So whats the deal with steroids?

[coreJack]

Here's an interesting piece by an amateur cyclist and writer who decided to see firsthand what the effects of various performance enhancers are. After reading this, you will come to understand, if you're not already there, why no pro sport is devoid of doping - the potency of the available drugs is just awesome.

http://outside.away.com/outside/bodywork/200311/200311_drug_test_1.html

When the enticements of a being a successful pro athlete (money, fame, women, etc.) are weighed against the risks of detection, the decision to dope is really a no-brainer for many. And the guys who want to stay clean? Most of them are simply out-competed by guys who dope.

[Portillo]

A few months ago i was 100% against steroids. But things started changing the more i investigated and the more i talked to ppl about it.

[SardusPater]

Too true coreJack. Athletes time their cycle to avoid detection. And like you mentioned, who knows what is NOT being tested for...think BALCO/Marion Jones.

I don't think this is possibile, as anti-doping tests for most sports are done randomly even off season.

[bkklift]

Here's an interesting piece by an amateur cyclist and writer who decided to see firsthand what the effects of various performance enhancers are. After reading this, you will come to understand, if you're not already there, why no pro sport is devoid of doping - the potency of the available drugs is just awesome.

http://outside.away.com/outside/bodywork/200311/200311_drug_test_1.html

Cheers for the link coreJack. A really interesting and well-written article. Whilst it probably shouldn't come as a surprise, the author really brings home the effects of performance enhancers. It was also refreshing to see somebody take a more "scientific" view, rather than an un-trained individual just copying a cycle from t-nation.

I don't think this is possibile, as anti-doping tests for most sports are done randomly even off season.

I'm sure you are right SardusPater. I do know that some sports are far behind on testing athletes in the off-season, like the NHL.

[atypical1]

I don't think this is possibile, as anti-doping tests for most sports are done randomly even off season.

Call me a cynic but I'm thinking that the anti-doping tests are paid a lot of lip service but that's about it. Let's face it, sports are about money and about setting records. If you're that athlete you want to be as fast, strong, accurate, etc as you can possibly be at any cost. If you're the team/league/stadium manager, owner or sponser then you want to bring in the crowds. We (the spectators) follow the sport to watch people do things that we can only dream of. And we want to see records being broken. Drugs help with breaking those records which makes the fans happy. Happy fans mean happy owners. Happy owners aren't going to be happy if you're taking out their star performers simply because of some drug tests.

But I'm pretty cynical about sports.

james

[coreJack]

I don't think this is possibile, as anti-doping tests for most sports are done randomly even off season.

Pro cycling has random off-season doping tests. Sure sounds good on paper. Anyone who is knowledgeable about pro cycling knows that the top guys are all doping.

[SardusPater]

I don't think this is possibile, as anti-doping tests for most sports are done randomly even off season.

Call me a cynic but I'm thinking that the anti-doping tests are paid a lot of lip service but that's about it. Let's face it, sports are about money and about setting records. If you're that athlete you want to be as fast, strong, accurate, etc as you can possibly be at any cost. If you're the team/league/stadium manager, owner or sponser then you want to bring in the crowds. We (the spectators) follow the sport to watch people do things that we can only dream of. And we want to see records being broken. Drugs help with breaking those records which makes the fans happy. Happy fans mean happy owners. Happy owners aren't going to be happy if you're taking out their star performers simply because of some drug tests.

But I'm pretty cynical about sports.

james

I'm not saying that it's impossible to elude the anti doping tests, just that because of their randomness you can't predict when they will be done.

I don't think this is possibile, as anti-doping tests for most sports are done randomly even off season.

Pro cycling has random off-season doping tests. Sure sounds good on paper. Anyone who is knowledgeable about pro cycling knows that the top guys are all doping.

I didn't say that random off-season doping tests are perfect, I just said that steroid cycles cannot be timed to match the tests, as they are random.
BTW even who isn't knowledgeable about pro cycling knows that everyone is doping.
When someone wins the tour de france or giro d'italia you can bet 10$ that in less than six months he'll be found with a drug store in his veins :d

[itsbruce]

I just lurk sometimes and it really gives you a pretty decent feel for why some people want to take them. To me it's akin to plastic surgery in some aspects.

james

You do know that comparison isn't going likely to win over anybody on the anti-steroids side?

[hardestgainer]

That was my point exactly itsbruce.

[Teak]

I like Jame's comparison to plastic surgery as it highlights imo the vital point: they're both amoral events. If someone decides to have a boob-job or hair implants it's a personal decision, others may say it's good or bad but there's rarely a moral judgement.

To my mind with steroid use the morality aspect only becomes relevant when talking about pro-sports.

[coreJack]

To my mind with steroid use the morality aspect only becomes relevant when talking about pro-sports.

What about the level just below pro? In the US, college football, college basketball, high school baseball, etc. No doubt that lots of guys are losing their chance to get into pro sports b/c their competition is doping.

[Vlad]

Does anyone know if anabolic steroids can help getting stronger for real? Let's say that a lifter trained hard for 5-10 years and really stalled: no progress for many months. Taking steroids will no doubt help to overcome the plateau. But after stopping taking the drugs, will one just return to the previous level, or maybe one will still retain some of the gains?

[tenkev]

No. Once that muscle is there its there. You just have to maintain it.

[muddy]

Vlad, there was a study that recently made news claiming the steroid advantage lasts for years. I've no clue if the study is one of those hash jobs, or if it was reasonably conducted. Here's on quick blurb on it, and I'm sure you can dig up more on it if you're so inclined:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster ... could.html

[coreJack]

Vlad, there are lots of testimonials about steroid use on the internet. The guys who stop tend to lose some, but not all, of the weight gains, so I'd imagine the same would be true of their lifts. That said, one thing that becomes very clear is how psychologically addicting steroids can become - as guys get bigger and stronger, they are loathe to give back a sizeable chunk of their size and strength gains. And so most who experience success (gains w/o any serious adverse affects) with their first cycle will plan for another cycle, etc.