Beta Blockers in Bodybuilding

Beta-blockers are a class of medications prescribed to block the effects of adrenaline, a hormone produced by the adrenal glands. They help the heart work more efficiently, thereby reducing blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tremors and even anxiety. As well, beta-blockers have a relaxing effect on muscle function, gaining the drug class a popular reputation as an illegal, performance-enhancement drug for athletes who benefit from the adrenaline-blocking effects of the medication.

It’s also used to treat other conditions that are mediated by high adrenaline levels, such as tremor and performance anxiety. Beta-blockers don’t lower the anxiety level, but they lower manifestations of the anxiety, such as fast heart rate, sweating and tremor.

Beta-blockers inhibit the effect of the body's stress hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline. As a result, they have a relaxing effect on the heart and blood circulation and prevent anxiety and muscle trembling. Beta-blockers are prohibited but mostly only used in certain sports as an performance-enhancement drug. Sports that require a steady hand, such as archery, shooting, darts, pool, golf etc.

Beta-blockers are legal drugs - taken for medical reasons by as many as 10% of the world's population. Since a 1965 Lancet article explored their use for stage fright, they've also been widely prescribed for musicians, public speakers, and even surgeons who must steady their hands. That means also 10% of any forum uses a Beta Blocker for medical reasons. But I know many bodybuilders also use these drugs for other reasons. And most of them use Propanol.

There are two receptors for adrenaline in the body: beta 1 and beta 2. When beta 1 is blocked, the action of blocking is to lower heart rate and also to lower blood pressure. Beta 2 is found in tissue like breathing passages and blocking the beta 2 receptor can cause bronchoconstriction, which means breathing passages get too narrow to breathe easily. So you wouldn’t use these in patients with asthma.

Anabolic Steroids Anxiety

There are a lot of scientific studies on this subject, just a few to illustrate what I mean:

Oberlander 2012: Anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) are illicitly administered to enhance athletic performance and body image. Although conferring positive actions on performance, steroid abuse is associated with changes in anxiety and aggression. AAS users are often keenly invested in understanding the biological actions of these drugs. Thus, mechanistic information on AAS actions is important not only for the biomedical community, but also for steroid users. Here we review findings from animal studies on the impact of AAS exposure on neural systems that are crucial for the production of anxiety and aggression, and compare the effects of the different classes of AAS and their potential signaling mechanisms, as well as context-, age- and sex-dependent aspects of their actions. This study titled “The Sturm und Drang of anabolic steroid use: fear, anxiety and aggression,” focusing on possible short-term and long-term behavioral effects of using illicit anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS).

Ricci et al 2012: This is concerning given that anabolic steroid use is associated with a higher incidence of pathological anxiety that often appears during withdrawal from use. These findings indicate that early AAS exposure has potent anxiogenic effects during AAS withdrawal that are modulated, in part, by 5HT signaling.

I mostly embed some relevant remarks made in threads about the subject I post about:

“ I don't have general anxiety day to day, for me it’s more of a performance/social things I get overly anxious over. I have used propranolol in the past for things such as public speaking, job interviews, first dates, tests/exams etc with great success. As already said it will not take away the mental anxiety but it will greatly reduce the outward signs of anxiety or nervousness, such as fast heartbeat, sweating, shaking, racing thoughts or mental blocks I believe it works by blocking adrenaline from being dumped into the blood stream so you can appear calm and collected despite feeling anxious.”

“Have found them to kill my anxiety, help my heart rate a lot, and lower my blood pressure two 10 mg propanol twice/day (when you're too jacked up on steroids).”

“If anything, having a beta blocker while on AAS is good to counteract the rise in blood pressure, which work on a different system of blood pressure. Take caution with clen/albuterol/eca, however, as they are beta-2 agonists and non-selective beta blockers (like propranolol) will antagonize their effects. I noticed the sides from gear are diminished when i take propanolol. noticing my aggression down as well.”

“I just don't take it before a workout because i heard it messes with your epinephrine/thyroid? correct me if i'm wrong, and it's ok to do this bro i found beta blockers to be addictive shit....once it's in the system, you get hella nice anti-anxiety but later becomes a damn addiction...dont recommend any addictions bro..”

“I use an alpha blocker every night before bed. Clonidine hcl. 0.1mg. Tablets. Helps with trensomnia, night sweats, and my sleep is deeper too. On higher amounts of gear I sleep really light and get woken by the littlest of things. Keeps my BP in check too for the most part.”

“On them at the minute for anxiety. They're brilliant IMO as stop any physical symptoms which in turn helps in the mental aspect. Cardio's an absolute b*tch though, heart rate won't go over 130 and its much harder. Was running 6 miles once or twice a week beforehand, now can only scrape through 2 at best. Lifting's no problem though.”

“Cold approaching a girl on the street or at a club is a nightmare to do and comedy gold to observe. When I pop a few of these little helpers, there’s no such thing anymore as approach anxiety. Theanine is often touted by pick-up-artists to aid in steading troubling nerves during a cold approach; propranalol kicks theanine’s weak ass. Speaking of kicking ass, I’ve noticed that in confrontational situations, the fight or flight response is reduced almost completely. Good if you like your fists to do your talking, bad if you depend on fight or flight to save yourself from getting your teeth handed to you in a small cup”.

Anxiety/Panic attacks and Bodybuilding...

It actually doesn’t belong in this blogpost, but many people take beta blockers to block all anxiety but some don’t understand that they can block it also by changing their life-style. Relax, train wise (not too much or too heavy) less sugar – pre-work-out supps like Jack3D, no caffeine, no ECA and..as you can read in the science part some classes of roids trigger anxiety/panic attacks and many bro’s name Trenbolone and I think we all can easily name others.

