Post by nate on Apr 28, 2016 10:01:44 GMT -7
I've been wondering a bit about how prevalent the use of PEDs is in climbing. I mean it makes obvious sense that no one would talk about it if it were happening, but it feels like there's enough money and fame in the sport that there have to be people at least thinking about it. Personally I know very little about the topic, but it's always fascinated me.
I know the major competition climbing circuits have some degree of drug testing, though I wouldn't be surprised if you can avoid getting caught if you have the money. If people can get away with doping in the highest level of the most mainstream sports, where I'm sure they can afford much more advanced testing, I have to imagine you could sneak a lot past the IFSC, ABS, or others.
But climbing is somewhat unique in that you can achieve some level of fame and fortune outside of any competition circuit by simply climbing outdoors, where there is no drug testing whatsoever. Admittedly "fame and fortune" is vastly overstating what you're likely to get, but for an aspiring climber free shoes and crash pads and maybe some gas money is basically fame and fortune. And if you're extremely lucky, talented, and most of all personable and business savvy, you can conceivably make a decent living. I can't think of many other sports where you can make money without formal competitions, and thus without threat of drug testing.
And of course there is still the recreational/amateur who is just very driven and willing to self-experiment to achieve their goals. I don't know much about bodybuilding, but since all the pros use, I have to assume there's a large number of recreational/amateur bodybuilders who do as well, even though they don't aspire to make a living from it. And some brief investigation made it seem not all that difficult to get your hands on the stuff.
I know very little about the different drugs and their effects/uses, but it doesn't seem like too much of a stretch to assume that with the correct drugs and training regime you would make significant strength and endurance gains that would transfer onto the rock.
So enough of my musings. Anyone here tried it? Anyone have stories to share or articles I should read? I've looked around some, but most were pure speculation or a bit rose-tinted for me to really believe. How widespread do you think it is in both the current elite and in even in the recreational scene? Would it be a problem if we learned that, say, Sharma has been juicing all this time, and all those FAs in Spain were PED FAs?
And no, weed doesn't count.
I know the major competition climbing circuits have some degree of drug testing, though I wouldn't be surprised if you can avoid getting caught if you have the money. If people can get away with doping in the highest level of the most mainstream sports, where I'm sure they can afford much more advanced testing, I have to imagine you could sneak a lot past the IFSC, ABS, or others.
But climbing is somewhat unique in that you can achieve some level of fame and fortune outside of any competition circuit by simply climbing outdoors, where there is no drug testing whatsoever. Admittedly "fame and fortune" is vastly overstating what you're likely to get, but for an aspiring climber free shoes and crash pads and maybe some gas money is basically fame and fortune. And if you're extremely lucky, talented, and most of all personable and business savvy, you can conceivably make a decent living. I can't think of many other sports where you can make money without formal competitions, and thus without threat of drug testing.
And of course there is still the recreational/amateur who is just very driven and willing to self-experiment to achieve their goals. I don't know much about bodybuilding, but since all the pros use, I have to assume there's a large number of recreational/amateur bodybuilders who do as well, even though they don't aspire to make a living from it. And some brief investigation made it seem not all that difficult to get your hands on the stuff.
I know very little about the different drugs and their effects/uses, but it doesn't seem like too much of a stretch to assume that with the correct drugs and training regime you would make significant strength and endurance gains that would transfer onto the rock.
So enough of my musings. Anyone here tried it? Anyone have stories to share or articles I should read? I've looked around some, but most were pure speculation or a bit rose-tinted for me to really believe. How widespread do you think it is in both the current elite and in even in the recreational scene? Would it be a problem if we learned that, say, Sharma has been juicing all this time, and all those FAs in Spain were PED FAs?
And no, weed doesn't count.
