Draft 3

The pursuit of the perfect physical form and proportions has been a goal that man has pursued for thousands of years. Examples of humankind's pursuit for a perfect physique can be traced back to some of the earliest civilizations with depictions of the human body in sculptures, painting, on ceramic pots, and all kinds of other forms of art. However, this sculpting of the body into its perfect form, also known as bodybuilding, has been difficult to achieve until the advent of science provided us with the means to achieve that ideal with the use of performance enhancing drugs. But when these new tools became available, there were many who disavowed them, pointing out how their use in sports such as bodybuilding was akin to cheating, and limitations and restrictions on steroid use in bodybuilding quickly sprung up. Personally, I believe that steroid use in bodybuilding shouldn't be out right banned from the sport, but should rather be permitted but controlled and regulated. For this research essay I chose to examine the two sides to the argument over steroids found in this community, and asked the question of whether or not steroids should continue to be banned in the sport of bodybuilding.

To understand the debate over the use of performance enhancing drugs and other sports, one must first know a little bit about the development of steroids into their modern form and history of their use. The development of steroids can be traced back to the 1950, when Dr. John Ziegler, the physician for the U.S olympic weightlifting team, heard of the Soviet weightlifting team injecting their athletes with testosterone to enhance their performance in the 1954 World Weightlifting Championships in Vienna.(Butt) Dr. Ziegler proceeded to test the effectiveness of testosterone on several of the Olympic lifters, but was disappointed by the lack of any clear improvements or results, and therefore stopped any further experiments for the duration of the 1950’s. However, in 1955 Dr. Ziegler partnered with the company CIBA pharmaceuticals on the development of a testosterone derivative that would produce beneficial results without the negative results. After some testing the first “modern” steroid was released to the prescription drug market in 1958.(Butt) Then,in 1959 Dr. Ziegler resumed his efforts of improving the Olympic team, and had several more athletes try out the new Dianabol, with much more promising results. (Butt) Through the efforts of Dr. Ziegler, the first effective steroids were created, and their use became widespread throughout the bodybuilding community.

With the creation of these new performance enhancing drugs, the sport of bodybuilding entered new era. Athletes like Lou Ferrigno and Arnold Schwarzenegger rose to prominence at this time, and are considered to be the alpha and omega of the sport due to their incredible physiques, popularity, and charisma.(Bateman) For some time, it was thought that these athletes had reached the peak of human performance, until the arrival Dorian Yates, who “Though only five-foot-nine, Yates competed at a lean 270 pounds through the combination of a maniacal training program with precise steroid usage that was stacked with growth hormone” (Bateman) This is a far cry from the earlier days of the sport when anabolic steroids were first introduced, when Arnold Schwarzenegger never exceeded a competition weight of 235 lbs. Although these increases in the size and lean mass obtained by athletes is seen as a boon for the sport, there are those who are quick to point out the health risks that go along with such heavy substance use and high levels of training. However, these same adversaries of the use of steroids fail to take into account that, when done at the proper dosages and with the proper post cycle therapy, these aforementioned risks become negligible.

Doctor Gholamreza Sepehri recently conducted a study in Kerman City, Iran to see what percentage of the population of bodybuilders abused anabolic steroids. They conducted this study to get a grasp of just how much of an issue steroid abuse was in their area, but mainly so that they could then inform the public of the potential health risks involved in abusing anabolic steroids. In the study, the researchers qualify and quantify what counts as an anabolic steroid, as well as what is considered to be high enough doses to warrant concerns for user’s health and wellbeing. The study also not only provides statistics for steroid abuse in the city of Kerman, but also in other places around the world such as the United States. For example, in the study the researcher point out that in the United states, “Nelson et al reported that 11% of American high school students abused anabolic steroid drugs and the rate of abuse was higher among students who were active in bodybuilding, weight lifting or other sports” This study not only provides insight into how many people in a population make use of anabolic steroids, but also provides an argument against their legalization, citing how their use, “causes hormonal disorder and other complications on the other hand. Long term use of anabolic steroid drugs may lead to various complications including high risk of heart attack, cardiac arrest, sudden death, behavioral disorders such as aggressiveness, paranoid psychosis, prostate hypertrophy, liver cancer, and elevated hepatic enzymes.” While this study does provide important information regarding the overall usage of anabolic steroids in the United States and other parts of the world, as well as the health risks involved, these risks are not so serious when one considers that most professional athletes partaking in steroid use make sure to administer them in the proper dosages, where potential side effects are minimized.

