The Truth About Drugs In Sports?

http://www.biggerstrongerfastermovie.com/

I finished watching "Bigger, Stronger, Faster" by Chris Bell and it is the 2nd time I've watched it.  It is a stark reminder of just how much politics can change the outcome of anything in this world.  It also asks a lot of tough questions that few politicians want or have the knowledge to answer.  I've never been pro drug use in sport only because I've never been pro cheating.  Let me explain why that should make a difference and what needs to change, at least from my perspective.


 For millenia, mankind has been trying to get stronger. Logically, tribes with stronger men were able to attain more food and fend off enemies more effectively. In 1,000BC in some parts of the world, civilians had to pass weight-lifting tests to become soldiers (Webster, 1976). Having stronger soldiers meant a distinct advantage in the fight for finite resources. But thanks to technology and industrial revolution, we need not be the strongest physically in order to thrive. 

There is still a particular need for the strongest, fastest, and best physical specimens among us. It isn't for the inauspicious battle for resources anymore. It's for our games; it's for our entertainment. Sports of all kinds have come to represent a worthy goal for the physical elite of our species. Whether it be football, Olympic weightlifting, cage fighting, or bicycling; the best are always rewarded with fame and fortune. Some athletes become known throughout the world (e.g., Micheal Jordan). Some become extremely wealthy (e.g., Tiger Woods). All are paid to play a game and usually the risks are much less than that of being a soldier or policeman. So it seems inevitable that some athletes would seek out any advantage possible to be the best in their respective sport. For those willing to do anything to win; wouldn't drugs look like an obvious choice?

Professional Bodybuilder

The most commonly utilized and stigmatized drugs in sports are anabolic-androgenic steroids, but there are many other illegal substances that fall within the same category. Still, when we hear of drug use in sports, it is usually steroids. AAS basically works its magic by increasing protein synthesis. The bottom line is that you recuperate much faster than normal. This allows you to train harder and super-compensate faster which allows you to blow right passed other athletes without the same advantage. 

Many top athletes have fallen when the use of a banned substance was revealed, but the use by so many elite athletes make it look more like a calculated risk of playing the game at that level. Everyone loves a winner but nobody likes a cheater. It seems that as long as our superstars don't get caught using a banned substance, all is good. If you get caught you end up in the media circus (e.g., Lance Armstrong). 

The big problem is one of fairness. If there are athletes that can make the professional ranks of their respective sports without drugs, it is definitely unfair for them to have to compete against people who are using while under the guise of being drug-free. The exception to this would be sports that allow its athletes to take illegal substances or substances banned by all other governing bodies while keeping the public in the dark; then it is a matter of public relations / politics.

Mel Siff wrote, "The widespread use of steroids and other chemical supplements is an admission that one has run out of training ideas to produce further progress naturally." One look at the Fitness Industry in the US and it is easy to believe that we might not have exhausted all of our alternatives. As evidence one could point to the Soviets using things like creatine long before we even knew it was a good supplement or the radical invention of the shake weight.  I rest my case.

The question of whether or not it is possible to be competitive without the use of steroids in most sports still remains salient. There are camps that believe that if our coaches and trainers had a deeper knowledge of strength, restorative methods, proper periodization, and the like, it would be possible. Other camps believe that if you are not "on" that you are wasting your time. They will point to the mountain of examples as evidence that it cannot be done. 

My biggest issue and one that polarizes many Americans against steroid use in sport has to be the topic of steroid use by teens and young adults. We should question the use of synthetic male hormones so early in development and with so little utilization of other potentially beneficial practices that would logically enhance a young person's progress in fitness training of any type with less potential for negative long-term impact. Young people tend to go for the "juice" without even having the knowledge to properly gain from its use. Since their sports' heroes do it, it must be the right thing to do. Some manage to educate themselves through magazines or online videos in order to get decent results, but few ever crack a recognized text on the topic. They want the magic pill. They want to get to their goals and they want it yesterday. Their priorities seem to stray from the ethical boundaries we've all acknowledged.

We don't want to demonize a drug that is actually useful when used as intended.  We do want to keep the ethical stance that it is wrong to cheat and disqualify athletes who do.  But we should consider removing the rules in sports where drug use is common place and appearances are kept up only for the naive spectator. 
That way it wouldn't be cheating.  In the end, its wrong to cheat even if it means losing out on the potential of living a life of fame and fortune without ever having to do anything you would regret, right?

Stay strong!