, we may frequently hear the opinion that Steroids in Crossfit are being used more and more actively. Of course, these statements cannot be confirmed or denied with full confidence. In this article, we will try to understand why people engaged in CrossFit might use illegal drugs.

What is CrossFit?

Before dwelling on the topic of using steroids in CrossFit, it would be nice to begin with clarifying what CrossFit itself is. CrossFit is a training system that is aimed at developing all the physical qualities of an athlete – endurance, strength, speed, flexibility, and coordination. In most cases training includes rapidly alternating circular workouts in different directions.

CrossFit was invented by Greg Glassman and Lauren Jenai, who also founded a fitness club, where this system was practiced in 2000. Today this system of training is practiced all over the world and enjoys great popularity among people of all age categories.

There are two main types of CrossFit. The first one includes purely physical exercises, medium or light, which are performed by amateurs to keep themselves in good shape. The second type is a competitive CrossFit, requiring a very high level of training from professional cross-athletes. CrossFit Games are the main world CrossFit competitions.

You do not need any special hard-to-get equipment for exercising using the CrossFit system. All you need are a bar, barbells, weights, dumbbells, a medicine ball, a skipping rope and a rowing simulator for some WODs (WOD stands for “workout of the day”). In CrossFit, there are also many exercises performed using one’s own weight, including burpees, air squats, sit-ups and so on.

CrossFit is characterized by very high intensity training and comprises elements of such sports as:

• weight-lifting;
• track and field athletics;
• bodybuilding;
• powerlifting;
• fitness;
• classical gymnastics;
• kettlebell lifting.

Examples of CrossFit workouts

Here are some main training routines in CrossFit and their examples:

• AFAP – As Fast as Possible. In this WOD an athlete should perform as many rounds as possible in the shortest period. Example: Cindy, which implies performing the following exercises: 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, 15 sit-ups in 20 minutes.
• EMOM – Every Minute on the Minute. An athlete should perform a certain exercise every single minute. Example: EMOM 10 minutes (10 deadlifts and 5 thrusters every minute).
• Tabata. It implies high-intensity interval training (HIIT), where an athlete performs some exercise for 20 seconds and rest for 10 seconds. In the classical version, there are 8 rounds.

Why are steroids used in CrossFit?

CrossFit is an incredible combination of fitness, strength, and muscle endurance. It is also one of the ways to get nagging injuries. That makes CrossFit one of the best candidates for the use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs.

CrossFit is a sport in which recovery after workouts is extremely difficult without the use of steroids. And doping-based recovery cannot help affecting performance. Although for some people it may seem sedition, CrossFit is the number one sport in the world in deriving the greatest overall benefit from the use of steroids for recovery purposes. This in itself is a sufficient reason to believe that a lot of CrossFit athletes take steroids.

A top athlete, when asked what he does on the day off, usually answers: “I have no such days,” and “I’m already recovering.”

Such overloads can hardly be sustained without doing harm to one’s body, without using steroids.

How can one work out three times a day without days off, with the same level of performance and doing hundreds of different movements in exercises, doing squats with a barbell at lunchtime, with the expectation that one can sustain this level of activity for decades? Not everybody can cope with such overloads with only natural nutrition and a lack of “juice”.

In addition, the anti-doping test before the CrossFit competition is very easy to be passed negatively; that is, any athlete may cheat it. An author of the resource T-Nation wrote:

“A drug test is an IQ test. Only idiots can fail them. CrossFit competitions have a porous anti-doping program.”

Steroid cycles in CrossFit – some examples

According to the Internet-based information, there may be the following steroid cycles:

1. For male newcomers:

• Turinabol 40 mg per day (20 mg twice a day);
• Turinabol 40 mg per day (20 mg twice a day) in combination with testosterone propionate 100 mg every other day.

2. For more experienced athletes:

• testosterone propionate 100 mg every other day, drostanolone dipropionate 100 mg every other day (or trenbolone acetate 100 mg every other day);
• Trenbolone acetate 100 mg every other day, Fluoxymesterone (Halotestin) 40 mg per day (divided into 3 doses).

3. For female beginners:

• Turinabol 10 mg per day (divided into two doses);
• Oxandrolone 20 mg per day (divide into 3-4 doses);

4. For more experienced female athletes:

• Turinabol 10 mg per day (divided into two doses), Primobolan 100 mg per week;
• Turinabol 10 mg per day (divide into two doses), and if an athlete well tolerates the abovementioned drugs, it is possible to use testosterone propionate 25 mg per week.

In addition, in combination with steroids, athletes can use other performance enhancing drugs.

Note that these are just examples. We do not in any way encourage you to use steroids for better performance in CrossFit, since this can lead to a number of steroids side effects. In addition, steroids used in CrossFit for better results may lead to masculinization when administered by females (you might be interested to know about Gabi Garcia and steroids).