What about doping in non-competitive amateur sport?
chrisaonabike
Posts: 1,914
I was reading this thread, and I started wondering about the ethics issues, if any, relating to using PEDs as a non-competitor.
It came up in my mind because I'm in my 50s, and acutely aware of the way I just don't heal like I used to.
I get a persistently sore neck if I cycle too far, or too often (much more than 15 miles, a couple of times a week); if I run even short distances I get shin splints and calf strains.
It massively erodes my enjoyment of the activities, and prevents me getting as fit as I'd like. I have no intention of racing or competing at all, I just want to have more of a chance to enjoy the fresh air without pain.
Would a little testosterone make me heal quicker? Maybe even on prescription, although I don't think I have clinically low testosterone.
Would it be ethical to use PEDs, or even possible to without causing other risks to health?
Part of me says I wouldn't be hurting anyone, and I'd get out a lot more if it worked; yet part of me would still feel like I was cheating, albeit not in any actual competition.
Thoughts?
It came up in my mind because I'm in my 50s, and acutely aware of the way I just don't heal like I used to.
I get a persistently sore neck if I cycle too far, or too often (much more than 15 miles, a couple of times a week); if I run even short distances I get shin splints and calf strains.
It massively erodes my enjoyment of the activities, and prevents me getting as fit as I'd like. I have no intention of racing or competing at all, I just want to have more of a chance to enjoy the fresh air without pain.
Would a little testosterone make me heal quicker? Maybe even on prescription, although I don't think I have clinically low testosterone.
Would it be ethical to use PEDs, or even possible to without causing other risks to health?
Part of me says I wouldn't be hurting anyone, and I'd get out a lot more if it worked; yet part of me would still feel like I was cheating, albeit not in any actual competition.
Thoughts?
Is the gorilla tired yet?
0
Posts
I'd be thinking physio before any form of PEDS
https://www.outsideonline.com/1924306/drug-test
The HGH and testosterone appeal; I like the idea of healing quicker and getting better eyesight. I have four different strength reading glasses these days - +1 for computer work, +1.5 for reading books, +2 for when I'm tired and in artificial light, and +3 for super close work.
Steroids not so much
Testosterone is a steroid.
I meant anabolic steroids.
If you have a doctor's prescription and you don't compete, you'd probably be fine (and many drugs are ok out of competition anyway) but if someone grassed you up you might just be banned and that means from your club, BC, sportives, etc. UKADA's reach is quite wide, when you read the fine print.
ANtidoping gone mad...
mate - if you're not competing, you could be a crack addict and nobody would care (leaving the criminal legality issues aside). Doping is (rightly) banned in competition. But if you're not competing, it is seriously irrelevant. The Edmonds case is absurd, and his subsequent ban is also meaningless. At the end of the day though, it's down to you. Incidentally, doping and steroid use are not the same thing.
There's no ethical issue in medicating yourself however you choose.
Paul
Yup... as above...
Less creating nonsense on a forum and decide what you are going to do about cycling more than 15 miles painfree.
If you are saying your bike fits perfectly - that's dandy... can't be that then , can it?
Maybe your id just hates cycling or switch disciplines from road to mtb?
what I don't get with bike fits, is they can check you fit the bike, your joints are all in line with each other blah blah blah ... but it doesn't allow for prolonged usage in that position.
ie .... I can sit on my bike, in the drops, knees lined up with the cranks, elbows at 90 degrees, slight curvature to the back, not too bent up, ...ohhh comfortable .... but then 20 mins in the drops and my flexibility says, nah, lets ride on the hoods now for a while.
why ? .... I am just not that fit or flexible yet, I can only spend a few hours on the bike before I ache
Same with running .... I can run 5k no probs - up it to 10k and I start to get shin splints, reason - too much too soon.
your answer is probably not to look for a magic pill that makes you flexible and fit, but to put the work in ..... don't hit the drugs, hit the yoga mat, hit the foam roller, hit the gym, cycle a small amount every single day, run a short distance and walk the rest and slowely increase the running bit.
you are a not a special genetic snowflake .. you are just a beginner .. build up slowely, and do more in smaller amounts
I could certainly do with more yoga/stretching/foam roller etc, and I'll take those points on board.
Who knows whether the bike is set up perfectly - I've changed nothing since I had the bike fit (with the Bike Whisperer when he was still in Ealing), and the neck problems have been getting steadily worse over the last two years. Maybe I should have another bike fit.
The first two years of road cycling I did the RL100 twice (2013 and 2014), with plenty of long training rides along the way. But the deterioration since then has been fairly steady.
All that aside, there's a ton of research into anti-ageing drugs. Even a few days ago there was another trial in the news.
It's only a matter of time before they solve the problems, and as time goes by there will be more and more people wanting to put off the effects of ageing, and more and more successful treatments as the biochemistry of senescence is better understood. The rich will get them first, obviously, but the effects will trickle down to sport eventually.
Anyone that thinks that wanting to live youthfully for longer, implies either an empty life or the need for a psychiatrist is lacking imagination at best.
Best advice you've had so far bud!
I've started running regularly recently and after originally getting 'shin splints' they went away as I ran more frequently. I then broke a toe and injured my Achilles meaning two months off, when I started back I tried to carry on where I'd left off and the shin problems came back. I couldn't shake them - I'd rest for weeks, they'd be OK for a few runs then play up again. I eventually saw a physio, had a few sessions of trigger point massage and ultrasound then rebuilt slowly and I've been fine ever since even after running hard or doing 20 miles. However, on those long runs my shoulders ache because they aren't used to be held in that position for so long. No doubt they'll adapt as I do more runs of that length. If I got on my bike now and rode 60 miles my fitness would be up to it but I know my neck will ache from the unnatural angle I'd be holding my head at. I'm mid 40s, by contrast many people I know in their 60s and 70s who ride several times a week wouldn't have any problem at all with their necks.