With the apparent increase in use of supplements as human growth hormone, testosterone, HGH, EPO and IGF-1 in sports (particularly cycling) during the last decade, I wonder if their use has managed to leak over to masters events...... including swimming. Seems silly to me that anyone would use hardcore muscle building agents as these in a setting such as masters so late in life. Is it worth implementing drug testing, or does it really matter in the end....... after all its just masters.
John Smith
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Former Member
i think if there were big financial rewards to be had from perfomance at masters level competitions, drug testing would be a required safeguard to ensure a fair level of competition.... i hope that day dosen't come.
this may be off topic a bit buti heard a snip on the radio about a triathlete who sleeps in a hypoxic tent to simulate altitude training, and there are certain governing bodies that would like to see this "outlawed" as it produces conditioning results without the athlete being an active participant. any thoughtson this?
Originally posted by chaos@ulster.net
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this may be off topic a bit buti heard a snip on the radio about a triathlete who sleeps in a hypoxic tent to simulate altitude training, and there are certain governing bodies that would like to see this "outlawed" as it produces conditioning results without the athlete being an active participant. any thoughtson this?
As I recall, Ed Moses did the same thing. Didn't do mch for him as he never got to the level he once was by doing that.
Those tents have been debunked 'scientifically' by a former poster to these forums who bought one for himself; when it didn't help declared them hooey in a usa swimming forum.
Sky high training works and the tent works no matter what anyone else says. Why is *** Pound thinking of banning their use www.insidetri.com/.../news.asp
Although I have never personally seen anyone in masters "using" or spoken to anyone who would admit it.....I do know several swimmers who say they have seen and/or spoken to people who have.....and I'll leave it at that.
I have used creatine and did find if helped.....definite increase in strength and faster recovery....but I also had horrible cramping to the point I had to stop in the middle of some sets....I also hated the "water weight" gain.....so I'm done with that experiment.
What I would be curious to see is if the Doc at UCLA who some time back proposed a voluntery "team clean" would consider testing the concept in masters?
"I think the Evil Paul Smith and I were one of the few people with soft under bellies in the final heat."
JS...we and the people watching this sport owe the guy who came up with the full body "girdle" suits a major thank you for helping us cover up!
John,
Funny you should bring this up as I have been thinking about it since I returned from the Worlds at Stanford.
At the Worlds, I was taking my IU sponsored bodycomp/vertical leap/hand strength/urine test and the guy next to me asked what they were checking the urine for. The lady said creatine amongst other things. They wanted us to be meat free for 48 hrs to get a better idea of our natural levels. The guy said "well what about all those Masters swimmers out there who are using creatine supplements. Isn't that going to mess up your levels?" She said "yeah, we've been hearing a lot of that here and we are going to have to figure something out."
Following my events, we trucked on up to Napa for some R and R. In the parking lot of my hotel, I ran into a fellow masters swimmer. We chatted for a while and we both were amazed at the times that were being put up. To my surprise, he mentioned that there is a rumor going around about Masters swimmers actively using HGH and Testosterone patches to improve their performance.
I have discussed this with some colleagues of mine. Our thoughts were surprisingly? similar.
Alan
I have had a collectomy in the past. My surgeon, who is a swimmer, said that they only thing taking creatine does is make you go to the restroom. He said that creatine is a great laxative. Anyone who has any troubles with diarrhea, colitis, Crohn's disease or stomach cramps should never take creatine. I've never tried it because the last thing I need to do is go tothe restroom more often.
I would NOT be surprised if we learn someday soon that a non-trivial number of Masters swimmers use substances banned in other sports.
I agree there is no big money or medals at stake. But people our age (I'm 47) are having cosmetic surgery in record numbers. We are aging, and in general our bodies are declining in capability as we get older. We don't recover from injury like we used to. We just aren't young anymore.
Some people will try to cheat nature for that reason alone.
Racer X,
At worlds sitting in the clerk of course for the sprint events, I felt like I needed an extra 15 lbs of upper body muscle to qualify to sit down next to some of those guys in the final heats. Rich Saeger and I were a surprised at how may guys over 40 looked bulked up, in shape and dangerous. I felt like I should probably take my size 10.5 feet and string bean arms over to the girls tent to sit down. There were some big ass dudes there. I think the Evil Paul Smith and I were one of the few people with soft under bellies in the final heat.
John Smith
