The PED Issue ( Part 2)

This is part 2 of this article. Click here for part 1.

Other PED's

It doesn't matter if it is cortisone, EPO (Erythropoetin), blood transfusions, anabolic steroids, testosterone, or amphetamines, the public questions how athletes continually threaten their own bodies by taking banned substances.

What a joke of a question.

We live in a nation with extreme obesity, get prescribed medications from doctors that have no idea what they are prescribing, get radical and threatening surgeries just to improve our appearances, yet people have the audacity to question athletes how they put their health in jeopardy.  It is one of the most hypocritical things I have ever heard.  And I can understand that it is human nature to contradict ourselves but the thought process is absurd.

Let me see if you recognize any of the following numbers:

  39,000
  80,000
106,000
225,000

Google it, Look through Wikipedia, hell, call Jeeves and see if he knows.

.....

.....

39,000 represents the number of deaths per year by unnecessary and errors in surgeries at hospitals

80,000 deaths per year by infections from hospitals

106,000 deaths of year from prescribed adverse drug reactions (this is not overdosing, the number represents deaths per year from taking medication prescribed by licensed doctors)

225,000 is the sum of deaths due to modern medicine (Source: foodmatters.tv)

I haven't even mentioned the number of deaths from heart disease (#1 Killer in America) which is a direct correlation from the "obesity epidemic".

After all that, can those same people question the risk of taking performance enhancing drugs after knowing those numbers. 

Furthermore, here is another example.  Here is a list of things that some of you may be able to recognize:

Struck by car                      x4
Shoulder Sprain                 x1
Cuts and Abrasions           xToo much to count
Heat Exhaustion                 x2
Pulled Muscles                   x5
Near Death Experience      x1
Close Calls                         x589349542394

These are injuries and experiences that I have gone through in my tenure with triathlons and running. 

Why do I bring this up?  Almost every sport professionals put their lives on the line to do what they have to do to win.  They inherently chose a dangerous sport.  If all of these athletes were concerned about their well being then they wouldn't sweat profusely day by day to get where they are.  And sometimes, it's not enough.

I am just tired of hearing the health risk when it comes to PED use. 

Yes, I know for a fact that many of people got, and still do get addicted to steroids and died because of it.  In the 1990s, a plethora of cyclists died from excessive EPO use. These are harmful substances.  I am not denying that.  But in the grand scheme of things, it is very minor in comparison. 

Plus, did you notice I said "addicted" and "excessive" when deaths occurred. 

We Are All Cheaters 

The general public casts every cheater caught as if they were stealing their first born child.  Nobody can stand the idea of someone cheating or gaining an extra hand in their respective profession.  Its pretty remarkable considering the same general public I am referring to act as if they haven't done anything to gain an advantage throughout their lives.  And no, I am not talking about stealing $500 in monopoly money.  The fact is that everyone has used performance enhancing drugs during their lifetime, they just don't realize it.

Exhibit A

According to opposingviews.com, 35% of non prescribed college students admitted using adderall to help them finish projects and cram for finals in 2012. 

Adderall is a type of amphetamine that treats attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Narcolepsy. 

Amphetamine was one of the first PED's used in cycling throughout the 1980s and 1990s

A drug known to increase attentiveness, concentration, focus, and overall performance in students studies is spreading fast.  The usage from non prescribed users rose from 6.4% in 2007 to 35% in 2012.  The drug is a stimulant and very powerful.  Close to 90% of non prescribed users (according to SAMHSA.gov) eventually get addicted to the substance making it very difficult to perform any type of task that requires any sense of determination and focus without taking the drug. 

Now, if you ask every student who used adderall if they think this is cheating or if they are using a performance enhancement drug, what do you think their response would be?

"Well, everyone is doing it!"

Sound familiar?

Exhibit B

This next PED may be conceived as a bit of a stretch.  I am pretty sure many will roll their eyes when they first read the word.  All I ask is hear me out because of all else, all of this information and opinion is to think more deeply about PED use.  Not to change views and beliefs in the matter, but at least consider most are being extremely biased and hypocritical.

We used it everyday and it helps get through....well...every day.

I think you know what it is by know. 

You are already rolling your eyes... I can feel it.

Caffeine 

It can be found in coffee, chocolate, soda, energy gels and drinks.  Pretty much, something almost every first world individual consumes on a daily basis.  Caffeine picks you up in the morning.  It carries you through the afternoon and in some cases, through late nights.

