I’m obviously not a world class athlete. Merely a MOP recreational enthusiast that likes to train and do an occasional race. I’m not, right now, willing to put more time or effort into my training. My motto is less is better.
I know it seems like a question with an obvious answer but if I, a MOP at best athlete, take steroids will they improve my performance noticeably? substantially? At all? I’m thinking that the drugs would probably have no effect on my performance as they would really only benefit top athletes.
Also do AG triathletes use illegal performance enhancing drugs? I would imagine that they do but since it’s rarely talked about I’m wondering if it’s common in the AG ranks?
btw, I’m not really thinking about using illegal drugs.
There are several types of ‘steroids.’ 1) Cortisone like drugs, which is what most docs call steroids. 2)Male hormones–androgenic steroids (testosterone, et al) which is what the media call steroids. 3) Female hormones–estrogens. 4)preganancy hormone --progestagens. 5) salt regulating steroids–aldosterone. They all come from choleserol.
I assume you are talking about androgens. I’m no expert in that area, but to my knowledge androgens are most helpful for activities requiring power and acceleration. They tend to increase muscle size as well as strength, but that may not be what you what in an endurance sport. So, they may improve performance, but not to the same degree as in sprints, weight lifting, football, etc.
Yes … if they are used properly (if you can say properly for a substance that is illegal for competition).
In 1984 the Olympic 10 000m silver medalist was nabbed for using them. Marti Vaino (sp?) was a Finnish distance runner who got caught because he combined dianabol with blood doping (he took the blood out and put it in the freezer and then put it back just before the race … not done anymore since EPO came on the scene). His problem was that he stopped the dianabol in plenty of time for it to clear but there were traces in the blood that he had frozen … oops. Anabolic steroids would help you recover faster and so that endurance athletes that take small doses have improved recovery so that you can train harder. Simply taking them doesn’t make you faster but being able to use them to train harder will.
This is not entirely correct: In the right combination anabolic steroids will definitely give you an edge in endurance sports. For muscle tissue, for example, they will help you regenerate muscle tissue faster after training induced breakdown/challenge. There are multiple other benefits in endurance sports, otherwise it would not be on the list.
You look a little bit like a troll, but I will play anyway:
Yes, they will improve your performance, even if you keep your current training-regimen.
If you are willing to look forward to heart-disease (A heart attack is not always deadly, so you got your chance), liver and kidney damage (nice to be on dialysis–makes your day worthwhile), stroke (it’s nice to be a veggie and carefree) and other uncalculated risks later in your wonderful life, all to have gone from MOP to M-FOP, I have to say:
GO FOR IT!
(All those nay-sayers don’t know how great it is to be on the AG podium! Just make sure you have a good health insurance plan for later)
Yes, they will improve your performance, even if you keep your current training-regimen.
So performance enhacing drugs are like a magic pill for someone of my caliber?. I sort of thought that taking performance enhancement drugs had more to do with being able to train harder, which I’m not willing to do, or to be able to recover more quickly, which is not a requirement for me since I’m not going to train harder.
Faster hair loss
Faster acne development
Faster heart disease
Faster to be labeled a cheat by your peers.
Bike racing is brutaly honest. There is no faking it on a bike. Either you can hang or not. The only way is putting in the hours, recovering smartly, eating well and good habits.
Using PED’s can give some an edge but you still need to do all the above to make the risks payoff. Nobody eats bon bons until race day.
Go join a bowling league or somthing. You attitude is not needed at any cycling events.
What on earth would possess you to take on the health risks of using these substances when you are saying there is no gain (money) in it for you?
Will it make you faster? In what way? Faster to the grave, probably. Faster mentally, probably not. In fact if you are seriously considering taking these substances and you are just a MOP age grouper, then you probably have mental health/intelligence issues already.
Let’s just imagine that for a IM event, these substances would enable you, a MOP age grouper, to swim 5 minutes faster in the swim, 15 minutes faster on the bike leg and you didn’t lose any time in the run. How would shaving 20 minutes benefit you?
You must realize these substances will not make you, a MOP age grouper, a world class triathlete. The differences in performance with vs without are slight but not insignificant.
Is the attraction just an effort to reduce training required to perform at the same level or better? For these substances to be effective, you will probably have to increase your training level significantly to begin to benefit from their performance enhancing effects. Then you will be asking did I perform better because I trained more or did I perform better because I used PEDs?
Yes, like Mr. Tibbs says, it is a very suspicious question.
just thinking of wether or not it will help you makes it seem as if you’re considering it.
personally I know some guys who are on the juice. several times while in the gym one of them has lashed out at me–and it is quite frightening (even for a fiesty kitty like me).
in short, if you want a big time addiction, psychotic behavior, a quick and early death, then by all means take them. and yes, all of these things will come to you very fast, to answer your question.
wise up–stay off the juice unless you want to die.
That was an interesting read and it has pushed my opinion of PEDs even further down, even if it was under a doctor’s supervision. I can understand some people’s curiostiy and obsessions with the drugs could lead to abuse.
