Have you ever "used" anything?

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

chris42

New Member
Location
Deal, Kent
:blush:I was really into body building 10 years ago and took a course of Dinabol tablets.
I put on 6lbs of lean muscle in 4 weeks and looked fantastic. However I got kidney pains and got scared so stopped.
I had some spots and was very agressive with all the testo in my system.
Not good but it was a life experience.
Never again.
life is to impportant to harm those around you.
 

Blonde

New Member
Location
Bury, Lancashire
It depends what you mean - I don't race/compete in any sport, so I can do whatever I want if legal in the UK.

I now take a lot of supplements (though some of these may not be available in the UK soon due to changing laws - I think you can still buy many supplements not available here quite legally over the internet from the US or elsewhere though) but they have actually been prescribed to me (honest, guv!) due to health problems. I don't know if someone who was 'healthy' would benefit greatly from them or not, either in terms of overall health or sporting performance - though how you seperate the two, I don't know, as presumably someone who is in optimum 'health' (however this is defined) is likely to perform better on the bike that someone who isn't. That's why I find the whole 'banned list' a bit arbitary. Where do you draw the line and why.
 

yello

Guest
Not a darn thing, it's water and cake for me.

But I have taken.... a gel. :thumbsup: But it's okay - I didn't inhale. :thumbsup:
 
Have a look in the other thread about Background on Blood Doping.
Interesting stuff there.

Answering your original q re 'taking stuff' though, here's a little light reading (13 pages...) as to the effect on the body of EPO, HGH, testosterone and steroids - the guy tried it under medical supervision as an experiment to see what effects it had, tested it out when he did PBP
(you doping audaxers, Leo :thumbsup:)

http://outside.away.com/outside/body...ug_test_1.html
 

Steve Austin

The Marmalade Kid
Location
Mlehworld
I used amphetamines for a while, but not for cycling. I was so i could stay awake and party. got very moody, but lost loads of weight

wouldn't recommend it
 

derall

Guru
Location
Home Counties
Yes, I inject a banned substance. Four times a day, every day. Well, it's that or die, so I don't really have any option! If I did race I assume that I'd qualify for a TUE.

When I first started taking Insulin, I could see immediately why it was on the banned substance list - at the start there's a period of experimentation as you get the carbohydrate / insulin balance just right. Took me a while and for the first couple of months I was using too much insulin - and by god, when I got on the bike there was no stopping me. It's powerful stuff.
 

Blonde

New Member
Location
Bury, Lancashire
Rigid Raider said:
I find a coffee helps me to perform - does that count?

Yes of course- it's a stimulent and can 'enhance performance'.
 

Blonde

New Member
Location
Bury, Lancashire
derall said:
When I first started taking Insulin, I could see immediately why it was on the banned substance list... Took me a while and for the first couple of months I was using too much insulin - and by god, when I got on the bike there was no stopping me. It's powerful stuff.

That's interesting - so in theory, it you wanted to lose weight (rather than maintain muscle strength), to help with cycling in the mountains, you'd not take it, I suppose? Like the case of those teenage girls I read about in the paper, who skip their insulin injections, so they can lose weight for aesthetic reasons.
 

TimO

Guru
Location
London
Rigid Raider said:
I find a coffee helps me to perform - does that count?
Yep, I think something like half a dozen strong cups of coffee in a 24 hour period would probably put your level of caffeine high enough to count. Of course Tea, Chocolate, Coca Cola etc all have caffeine as well, so you would have to be careful how much of these sort of things you consumed if you were in the TdF.
 
A student from the local college asked us in the running club to test-out the effects of caffeine.
We ran a measured course one week, were timed, heart-rate measured at the end, said 1-to-10 how hard we'd gone.
The following week, half got a caffeine pill equivalent to about 4 espressos, half got a placebo and we repeated it.

Result : everyone went faster the following week, we all said we'd gone faster but found it easier...


But yes, caffeine is an experimentally-proven ergogenic aid and is on the banned list, but only if you have a lot of it in you : a couple of coffees before the start of a stage wouldn't put you over the limit.
 

Keith Oates

Janner
Location
Penarth, Wales
I've never taken any substance to enhance performance on the bike or anywhere else, but of course have taken mediction for illness when prescribed. Having said that I try not to take anything even for a headache but then I'm not a professional sportsman!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

derall

Guru
Location
Home Counties
Blonde said:
That's interesting - so in theory, it you wanted to lose weight (rather than maintain muscle strength), to help with cycling in the mountains, you'd not take it, I suppose? Like the case of those teenage girls I read about in the paper, who skip their insulin injections, so they can lose weight for aesthetic reasons.

Indeed - When my pancreas shut down and I was getting no insulin at all, I lost 15kg in four weeks. Eating 3000+ kCal a day, and unable to absorb any sugars or carbs so burned off all my excess fat. Once I'd used up all the fat I started burning muscle tissue, lost about 25% of muscle bulk. Another week and I'd have started burning my internal organs. Not recommended as a method of weight control.

How did Steve Redgrave get around that?

TUE - Theraputic Use Exemption, issued by the Sports Council. Allows use of banned substances on a Doctor's Order for treatment of a medical condition.
 

Monty Dog

New Member
Location
Fleet
Caffeine was removed from the banned list 2 years ago, so go ahead drink as much as you like....you'll probably lose more time stopped behind every second hedge.

I take creatine monohydrate as a supplement during heavy training loads - it helps stop 'heavy legs' and allows faster recovery. In some countries, it's treated as an ergogenic, but in most as a food supplement only.

I don't think that the media and public appreciate the scale of recreational abuse of PEs such as steroids and the like - the scale of which is estimated to be many times that in sport. You only have to look at many people in gyms to realise they're on something - trained athletes are lean, not lumpy and spotty. Reclassifying offenses for the non-theraputic supply and administration of drugs might go some way to reducing supply and demand.
 
Top Bottom