Why are drugs so commonly accepted in the gym industry but not for distance running?

lifters are nuckleheads

Alan Thrall as the youtuber by chance? I think it's the nature of the activity and also because runners try to hold themselves to a higher standard. Steroids are very common in universities all over the county. It's the mentality of seeing how big you can get in 4 years and see how many women you can get as well. Also, heavy lifting can be brutal on the joints and steroids are a way to help sustain the lifting.

I know you're a troll, or at least you like to troll, but I'll try to answer honestly.

I think there are a couple of reasons. First, bodybuilding/powerlifting isn't actually healthy for you. Sure, it's healthier in the basic sense that exercising in some way is better than sitting on your couch watching 10 hours of TV, but in terms of exercise, extreme lifting is pretty bad for your heart, bad for your back, knees, etc. Grandmas don't powerlift to try to live longer and stave off asthma. Because the sport isn't centered around doing an astonishingly healthy activity, there's less of a stigma around doping, which is very bad for you.

Second, running is a less vain sport than bodybuilding. Sure, runners are vain, but the idea of the sport isn't to look good, it's to run fast. That's not the case with bodybuilding. Powerlifting is more like running, but serious powerlifters who compete are relatively rarer--and would probably frown a bit more on doping--than the majority of people who lift, who are more interested in looking good than anything else. If you want to look good, you aren't going to care about the purity of the sport as much. Hence doping.

Third, I think runners are generally more educated on the dangers of doping than powerlifters/bodybuilders. Maybe that's my bias. But runners tend to be more cerebral and intelligent than athletes in many other sports (perusers of this message board excepted). There's a chance powerlifters/bodybuilders don't realize doping puts them at risk for all sorts of health issues down the line.

What are these health dangers you speak of? There is very little conclusive evidence that steroids impact your health detrimentally down the line. Sure, when you're on them you may have acne or some hair loss, but the whole "your heart is going to blow up" is bogus.

Overdramatic wrote:

What are these health dangers you speak of?

Right. I don't take PEDs because they test for them. Not because I'm afraid of the health consequences, bro. Yeah, being able to run 7 workouts every two weeks instead of 6 would be nice. I could drop from 2:25 to 2:23 or 2:22. But it would be highly embarrassing to fail a test while trying to be king of the hobbyjoggers, bro. I'd feel like a moran.

Distance runners have different methods of drug usage... steroids are not the mainstream form of drug that they take. They often use a method called "Blood doping" where they take blood out of their body, freeze it and rebuild their red blood count, and then insert the stored blood back inside their back into their bodies (makes it easier to send oxygen to their muscles). It is supposedly very bad for your health as you age, and can cause death at early ages. I've heard things about steroids being bad for your health, but if it's not true I wouldn't know. However, distance runners don't often use steroids as a method of doping, so I think he is addressing that other form of drug usage instead.

RejectRunner wrote:

SO why? Why do runners hate drugs...?

Runners don't hate drugs...the majority of elites/pros are juicing. Look at how many get caught.

Practically everyone on LRC accuses NOP athletes of systematically juicing.

Confused youngin- nah alpha destiny but I’ve seen Alan thrall on omarisuf and alphas channel do ima heck him out later.

Shipyard - Compelling argument, not gonna lie. It’s just weird that distance runners care so much about performance but don’t take things that make them perform. Drug testing is a thing as the other poster mentioned. But aren’t there health benefits, especially for older guys with microdosing test?

Name withheld wrote:

Runners don't hate drugs...the majority of elites/pros are juicing. Look at how many get caught.

Practically everyone on LRC accuses NOP athletes of systematically juicing.

Agreed, at the elite level powerlifters/bodybuilders and distance runners are doping. The big difference is that distance running markets itself as being a "clean sport", with out of competition drug testing system for PEDs (even though this is a sham in many cases). Powerlifting/bodybuilding does not really market itself as a clean sport.

As a consequence the distance running masses are not really interested in using PEDs as they generally accept the notion that their sport is clean whereas the powerlifting/bodybuilding masses are more interested in using PEDs as they generally accept that PEDs are required to progress in their sports.

Just different cultures. There are two ways to make sport fair with regard to doping: you can not allow anyone to dope, or you can let everyone dope. We've decided to attempt with the former (if imperfectly), while lifting has opted for the latter.

My guess is that a lifter views their "nutrition" not as an unfair advantage, but as another part of the puzzle in perfecting their craft. They might see ingesting more of X and less of Y as the same kind of performance fine tuning that we do when we tinker with our repeat distances and rest durations. Getting your supplements and dope just right is a part of the training plan.

Bodybuilding is no more a sport than competing in a ms universe contest. Accordingly the typical participant is of low intelligence.

Overdramatic wrote:

What are these health dangers you speak of? There is very little conclusive evidence that steroids impact your health detrimentally down the line. Sure, when you're on them you may have acne or some hair loss, but the whole "your heart is going to blow up" is bogus.

I think you better get with the program and start reviewing the literature. Long-term use is associated with renal disease. Short-term use can have a negative effect on the hepatic system leading to liver damage & failure. There also some evidence for cardiovascular disease (didn't Arnold have heart surgery years ago?) and an increased cancer risk.

Bottom line: Anabolic Androgenic Steroids Are Toxic!

I agree

Winning > having a healthy body

stupid people wrote:

lifters are nuckleheads

Hello pot, this is kettle. You're black.

Because drugs are taking things too far, remember it is about getting fit? Then I remembered Discus, Hammer, Javelin and Shot put or Pole Vault have nothing to do with fitness.

1) There is an element of fraud.

2) Bodybuilding is not an Olympic sport (because 1) it is not a sport, and 2) of concerns of drug abuse culture). Drugs are not accepted in the sport of weightlifting.

https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/topicoftheweek132.htm

Because when you are using 'roids you are mainly cheating yourself, however if you use PEDs in racing against others you are cheating others too...

"Grandmas don't powerlift to try to live longer and stave off asthma."

You see those old people using canes and walkers? It isn't because they are out of breathe - though they might be - it is because their muscles have gotten weak. Only strength training can slow that process. Not to say that they shouldn't also do something "aerobic", but it is not a cure all.

I might be one of the few people on here who has actually competed in a bodybuilding show.

Even at the low level amateur NPC show I competed in the aura of drugs was everywhere. You simply didn’t win your weight class without drugs. Also drugs aren’t a cure all. I beat at least one steroid user in my weight class.

People do it because it’s accepted as part of the culture. It’s not healthy, but neither is running 100+ miles a week.

As far as powerlifting goes.....that’s a niche within a niche. Look up local powerlifting results some day. You might have 100 total competing powerlifters in an average state.

Also, intelligence is subject specific. Talk to a successful bodybuilder about nutrition or a good powerlifter about the physics of the lift.

Alan