Caffeine is a drug that makes you more alert, firing signals throughout your brain, creating a better you.  A substance known to pick up any user to a new level.  How many times have you been tired to do a task that needed to be done, whether it be at work or at home, drink a cup of coffee and finish the job?  Did you even bother counting?  Why would you?  Everyone uses it.  We need caffeine. It helps keep our jobs that support our families.  It keeps you going when you are exhausted.  Caffeine helps raise your kids and enjoy yourself on an idle Friday night when your 36 years old but you haven't been out passed 11 since you were in college.  The stimulant raises your energy level and keeps you going for hours so any user can be more productive and efficient. 

One of the greatest advertisement slogans puts it perfectly, "America Runs on Dunkin."  

Everyone would not think caffeine is a performance enhancing drug since it is so commonly used, but it is.  There is nothing wrong with using caffeine; however, to not agree with it increasing one's ability is ignorant.  That's exactly what the drug is made for!  To bring you from point A and get you to point B better than you originally started.  How is it any different from "other" performance enhancing drugs?  Caffeine is safer than steroids, but it doesn't mean it's all that healthier either.  For example, my mother gets migraines when she goes one day without coffee.  She tried to do a cleanse but couldn't give up caffeine since her brain badly needed it to function.  It's not life threatening, because this is very common, but it isn't very healthy either.

Exhibit C

If you think caffeine was a stretch, I suggest you stop reading now.

Music

When listening to music while performing an athletic task, preferably any long distance sport (running, cycling, swimming, kayaking, rowing etc.), it has the same effect as taking 6 pills of Advil (Source: Finding Ultra by Rich Roll...great book by the way).  Therefore, you don't feel the same amount of pain as someone who isn't listening to music. 

Music decreases your perception of effort by 10% and increases your maximum input by 25%.(Source: jsonline.com)

Ethiopian Runner Haile Gebrelassie broke the marathon world record by timing his steps to the beat of Scatman by Scatman John at one of the hardest marathon courses in the world: The Boston Marathon.  Time-- 2:03:46 (1) (4:43 min/mile).

(1)I just want to note that my fastest mile time, now that's just running one mile as hard as you can, is 5:00. Gebrelassie ran a 26.2 mile race on one of the hardest marathon courses in the world at an average of a 4:43 minute per mile.  I looked up his splits and his fastest mile was 4:31!  That time would win you the state championship in High School!

Remember that song:

Music is also known to help people who suffer from depression and other anxiety ailments get back to a normal state of mind.

Exhibit D

Prescription Drugs

David is a landscape architect.  His job consists of hand excavations, mowing the lawn, cutting down trees, and raking the leaves.  He is 43 and suffering from severe arthritis.  2 hours into the day, he is suffering from extreme pain and affecting his ability to complete simple tasks.  His boss notices and is considering firing him since he can no longer hold his own.  Dave is at a crossroad.  He has been doing this since the age of 22 and it's too late to find another job that can support his family but it's to early for him to retire while he has three kids that are planning to go to college.  What does he do?   He goes to the family doctor and gets prescribed pain medication (1) to combat the arthritis.  After he takes the first two pills, he feels great again.  He is able to perform work like he was 30 again.  His boss notices the difference in productivity and is impressed enough to give him a raise for all of his hard work.

(1) There is an all natural alternative to getting rid of arthritis (that's completely legal in all facets of life) but it takes a strict diet to combat.  I have already noted the tragedy of modern medicine in the first post; therefore, just wanted to continue that trend.

Now, what's wrong with this picture?

....

....

....

Absolutely nothing

Dave did something everyone and their mother would have done in that situation and there is nothing wrong with that.  So why do we go ballistic when someone uses HGH to recover from an injury in a sport where the average life expectancy is 3 years (football for all of you non sports nerds)?  Or why everyone is disgusted when a cyclist uses EPO, testosterone, and blood transfusions to compete in a three week race that covers 2,500 miles? 

I don't have answers to these questions but I hope someone does.

We all get older and no one can battle father time.  Our bodies start to break down and it's make it very hard to do routine tasks we are accustomed to doing.  In some cases, this affects our ability to perform jobs.  What's the solution?  We go to the local doctor's office, get prescribed allocated medication and go back to work.

When we consider all of the exhibits mentioned, we all use performance enhancement drugs and methods to get where we need to go.  It helps us get through the day, makes working out more pleasurable, studying more effective, and gets us back to work.  PED's are in everyday life, yet I am forced to leave you with this question:

What's the difference?

