Synthetic forms of the male hormone testosterone that are used to cause muscle hypertrophy are called

Anabolic steroids are synthetic forms of the male hormone testosterone that are used to cause muscle hypertrophy.

It is properly knowns as anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS). They are anabolic in nature and increases the protein found within the cells especially in the skeletal muscles. It also has varying degrees of androgenic and virilizing effect which includes inducing the development and maintenance of male secondary sexual characteristics such as facial and hair body growth.

In the 1930s AAS were synthesized and are recently used as a therapeutic medicine to stimulate muscle growth, increase appetite, induce puberty in males and treat wasting conditions among cancer and AIDS patients. It was also acknowledged by the American College of Sports Medicine that AAS, when joined with an adequate diet, can contribute to increasing the body weight, often as lean mass increases and the gains in muscular strength are achieved by doing high-intensity workout and proper diet.