How to Enhance Ability
Steroids, Exercise, and Nutrition Improve Performance
Kevin Mitchell is a sports columnist for the Guardian Unlimited, which is a British publication. Athletes using performance enhancing methods is a universal problem, not just one that exists in the United States. Mr. Mitchell raises some pertinent issues. “How much coffee do you have to drink to shave a hundredth of a second off your 100 metres time? The drugs they legitimately hunt down should not be those that enhance performance but those that endanger health. That should be the only criterion because, in one small way or another, legal supplements, new training tricks and a scientifically rigorous diet all enhance performance. What, really, is the difference?”
Some Drugs Are Allowed But Others Are Prohibited
The answer is that there is NO difference. Some drugs are completely banned, such as cocaine, some drugs are allowed if they are properly prescribed for specific purposes, such as growth hormone, and some drugs are permissible to most individuals, such as alcohol. No training methods are banned and no restrictions exist on an athlete’s diet. Societal values dictate acceptable methods of performance enhancement.
Caffeine is the Most Widely Used Ergogenic Aid in the World
There are many supplements that enhance performance and do not endanger health. Caffeine is the most casually and widely used ergogenic aid in the world. It stimulates the central nervous system, which makes most individuals more alert and gives them a temporary energy boost. Well-controlled laboratory studies involving running or cycling after taking placebo or 3-13 mg caffeine/kg body weight 1 hour before exercise have shown that caffeine improves endurance by prolonging time to exhaustion.
Cortisone is a Steroid
Cortisone is a steroid produced by the pituitary gland that can also be created synthetically. It is a powerful anti-inflammatory that is used to treat shoulder bursitis, inflamed elbows, and arthritis. Many baseball players, especially pitchers, would not have been able to perform without one or more cortisone shots. The argument is that cortisone does not enhance performance – it merely allows an athlete to regain the ability that was diminished by an injury, which is hogwash. With the injury, the player is at a new level. Without cortisone, that now becomes his level of ability. Taking a cortisone shot increases his level. The starting level is critical, and the injury has created a new starting level.
Growth Hormone is a Steroid
Human growth hormone is a steroid produced by the pituitary gland that can also be created synthetically. It regulates growth and metabolism, reduces fat and increases muscle mass, which leads to enhanced athletic performance. The use of human growth hormone is banned. Society does done condone increasing muscle mass and decreasing fat using this method. The excuse is that although growth hormone therapy is generally safe, it is not as safe as no therapy and entails unpredictable health risks. Athletes who are willing to take the risks must not be allowed to do so in order to protect those athletes who don’t want to take the risks.
Exercise Enhances Performance
Exercise enhances athletic performance. Alex Rodriguez works out more than Mickey Mantle ever did. Without his rigorous training methods, Alex would not one of the greatest players in the game. Society approves of hard work, which makes Alex’s methods laudable. Exercise maximizes Alex’s performance as would growth hormone, but the latter is frowned upon.
Why Shouldn’t Athletes Use the Most Effective Methods to Enhance Performance?
Finally, exercise enhances performance by a specific amount. Evidence indicates that growth hormone also enhances performance by a specific amount which is greater than exercise alone. Why shouldn’t athletes use the most effective methods to enhance performance? Kevin Mitchell answered that when he stated that the only criterion should be only methods that endanger health should be regulated.
References:
- Clarkson, P.M. "Nutritional Ergogenic Aids: Caffeine." International Journal of Sports Nutrition. 3:103-111, 1993.
- Graham TE, Spriet LL. "Caffeine and Exercise Performance. Gatorade." Sports Science Exchange 9(1), 1996.
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