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

Let's Get To The Bottom Of This wrote:

Runningart2004 wrote:

Sitting at a desk all day does more to harm your back. Long term.....I would say running does more to harm your back.

Alan

Are you sure about that Alan? There are many long-term older runners who regularly post on the GrandMaster training/racing forum and I have yet to hear anyone complain about a back problem directly related to running (excluding car accidents, falls, weight lifting injury, etc.).

Funny you should mention that....I've never seen a lifter hurt his back unless he was doing something stupid. Lifting, running....it's all the same in regards to injury. DDDS.

Alan

not a lifter, but wrote:

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.

"sport"?

NotPC wrote:

Hard to imagine but it would be like if distance runners thought training was bad, and created an unfair advantage. That you were supposed to show up to the track natural and untrained, and see who is the fastest on that day.

That is exactly how it was at one time.

Training was seen as something that those filthy “professionals” did. It went against the spirit of amateur sport and was strongly discouraged.

This attitude has continued on into the modern Olympics in the form of drug testing.

It's a bad idea to use drugs in any sport. I can name about half a dozen bodybuilders at my gym that are on either precursors or testosterone. Most of them go to the low-T centers and tell the doc what they want. A lot of over the counter stuff at GNC has precursors in them as well. It becomes an addiction for them because they see quick growth. The main issues with this are the drugs / supplements are expensive, they see initial growth but then their bodies adapt and they require a higher dose to achieve the same results, they are rough on the kidneys and can also lead to strokes and decreased immune function, they increase irritability / decrease emotional control, they are linked to brain, testicular and other forms of cancer, they inhibit natural testosterone production, they can cause enlarged hearts, etc. Overall, the risks are not worth the benefits.

The steroid use of 40+ yrs ago that many of the top bodybuilders used doesn't seem to have any consequences as many are still alive & well in their 60s & 70s now. Have you seen Arnold, Colombu, & Ferrigno? All looking healthy & fantastic in their 60s & 70s. This recent video of Arnold & Franco working out at Golds is amazing. Look at pipes on Arnold! ? He could pass for 55 yrs old! As an old guy myself, this is one of the most motivating videos I've seen to get me in the gym and pump some iron. It's tough sometimes to find the energy to lift when you're in your 60s.

https://youtu.be/i7pOvT9fQ98

Mr. Clean wrote:

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

And there should be a #3...anything that is a judge only competition is not a sporting event. (Being athletic is not the same as participating in a competition sport).

Running is very competitive, thus unscrupulous people try to get others disqualified to up their own standing.

It's to bad this is allowed to happen, but it does, and Paula Radcliffe is an example of that strategy working quite well.

And she has still not been held responsible.

Body building is not so competitive, and they don't have the political structure to get their competitors disqualified.