While the long-standing opinion is that the use of steroids in competition provides an unfair advantage and is often immoral, there are those, including myself, who argue for their legalization. Smith provides a legitimate argument for steroid use, arguing that it makes sense from a business perspective since it would increase athletes’ performances and therefore make the sport that they are a part of more interesting. The author also argues against the proposed health concerns involved with steroid use, citing how athletes are already putting themselves in harms way just by stepping out onto the field, whether they are tackling another palyer in football or readying up to serve a tennis ball. Smith provides a very clear and significant example with regards to the risks that professional athletes take with, “Just last year, a media car ran Johnny Hoogerland off the road during the Tour de France, sending him headlong into barbed wire”

Mr. Smith isn't the only one who believes that the current ban of anabolic steroids is antiquated and unnecessary, Few people can tell you more about the use of performance enhancing drugs, often referred to as steroids, than Patrick lahr. Patrick competed as a bodybuilder for the largest amateur bodybuilding organization in the United States, the National Physique Committee, (NPC) for about three years before becoming a personal trainer in the fitness industry for seven years and counting. During his time competing as a bodybuilder, Patrick won the prestigious title of Mr. WIsconsin back in 2013, and is well aware of the use of steroids as a part of the sport, saying, “I think it's a part of the culture and I think that its well known that they are being used in competitions.” Patrick also went on to say that, “ there are organizations that tes and ones that don't- if you want to try and compete with guys that you know are doping then you don't have to.” However, for other sports like baseball, track, etc., Patrick was a little less supportive, saying, “For those sports, am i supportive of it? Eh but i think it needs to be on a even playing field. But I don't think that performance enhancing drugs will ever not be a part of the sport.” He then pointed out how for many aging athletes, it's often difficult to keep up with the younger and more vigorous competition , going on to say how he believed that for these older athletes, “I don't think it should be looked at performance enhancing. A lot of guys don't realize that the side effects of getting older such as fatigue, less energy, etc. are all due to decreased levels of testosterone and yea, a lot of those consequences are due to lifestyle choices, but steroid use will help them with that deterioration.” Patrick then pointed out how steroids really aren't that damaging or harmful when used responsibly, pointing out how negatively they are viewed by the majority of people without advanced knowledge, I think it was propagandized to look bad in an unrealistic light. I mean women are put on steroids for menopause and its isn't looked at in nearly the same light, I think there's kind of a grey area there.”

As personal trainer, Patrick does have clients ask him about the potential for steroids, and whether the potential hazards to health are worth it, for these kinds of questions, Patrick often recommends that people get their supplies from a safe and reliable source, even if that means that the price may be more costly, “ when they ask me i say go out there and ask doctors about it and do it smart, but another big thing about it is the price, where you can get testosterone for $100 in 1 week compared to going to a doctor and getting it $75 for each week.” As mentioned earlier, there are different leagues of competition that either test for steroid use or don't. When asked if he believed that the proper tests and precautions were being taken to ensure that steroids were not being used in the leagues that tested for them, Patrick replied, “Yea for the most part, but there's always a work around. As soon as you come up with a test someone's coming up with a way around it. “ It's almost guaranteed that in any form of serious competition, there are always those who will do whatever it takes to get ahead of the competition, and according to Patrick, “There’s always gonna be someone who finds a way to cheat, but they have it pretty down pat in terms of testing for steroid use.”

Even if he were given the ability to increase the restrictions and tests done to ensure the integrity of athletes, Patrick claims that it isn't really possible, stating; “No way, because there will always be someone who beats it.”, citing how there are always new ways being found of cheating the system, so to speak. With the debate over steroid use in bodybuilding, those arguing in favor of the legalization of their use often bring up that their use makes the sport more interesting and draw a bigger crowd, when asked for his opinion of this Patrick stated, “Eh. Look at the bodybuilding industry now, you have ppl taking it too extreme that there's a carelessness that's seriously negatively affecting people. I think people need to make sure their being careful but will it enhance the sport? Possibly.” Towards the end of our discussion, I asked Patrick if he believed that legagalizing but moitoring and controlling the use of steroids would be a better system than the one currently in place of outright banning them. Patrick responded, “Yea 100%, i think it would be saying yes you can do what you want as long as you stay within these parameters, everyone responds differently to different things, but as long as everyone stays within certain parameters, its fine. “ Patrick then compared the sport of bodybuilding to car racing, pointing out that for drag racing you could amp your vehicle up with whatever you wanted as long as it stayed within certain parameters.

Patrick’s expertise in the field of professional bodybuilding and opinion on the issue of their legalization lies within my own opinion, that steroids should not be outright banned, but rather administered in a controlled and professional manner. While both sides of the argument for and against the use of anabolic steroids provide strong reasoning for their views, I still believe that it simply makes more sense to control their use. No matter what sport you play or follow, and no matter how rigorously administrations check for steroid abuse, there are always going to be those who seek to get a leg up on the competition with the use of steroids. So rather than continue the almost futile attempt to outright illegalize them, why not instead make sure that all athletes competing can do so on equal footing? So long as the usage of anabolic steroids are controlled and athletes are aware of their potential side effects, then their legalization will ot only even the playing field, but also provide new heights for athletes to strive for.