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Performance Enhancing Proceedures/Substances..........

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dangerousdave

Frank Nicholson (4)
If there is significant financial or other rewards involved and somebody is not subject to random out of competition drug testing then you can assume that they are on drugs.
 

liquor box

Greg Davis (50)
If there is significant financial or other rewards involved and somebody is not subject to random out of competition drug testing then you can assume that they are on drugs.
I dont think that International ironman triathalon has out fo competition drug testing. Lance Armstrong is competing in this sport now, and doing amazingly well. A lot of Cycling forums are questioning how he is so good for so long.

It is an interesting article though, is it cheating to use pain killers? In a contact sport shouldn't those who can fight through the pain barrier be rewarded?
 

Empire

Syd Malcolm (24)
There doesn't even have to be the financial incentives you mentioned, there is an exponential increase in the amount of individuals who are now on performance enhancing substances purely for aesthetic purposes. This correlates with the huge increase in seizures of the mentioned substances by customs.

A random drug sweep through premier club rugby would throw up some interesting results.
 

liquor box

Greg Davis (50)
There doesn't even have to be the financial incentives you mentioned, there is an exponential increase in the amount of individuals who are now on performance enhancing substances purely for aesthetic purposes. This correlates with the huge increase in seizures of the mentioned substances by customs.

A random drug sweep through premier club rugby would throw up some interesting results.
I think it would be reasonably common in amateur sports, I like cycling but can only do so many really hard days in a rown before I need to rest and recover. I could use some sort of drug I guess but dont want to and I would not be cheating as I am not competing in any races. I think a lot of gym junkies would be doing this too
 

dangerousdave

Frank Nicholson (4)
There doesn't even have to be the financial incentives you mentioned..... purely for aesthetic purposes.

I suppose girls would count as the 'other' kind of rewards. :)

I have never seen so many people that I am sure are on steroids until I worked behind the bar at the Parklife (a.k.a The Shire comes to Moore park) festival. Some of those guys were bigger than any rugby player I've ever seen, they also had a mysterious ability to keep their shirts off while it was cold and raining.
 

Karl

Bill McLean (32)
On a more moderate note, Free Testosterone falls with age, but if you're in a certain range, you're considered "normal" even though by 50 you might be quite low compared to when you were say 25 or 30. Low testosterone in men is bad. Read this - http://healthfully.org/malehormones/id3.html

Low testosterone makes you fat, weak and can also contribute to depression.

A gym I went to had anyone training there who was 40 plus and overweight get a blood test and had that reviewed by an appropriately trained Doctor and often had guys then put on a course of Sustanon 250 if their free testosterone levels were low. Their view on what was "low" was to look at what someone who is 30 would have if they were at the upper end of the "normal" range. If you have maybe been neglecting your diet and drinking a bit more than you should, you probably have testosterone levels that would place you on the curve with an inbred hillbilly from a Louisiana swamp, but they'll tell you that you're in the "normal" range. That range is not ideal, it's what is average based on a sampling of society - and lets face it, society is hardly in optimum health is it?

Some guys were also on HGH supplementation, but that stuff is seriously expensive. The Sustanon is cheap, effective and safe when properly dosed to the individual and properly administered. I did a 3 month course and I'm telling you now, combined with a complete alcohol ban, 2 hard sessions of heavy weights a week (no other exercise) and a good diet (lots of protein, clean carbs like broccoli, oatmeal and rice, eggs and a couple protein shakes a day (with more eggs in them) etc - I dropped an enormous amount of fat and gained a lot of muscle and strength. Plus I felt great and don't ask what it does to your sex drive.

If you're not a competitive athlete, but you want to get stronger and leaner for whatever your chosen pastime is, I'd say look at two big things - your booze intake and your testosterone levels. If you're drinking (even a few a week, forget a couple a night) and you have low free testosterone, you're going to be training your butt off to just halt the slide and maybe eke out a few transitory gains.
 

Groucho

Greg Davis (50)
But the article's not about drugs, it's (mainly) about surgery. And it makes a very good point: why is taking a drug to increase your endurance bad, but having surgery to increase your strength good?

What if the surgery is elective surgery?
 

dangerousdave

Frank Nicholson (4)
But the article's not about drugs, it's (mainly) about surgery. And it makes a very good point: why is taking a drug to increase your endurance bad, but having surgery to increase your strength good?

What if the surgery is elective surgery?

Yes we did get side tracked a bit. I would go further and ask why is the support and scientific help Australian athletes get from the AIS good but drugs are bad? I remember watching a news item about some magic sports drink that the AIS had developed before the Sydney or Atlanta olympics that was supposed to 'give our athletes the edge', hardly in the spirit of the games. The improvement in performance athetes get from being able to train full time, with a good coach, with a good nutritionist and in a competitive environment (where there are other people in the same boat) is probably similar to or greater than the advantage that can be obtained from drugs. This kind of support is only available to athletes in certain sports in certain countries.
 
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