Stay tuned for the final installment of The PED Issue, which will be out next week.  Enjoy the Labor Day Weekend!

If you missed part one, click here.

The PED Issue (Part 1)

With the performance enhancing drug issue becoming more and more prevalent over these past few years, the world of professional sports is at a crossroad.

Do they stop the cheating by using biological passports for every major sport or do they rethink the issue entirely?

My favorite sports writer, Bill Simmons, wrote an article challenging the PED problem by asking questions we all have been afraid to ask or ignorantly ignored.  His readers responded with several different theories and opinions on the matter; a smart and simple way to attack a problem that has plagued competitive sports for years.

So the questions are: Why now?  Why is everyone asking the right questions now? And is it because of technology today exposing every cheater?

We finally have to make a decision on the issue that will change the future of sports forever while simultaneously altering the past.  We have to.  Honestly, we are pretty much forced to at this point.

PEDs have been around since the 70s.  It became a world issue when the East Germany women's team took every medal in the 1984 Olympics.  It became even bigger when Ben Johnson broke the world record in the 1988 Olympics before being the first person stripped of a medal due to performance enhancing drug use. 

In baseball, it became clear that at least 75% of players were using PEDs in the 1980s and 1990s and reached a precipice with Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa, and Barry Bonds chasing baseball's home run crown.

During Lance Armstrong's Tour de France reign, every top cyclist has either tested positive or have been alleged of taking PED's.

So again, why now?

People are tired of hearing multiple professional athletes getting caught with PED use. 

"It ruins the game. What type of example does this teach our children?  How can these athletes lie in our faces?"  These are just a few quotes individuals state continuously about PEDs. 

Isn't the whole reason we watch sports is to see excellence?  To see people do things most of us only dream about? To break records and dismantle the competition?

Wasn't the Sammy Sosa and Mark McGuire home run chase the most exciting thing in baseball?  Then to have Barry Bonds break the record a few years later?

Or how about Lance Armstrong winning seven straight Tour de France titles after coming back from cancer?

The answer is yes...to all of the above. 

We all want to see greatness.  We want to tell our children that we saw Adrian Peterson come within 9 yards of breaking Eric Dickerson's single season rushing record a year after having tearing his ACL.  We want to be amazed by Kobe Bryant playing at an extremely high level in his 17th season in the NBA.  We don't really care how it happens.  We just want to see history.

Sports fans live vicariously through their favorite sports teams and players.  It's the same reason people watch 'reality' TV shows.  They know everything is staged, yet still watch it because it is entertaining.  Everyone needs an escape from their daily lives.  We need to believe in something greater than ourselves.  This is what sports gives us; an escape.  That hour and half to 4 hours of bliss and surrealism that fills a void must of us wish we could do.  We just want to be entertained and witness humans push themselves beyond perceived limitations.   The last two players I named haven't even been linked to PED use but shouldn't we be questioning every player or great thing we have seen in the past 40 years.

That's the biggest problem with this and the real reason why everyone is questioning the matter.  We don't know what to believe anymore.  We are questioning everything.  And why not?  With everything in recent memory becoming a fallacy ending with disgrace and betrayal, we don't believe everyone is doing this the natural way.

 Did Usian Bolt really dismantle the world's best without any "help"?

I could go on forever listing extraordinary things performed throughout the history of sports.  Where would that get me?  Where would that get us?  A generation so critical of everything we see on TV as if we are somewhat better.  We judge athletes, politicians, and thespians as if we do things differently, and most of the time, in situations where we don't know half of the details.  

I am getting carried away and preachy again. 

After much thought, research, and watching almost every sport on the planet (including Gaelic football, Rugby, cricket, and baseball), the conclusion is simple.  Just let the athletes treat their bodies the way they want and enjoy the show.  I understand the elementary take on this but hopefully after you are done reading this, you will understand that much care, thought, and experience went into this. 

The Science of PEDs

When I started doing triathlons, I received a call from a telemarketer.  Unlike most people, I take some of these calls (for no specific reason at all.... I am just an idiot) but I wasn't getting offered 43 subscriptions of magazines I would never read or timeshare in Bloomington, Indiana.  I was getting offered Human Growth Hormone.  That's right. I was getting offered HGH from a dude I have never met or spoke to before.  In complete shock, I told him calmly that I am a triathlete and keep myself in very good shape by eating healthy and wouldn't find any need for such a substance.  In a unexpected turn of events, the guy got pissed ( I assume this was his 13th straight rejection and probably interpreted my tone and explanation as "I don't need that s*** and if I did, I would certainly not get it from you"...which wouldn't be to far fetched) and told me "How can you turn something down that will increase your libido, life expectancy, and overall health?" This is now, 4 years ago, and I still remember him saying that.  He was sincerely pissed but I sensed he believed in what he was selling. 

