Many athletes use performance-enhancing drugs to assist them in their training and competitions. The most common performance-enhancing drugs are:

• Muscle Builders. These drugs are designed to help increase lean body muscle mass. Common examples are HGH and steroids. Most athletes prefer hgh because the side effects of hgh are fewer than those for steroids.
• Diuretics. These help to release water out of the body. Athletes use them if they need to lower their weight. Gymnasts and wrestlers are examples of athletes that commonly use these types of drugs.
• Stimulants. Some athletes use stimulants in order to increase their energy levels so that they can keep training even though they are tired. Caffeine is the most commonly used stimulant.
• Painkillers. It is very common for athletes to take painkillers. These allow them to keep pushing their bodies even when they have been injured. The risk of doing this is that it can cause further injury and put the athlete out of competition for a long period of time.

Any drug that an athlete uses (whether legal or illegal) which is intended to improve his or her training is considered a performance-enhancing drug. These are just the most common ones of the bunch.

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