The unspoken secret about roids?

[bluedog]

so I'm talking with a friend of mine who's a medical professional about steroids and he said something that sent a shiver down my spine.

He said - even though the effects of the drugs on growth of muscle mass and efficiency of cells go away after you stop using roids, it's possible to maintain a portion of the strength increase from using by simply maintaining the increased muscle mass through intense training.

This could mean that even though ARod may have stopped using in 2003, some portion of the benefits of using the drug (total muscle mass) may still exist and that he may still be benefiting to this day from strength gains he made while using the drug.

If this is true, then cheating through steroid use isn't just a question of whether the player is still using the drugs or not, but whether they EVER used the drugs over any extended period of time to achieve muscle growth beyond their natural capacity and have continued to maintain some portion of that muscle growth from when they were using.

I've read a lot of stuff on the web about steriods since my chat with my friend and its clear that a lot of the benefits of roids dissapear after 3 to 4 weeks if you stop using - particularly endurance and efficiency in energy useage and waste disposal at the cellular level. But no one is asking whether or not the huge increases in muscle mass that many roid users exhibit can be maintained (at least in part) after the player stops using.

The fact that there are no studies out there that I can find on this subject is mind boggling. If there is any validity to this, it could mean that baseball players who used years ago are still benefiting from steroids even though they are currently "clean".

Frightening thought for MLB if its true.

[Gurgi]

Bonds and his big head havent gotten smaller. They say his shoe size went from 10 1/2 to 13. I dont think his feet are gonna shrink. The stuff does leave a lasting benifit.

[birrman54]

Bonds and his big head havent gotten smaller. They say his shoe size went from 10 1/2 to 13. I dont think his feet are gonna shrink. The stuff does leave a lasting benifit.

Unless big feet and big heads provide tangible baseball benefits, I'm not sure you can show that steroids continue to improve performance after usage has stopped.

[Migrant Redbird]

... The fact that there are no studies out there that I can find on this subject is mind boggling.

Why? This is an illegal application of steroids. Medical studies in this area would probably be regarded as unethical, as well as being against the law. The most extensive studies in this area were probably conducted by the East Germans and the Soviets.

... If there is any validity to this, it could mean that baseball players who used years ago are still benefiting from steroids even though they are currently "clean".

Frightening thought for MLB if its true.

I think it's a peripheral issue, of little relevancy. The greater issues are the unwillingness/inability of media and fans to recognize how long and extensive the "steroids era" was and the difficulties of identifying users of HGH or "designer PEDs" in the future.

[Frobby]

It seems logical to me that you may not lose 100% of what you gained by using steroids. But why does that make things worse than they already were?

[bluedog]

Unless big feet and big heads provide tangible baseball benefits, I'm not sure you can show that steroids continue to improve performance after usage has stopped.

I can show that big muscles improve performance and that bigger bones with bigger muscles on them do to and those are just as real as the big head and feet.

The point is, why hasn't anyone else asked this question in the media? Why aren't there studies about it? You and I are both just guessing here and we shouldn't have to guess.

[Fan4Life]

Unless big feet and big heads provide tangible baseball benefits, I'm not sure you can show that steroids continue to improve performance after usage has stopped.

I can show that big muscles improve performance and that bigger bones with bigger muscles on them do to and those are just as real as the big head and feet.

The point is, why hasn't anyone else asked this question in the media? Why aren't there studies about it? You and I are both just guessing here and we shouldn't have to guess.

Yeah, I gotta say, you missed that one. If you can tangibly see some of the effects after the fact, how could you possibly argue there aren't any lasting benefits?

[Migrant Redbird]

.... If you can tangibly see some of the effects after the fact, how could you possibly argue there aren't any lasting benefits?

Because "some effects" are not all of the effects and, as bluedog pointed out, there are relatively few studies in this area. The persistence of benefits after steroids treatments have ceased is hypothetical -- not proven.

[Babypowder]

As a pretty serious weight lifter myself I know some steroid users. You are mistaken if you believe that once you stop using steroids that your body loses all mass and strength that you gained during it's use. You will lose some of the strength and mass but you do not deflate back to what you were before use. I'm not sure that is a secret. Rule of thumb is you probably keep 80 to 90 percent of your gains post cycle.