However, after him questioning my logical thought process, I politely said no thank you and got off the phone with him.  But he had garnered my interest.  I had to find out more.  Is that really true?  Can it do all of the those things because if so, why isn't this marketed as supplement just like Vitamin C is?  Couldn't this legitimately save lives? 

I have only heard or seen on television the "bad effects" and labels coming from HGH.  Everyone who does this is a cheater, lacks moral fiber, and has no lower intestinal fortitude.

After doing some research through various sites and testimonials, the guy was right.  I am not going to go into the science (ironic because this section is called "The Science of PEDs") so here is the best way I can explain it.  Remember when you were 20 years old (if you are younger than the age of 23, wait a few years...if you are older than 30, you know exactly what I am talking about) and you could workout for 2 hours, go out drinking, eat whatever the hell you want, get 4 hours of sleep and get up to do the exact same thing without ever having an issue or setback.  That's what HGH does for you, even if your 50! 

Your body starts producing hormones like it did in it's apex.  Remember how energetic you were in those times.  It's not because you "matured" that you became calmer.  Your hormones aren't producing as much.  So with more energy, you are more lively, become more productive at work, have better sex, and recover faster from workouts or injuries. 

It is even proven to improve your eyesight.  Something that is universally understood to fade over every one's lifetime.

So why isn't this celebrated as a medical miracle?  Why aren't we using this in everyday life?

Actor Sylvester Stallone started taking HGH in 2008 and stated multiple times that it has saved his life. 

You want to guess how old he is in the picture below:

64

Read that again.

Go ahead...let it sync in.

Read it again...it's not a typo.

He is 64 in that photo!  This was shot during the filming of his latest film: Bullet to the Head

You want to guess how old he is in the next photo (I would have uploaded the photo on this post but it just wasn't working):

61.

So in 3 years, he went from declining to prospering.  He started taking HGH for his role in Rambo IV. 

Let me correct myself, he started taking HGH to revive and continue his career.  He didn't want to give it up.  He knew he was past his prime but knew he still had something left in the tank.

Sound familiar?

There are multiple counts of people taking HGH and it turning their life around..when they are in their 70s, yet this still gets published negatively.  People are getting in the best shape of their lives while receiving medicare and social security.

So again, why is this not being marketed as the best supplement in the world with huge positive effects and no big negative side effects?  What am I missing here? 

And if you are wondering if I have the answer to these questions.  I don't.  I have theories and opinions on why but they are irrelevant in this column.

Now players are coming back from injuries sooner than ever.  I understand surgery has come a long way but no surgery on the planet can speed recovery, especially for those in decline.  That has to be done naturally through nutrition and natural supplements. 

A few years ago, Kobe Byrant traveled to Germany and received knee surgery that is illegal in the US.  At the start of the season, he started playing like he was 22 again.  He started dunking over guys, playing 46 minutes a game and showing no signs of decline.  He was 32 at the time but no one said boo about this.  There wasn't a peep of negativity towards Bryant on his ability to regain something everyone loses over time.

Yet, Ray Lewis got chastised right before the Super Bowl because he sprayed Deer Antler Spray (a HGH compound) on his torn bicep.  Do you know how long it takes to recover from a torn bicep?

9-15 months! 

He came back in 2.5 and tore through the playoffs, recording double digit tackles in two of the 4 postseason games.

How did the public react?

They wanted him suspended before the Super Bowl (the story broke out a week before the Big Game).  Some fans wanted to literally take the Lombardi trophy from the Baltimore Ravens after they won, claiming that Lewis is a cheat. 

He took an all natural spray that you can order on the Internet.

So what is the difference between the two?

Answer:  There is none

Both found a way to heal their bodies so they can return to their respective sports to help their team win.  This did not help improve their performance but it did get them back to a healthier version of themselves.  Yet, both are viewed so differently.  Why is that?

I will leave you with that as an ending point.  This is going to be a three part essay so I hope you enjoyed and their will be more next week.  Thank you for reading!

Click Here for Part 2