Yeah the acne thing and roid rage are definite downsides to steroids. Plus, who wants big pecs in our sport? I would probably try EPO, on the other hand, if I had expert medical supervision and quality product (neither of which I can get as it is illegal and i am a good boy), just to see what an extra % or two boost to my HCT level would do for my endurance. Its around 44% now; 48% would be nice. I am not aware of any health risks to using EPO to achieve this modest increase in HCT. Obviously if I were using EPO I would not compete in any events that banned its use.
This is not a troll. I just think that, as in the “war on street drugs”, we need to address the problem of drugs in a non-hysterical and utilitarian and libertarian fashion. I’m with Peter Tosh on this one - Legalize it. Make users go through doctors and be made aware of all possible health risks. Make manufacturers guarantee quality products. Shit we let people drink and smoke, don’t we?!?! When is the last time you saw a cyclist “doped to the gills” on EPO smash a bottle over someones head or choke to death on their own vomit or get their lung removed?
I remember reading somewhere that some sport docs feel that the high incidence of heart attacks in pro cycling is EPO related. Whether this is due to misuse, or just a side effect of continued EPO use I don’t know.
Like a few other posts, I think steroids would give an athlete the tools to train harder and more frequently. As for faster, maybe just faster recovery and maybe faster explosive efforts.
The people that I know who do take gear, have told me that they notice a decrease in aches and small injuries. For example, a mild/chronic knee pain will just go away and heal up…(or eventually come back when off the gear-cycle).
I’m not thinking about or planning to take any illegal performance enhancing drugs. I’m tested at work and if they find out I’m completing my tasks too quickly the Union will want to boot me out. Those guys prefer that two of us do the work of one and that we do it very slowly.
However, even if I did my belief is that they would not help me since I’m a MOP and not willing to train harder. This is my question - does anyone think they would help a person in my category do better?
Also, my personal belief, based on doing organized sports most of my life, is that there are a substantial number of AG triathletes using illegal performance enhancing drugs. All this talk about pro’s in all sports doing it and getting caught, and no discussion about the average AG schmo taking the juice is not right. Anyone who thinks age groupers are not using is kidding themselves.
I think that the question; will steroids make you faster? The simple answer is that without a sufficient training load, no they will not. You do need a certain level of stimulus to make them respond in the way that you want.The real stuff also will cost you some money unless you live close to the Mexican border were they are cheap and relatively easy to procure. But is it worth getting caught smuggling? Probably not for a MOPer. So you maybe better off enlisting a coach for hire from which you would probably make much better and more efficient gains for the money spent. Or better yet, re-evaluate why you are competing.
It takes a long time to develop the base required to compete at a high level and short cuts such as steroids will not get you there. Do not get me wrong because they can help you though. That is why the pros have been caught using them and why the European athletes have used them for years. The only thing is is that they are/were used quite moderately in comparison to the “more is better” philosophy of the US. It should also be said that use in , most notably, Eastern Europe is by athletes who have FOP potential.
It should also be noted that a lot of propaganda surrounds the use of PEDs. It is my belief that the “Roid Rage” phenomenon is one of them. I’ve have worked out in gyms with guys on the juice, maybe I even took some myself, and they have behaved like people with normal ebb and flow of hormones. It is my opinion that the foul moods are more attributed to the lack of circulating hormone than to an excess (the anabolics cause an attenuation of natural test. and an amplification of estrogen- yuck! we all know what that does-which does not recover for weeks following a cycle). I know for a fact that there are many older men that are taking prescribed testosterone and are reporting that they have never felt better in their lives. Will it shave a few years off their lifespan? Maybe. You gotta die of something might as well enjoy the trip.
Fact; some anabolics more than others cause hemopoisesis (i.e. blood formation) and prevent catabolism (i.e. prevent protein breakdown) in fact promote anabolism (i.e. protein build up aka muscle) all of which are good things to an athlete but nothing that cannot be gained by sound training and recuperation.
To most people tritnow, let say 90% or more, your ability to finish a triathlon is a worthy accomplishment. They could really care less if you finished slightly faster or won the damn thing. You are doing what most just dream about. Be happy with that.
I really do not think you have a screw loose because you consider using enhancements. Moreover I think the mere fact of training and completing in a tri requires some level of OCD.
The bottom line is that without sufficient training load, which you have said you unwilling to do, steriods WILL NOT make you a FOPer.
As far as your question regarding AGers using PEDs it has been my experience that the overwhelming majority do not. I have no empirical data to back this up but my feeling is that most have been at it awhile and they are there for the love of the sport; something drugs WILL NOT give you. The good fitness that some have achieved is a by-product consistent training over the years. I think this is the most important factor when considering improving performance. That is remaining consistent in your training regimen. I have had many people compliment me on my potential but it has never been fully realized due to my inconsistent training/ dedication/ discipline.
Drugs are not a substitute either nor will they give the drive to do what it takes. That comes from your mind and soul.
Performance enhancing drugs really only respond to more stimulus from training and therefore would not have any significant impact on someone like myself, a MOP who doesn’t want to train more and doesn’t have a need for better recovery.
I also agree that training, dedication, and discipline is what it takes to achieve full potential.
However, I believe, with absolutely no proof at all, that some of the top AG finishers may be realizing their full potential with some artificial help. Yes, there are many exceptional and gifted athletes in the AG ranks but since there is no drug testing in this sport, per se, it would be naive to think that it is not happening. Not sure why no one will admit that it happens.