Gaining muscles from steroids without a workout (is it possible?)

Before we dive deeper into the subject, let us answer this question in short. Yes, you may still benefit from steroids, especially if you are skinny. However, benefits would be no-where closer to what one can gain when combining steroids with the workout. Moreover, results would vary significantly among the individuals, and some may not see any benefit at all.

Remember that steroids are like tools that may accelerate the things. They may stimulate muscle growth in those doing workouts. However, if a person is not doing anything, there is not much for them to boost.

In medicine, testosterone is approved for use in those failing to gain body weight or those who have lost too much body weight due to illness. Thus testosterone may help gain body weight after a prolonged illness, or even surgery. Similarly, testosterone can be legally given to those suffering from wasting due to infections like HIV.

Testosterone increases body weight in many ways. It improves the nitrogen balance in the body and stimulates synthesis of proteins. It increases the density of bones and increases minerals in our body. Testosterone may also increase red blood count, thus having a positive impact on health. Improved health may also increase appetite, thus contributing to the increase in body weight.

Coming back to our primary question, would it help to gain muscles without workout? And what does science say about it?

There are very few well designed clinical trials in this direction. However, most of the clinical studies indicate that testosterone will not only increase body mass but also increase muscle mass, strength, endurance, even without workouts. However, gains in muscular mass would be much better when combined with physical training.

In the clinical trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). All those who received testosterone for 10 weeks had positive outcomes. Muscle mass and strength increased in all those who received testosterone, with or without a workout. Such an increase in muscle mass did not happen in those who received placebo and did not do exercise.

In conclusion, taking testosterone may benefit those who are underweight, or recovering from prolonged illness. For others, such benefits would be minimal. Moreover, no gain would occur on extended use. Thus for optimal benefit better use steroids along with adequate workout.

It is also worth mentioning that if a person takes steroids over a prolonged period without opting for a regular workout, side effects from steroid use may not be worth that. As on protracted use, the natural production of testosterone would be suppressed.

Further, most of the clinical trial that showed the average benefits of steroids without workouts were not only short term, but most of them also used small doses of steroids. However, when using higher doses things may differ. At higher doses, harm may exceed benefits if steroids are used without any workout.

Conclusion

For maximum benefit from steroid use, one must not only do a workout, but it is also equally important to increase nutrition. After all, workers cannot build a building in the absence of construction materials.