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> By comparison, the potential improvements achievable by doping effort are relatively modest. In weightlifting, for example, Mike Israetel, a professor of exer
by 0xcde4c3db 9y ago
> By comparison, the potential improvements achievable by doping effort are relatively modest. In weightlifting, for example, Mike Israetel, a professor of exercise science at Temple University, has estimated that doping increases weightlifting scores by about 5 to 10 percent.
Based on how blatant the difference is in other contexts (most obviously modern bodybuilding), I'm guessing that's actually the difference between people who got caught and people who didn't get caught, not the difference between doping and no doping.
- Avshalom 9y agoWe'll part of it is that what doping really let's you do is recover fast and thus train more. So in a lot of contexts it just reveals the limits of training more than the physical limits.
- 0xcde4c3db 9y agoYes, but I'm not sure how the effects are really separable unless someone figures out how to get the PED-enabled training regimen without the PED.
- z3t4 9y agoOr get the PED-enabled results without training LOL.
- jackmott 9y agoNo, that is what people who make excuses for dopers, say about doping. But the 1st order thing steroids will do is just make you stronger, immediately, by themselves, even if you don't train differently (or at all!) The 1st order thing taking EPO or doing blood doping will do is just give you more aerobic endurance, immediately, by itself. No doubt some 2nd order benefit may result from also being able to train harder / recover faster while using these drugs.
- lern_too_spel 9y agoThe misconception comes from the days when athletes stopped taking PEDs a month before competition to avoid getting caught.
- CuriouslyC 9y agoActually, testosterone (and thus steroid testosterone derivatives) have been shown to directly accelerate motor learning. Before puberty boys and girls learn motor skills at roughly the same rate, but once in puberty boys learn motor skills significantly faster than girls (even ones that are unathletic like finger tapping). In addition to all their other benefits steroids cause you to get more out of each training session.
- ethan_g 9y agoKeep in mind weightlifting has weight classes, so getting bigger muscles by taking lots of steroids is partially offset by moving up a weight class. Steroids can make small guys big, but big guys are expected to lift that much more. Given the limits of what the human body can do within a weight class, a 10% boost in your total for the same weight class is huge. The article saying it's "modest" I think is misleading: while it's true 10% is small on an absolute scale, it's huge on a competitive scale. To give an idea how overwhelming doping is on weightlifting performance, the IWF reset all the records in 1992 and again in 1998 as the old world records were essentially unbeatable as drug testing got better. (Edit) If you're interesting in a very detailed essay on the topic, I enjoy reading Greg Nuckols: https://www.strongerbyscience.com/steroids-and-strength-differences/ https://www.strongerbyscience.com/steroids-and-strength-diff...
- nl 9y agoDoes that apply to women's weightlifting too? I'm more familiar with athletics, where higher testosterone levels are massively beneficial in women's sprint events.