“So a few months ago I get in bed and just as soon as I fall asleep I wake up with a rapid heartbeat, cold sweats, kinda tingly, like a fight or flight type feeling...Turns out i had a panic attack...Now this just came out of nowhere...I have just as much stress at most people with a job and kids and all that...It’s more of a hormonal thing I guess...So i have done a lot of research since then and that has really helped out a lot...It does however effect my bodybuilding because I can’t take ephedrine or a lot of caffeine, sometimes I have to just not take anything with caffeine for a few days and let it clear my system...The fat burners trigger my attacks because they of course increase my heart rate which in turn makes me think im having an anxiety attack which then actually gives me an anxiety attack...Same thing goes with training sometimes, do a hard set and of course my chest pounds like it normally would after a hard set but sometimes it send me into a little attack, especially on legs, though i have become better at controlling them while training...No one ever notices i am having an attack, but i just become uncomfortable and feeling like I’m gonna jump out of my skin...I can take a little xanax if I have to but I am wondering if any of you suffer from this and how you handle it as far as with supplements and working out or even everyday life...”

“Tren used to do this to me big time. I would wake up in the dead of the night from a sound sleep exactly like you described, almost like a panic attack or with high-anxiety. I couldn't even lay in the bed, I would have to get up and try to calm down. I almost felt I couldn't breathe. I would go sit in front of my computer at 2:00 AM trying to calm down. Hated that. No tren =much easier to sleep for me.”

“Tren does it for me too. ive also had panic attacks in the past, really bad ones. every muscle in my body would tense up and i felt like i was having a heart attack. scary shit. i went to the doc, and of course all he wanted to do was prescribe meds. i went on zoloft, which made me feel like an emotionless zombie for months. the stopped that and took xanax. that made me feel like sleeping all day. once my body got used to being sedated, it grew a tolerance and i got hooked on xanax. it took me forever to stop taking xanax. once i did, and as crazy as it may sound, meditation and breathing techniques completely cured my panic attacks. breath in slow for 5 long seconds, hold that breath for 5 long seconds, and exhale for 5 long seconds. you seriously have to focus on this though. keep doing it until you feel fine. the counting, and extra oxygen your body gets during those 15 seconds will calm you down like you wouldnt believe. i read this on a website somewhere a few years ago. but works magic.”

“I had a full redline (only supposed to drink half at a time) right after a 24oz monster energy drink on a completely empty stomach - had a panic attack thought I was gonna die.. damn thing is once you have one your more susceptible to having them again... but one thing you gotta remember is you can control them.. you can feel them coming on.. that’s when you take a deep breath and give yourself a little speech .. I got this.. im fine.. get some fresh air and drinking water always helps for me then in a minute or 2 I’m back to normal! don't let fear get the best of you.. fear is the mind killer.”

“It's very possible that your doctor is correct...depression/anxiety. It's possible you have this condition, it's not that bad and for the most part you're able to keep it under control. But a lot of supplements out there that are for energy or test boosters, can trigger or enhance depression/anxiety symptoms in someone who suffers from depression/anxiety. You might want to start paying very close attention to any of the supplements you're taking and read the warnings very carefully.” I was d iagnosed about 4 years ago, and up until about 22 m onths ago I was medicated pretty good. Whether you're on meds or not it sucks big time in my opinion. While my depression/anxiety has subsided a bit, and I've been able to control it without the meds. But if I use a product like NO-Xplode...within a week I'm full blown nuts again, no sleep, no eat, panic attacks.

Propranolol

Propranolol is a nonselective beta-blocker that interferes with the reaction of nerve impulses inside the body, especially in the heart. As a result, propranolol causes the heart to beat slower, decreases blood pressure and calms the symptoms of anxiety. Some athletes use propranolol specifically for its anxiety-reducing effects, resulting in steadier hands, an even heart rate and the increased ability to focus. As of 2010, propranolol and all other beta-blockers were banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency for all Olympic sports, including archery, gymnastics, shooting and golf.

Metoprolol

Metoprolol is commonly prescribed to treat high blood pressure and is a popular beta-blocker because of its extended-release formula, which lasts throughout the day. Metoprolol is often prescribed as an off-label treatment for social anxiety disorder, performance anxiety and movement disorders because of its calming effect on the nerves and heart. Like other beta-blockers, common side effects include dry mouth, dizziness, tiredness and gastrointestinal discomfort. Metoprolol can cause serious adverse reactions, such as shortness of breath, unusual weight-gain and irregular heartbeat, which should be reported to your physician immediately.

Atenolol

Atenolol is another beta-blocker used by athletes as a performance-enhancement drug. It works by slowing the heart down and reducing its workload. Atenolol was introduced as a new kind of beta-blocker, created to provide the same heart benefits as other beta-blockers without causing as many nervous system side effects. Atenolol is also more commonly prescribed for patients with liver disease, because it is excreted almost exclusively by the kidneys. Atenolol helps reduce sympathetic nervous system responses, such as sweating, agitation and rapid heartbeat, making the drug a popular choice among athletes who wish to control symptoms of performance anxiety. Atenolol can cause serious adverse effects, including jaundice, dark urine and stomach pain.

Considerations

Beta-blockers can have dangerous effects when taken without a physician’s advice. Some beta-blockers can cause severe blood sugar changes and heart failure in some people. Symptoms of heart failure include chest pain, difficulty breathing, weight gain and extreme fatigue. Seek immediate medical treatment for any of these symptoms. Beta-blockers can also interfere with the ability to perform strenuous physical activities and can cause symptoms of nausea and weakness when the heart cannot compensate for the body's demands. This is the reason beta-blockers are not used by athletes involved in strenuous sports, but are instead used by athletes who require steady hands, increased focus and a relaxed state of mind to perform at the utmost level.