ERGOgenic Aids
Prevalence of Substance Abuse in
Sports
Accurate assessment is difficult to achieve
because of the sensitive and personal nature
of the problem.
 High profile athletes struggle with drugs:
_________________________________
 High profile athletes and banned
substances:
_________________________________

Prevalence of Substance Abuse in
Sports
Marion Jones
first sample + for EPO, 2nd sample
negative; exonerated.
 Justin Gatlin….testosterone
 Bonds, McGuire, Palmeiro, Canseco etc
 Ben Johnson
 Cyclists
 Lyle Alzado

Prevalence of Substance Abuse in
Sports

Most studies have focused on alcohol and
steroid use:
 Alcohol
use: 55-90+ % of high school athletes,
over 80% of college athletes.
 Performance-enhancing drugs: up to 5% of
high school and college athletes report using
them (higher % among elite athletes, especially
in past).
Why Athletes and Exercisers Take
Drugs

Physical reasons include wanting to:
 enhance
performance
 treat injury
 look better
 control appetite and lose weight
Why Athletes and Exercisers Take
Drugs

Psychological reasons include wanting to:
 escape
from unpleasant emotions or stress
 build confidence or enhance self-esteem
 get buzzed/wasted or seek fun/ excitement
 “Winning”

Social Reasons include:
 emulating athletic heroes
 peer pressure
Ergogenic Aids - Definition
 Any
substance or treatment that
either directly improves
physiological variables associated
with exercise performance or
removes subjective restraints that
may limit physiologic capacity
Ergogenic Aids
 Types
Psychological
Mechanical
Pharmacological
Physiological
Nutritional
Doping Definition (USOC)

“…..the administration of or use by a
competing athlete of any substance foreign
to the body or of any physiological
substance taken in abnormal quantity or
taken by an abnormal route of entry into the
body, with the sole intention of increasing in
an artificial manner his/her performance in
competition is regarded as doping..”
Psychological Phenomena
 Hypnosis
 Music
 Performance
Enhancement
Techniques (PST)
 “Placebo Effect” / Superstitions
Mechanical Factors
Clothing
 Equipment
 Heat and Cold Application
 Improved Body Mechanics
 Environment (Playing Conditions and
Surface)

Pharmacological Agents

Over the Counter Drugs:
 Caffeine,
Nicotine, Amphetamines,
Melatonin….etc;

“Recreational” Drugs:
 Alcohol,

Marijuana, Cocaine…….etc;
Prescription Drugs:
 Anabolic
Steroids, Benzodiazepines, BetaAdrenergic Agents…….etc;
Caffeine’s Proposed
Ergogenic Effect

Increased mental alertness/concentration
 central
nervous system stimulant
Elevated mood
 Decreased fatigue
 Enhanced catecholamine release
 Improved muscular strength

Caffeine (Con’t)



Effect Depends on:
 Individual caffeine status
 Individual variability
 Caffeine dosage and administration
Illegal (>12ug/ml)
 approx.. 5-6 cups of strong coffee or 4 vivarin for a
150 pound person consumed 2-3 hours before
performance
Problems:
 caffeine is a diuretic; impairs heat tolerance;
 stomach upsets; nervousness
Alcohol as an Ergogenic Aid
source of energy (?); one beer appr. 150
calories, 13 grams of carbohyd. and 13
grams of alcohol
 “uneconomical” - more oxygen needed to
metabolize a gram of alcohol than a gram of
carbohydrates or fat
 psychological effect: reduced anxiety, less
muscle tremor (archery, not supported by
research); greater self-confidence

Alcohol continued

negative effects on performance;
 increased
heart rate and oxygen
consumption
 increased blood pressure and blood lactate
 increased reaction time
 impaired hand-eye coordination and visual
perception
 currently not banned by IOC except for
shooting competitions
Anabolic Steroids
Testosterone (must be injected or it will be
destroyed by digestive enzymes)
 Anabolic Androgenic Steroids (AAS)

 synthetic
drugs designed to mimic the
effects of testosterone; taken orally or
injected

Human Growth Hormone (anabolic)
 used

like steroids to increase muscle mass
Beta Adrenergic Agents (Clenbuterol)
Ergogenic Effect and Side
Effects of AAS
Increase muscle mass; decrease body fat;
improve strength even without training
 Side Effects (AAS):

 acne;
hair loss; male secondary sex
characteristics like deepening of the voice;
 increased aggression, depression, hostility,
suicide attempts, tendency to commit violent acts;
 cardiovascular disease (elevated cholesterol,
blood pressure)
 severe liver damage;tumors (Alzado)….. etc
Effects and Side Effects of
Growth Hormone
hormone secreted by pituitary gland;
stimulates bone and muscle growth; effects
protein, carbohydrate and fat metabolism
 currently little data showing ergogenic
effects beyond the effect generated by
strength training
 may lead to diabetes; thickening of soft
tissue in face, hands and feet; enlargement
of organs such as liver

Effects and Side Effects of
Clenbuterol (asthma; illegal in
U.S.)
increase lean muscle mass and strength;
decrease body fat
 less potent than anabolic steroids
 side effects:

 tachycardia
 muscle
tension
 headaches and dizziness
Physiological Agents
Bicarbonate Loading
 Blood Doping
 Erythropoietin (EPO)
 Altitude Training
 Glycerol
 Phosphate Loading

Erythropoietin - EPO
Hormone produced by kidneys to stimulate
the bone marrow to produce red blood cells
 Has same effect as “blood doping” and
altitude training (more efficient use of O2)
 Illegal
 Dangers: increased blood viscosity, clotting
potential, increased risk for stroke and heart
failure, or pulmonary edema

Nutritional Agents / Supplements
Amino Acid Supplementation
 Bee Pollen
 Carbohydrate Loading
 Carnitine
 Coenzyme Q-10
 Creatine Phosphate
 Water or Special Beverages

Ergogenic Effect Supported
by Research
 Legal
Supplements / Behaviors
 Creatine Phosphate
(equivocal)
Caffeine
 Altitude training (equivocal)

“There is still no sphere of
nutrition in which faddism,
misconceptions, ignorance, and
quackery are more obvious than
in athletics..”
(M.H. Williams in Nutrition for Fitness and
Sport, 4th ed., 1995)