Anabolic Steroids Anabolic steroids are performance enhancing drugs. They are a synthetic form of the chemical testosterone that is normally found in the body. By taking anabolic steroids, a person's testosterone level can be raised up to a hundred times more than the usual amount of 2.5 to 10 mg. Per day. The increase in testosterone increases anabolic activity, which results in greater muscle bulk. It also increases protein synthesis and androgenic activity (enhanced secondary sexual characteristics) in males. The users of steroids want to increase the anabolic effects and reduce the androgenic effects, but