Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to build, control, and develop one's muscles via hypertrophy. An individual who engages in this activity is referred to as a bodybuilder. It is primarily undertaken for aesthetic purposes over functional ones, distinguishing it from similar activities such as powerlifting, which focuses solely on gaining physical strength.
The United States Anti-Doping Agency is a non-profit, non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization and the national anti-doping organization (NADO) for the United States. To protect clean competition and the integrity of sport and prevent doping in the United States with a performance-enhancing substance, the USADA provides education, leads scientific initiatives, conducts testing, and oversees the results management process. Headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USADA is a signatory to the World Anti-Doping Code, which harmonizes anti-doping practices around the world, and is widely considered the basis for the strongest and strictest anti-doping programs to prevent doping in sport.
In competitive sports, doping is the use of banned athletic performance-enhancing drugs by athletic competitors, as a way of cheating. The term doping is widely used by organizations that regulate sporting competitions. The use of drugs to enhance performance is considered unethical, and is prohibited by most international sports organizations, including the International Olympic Committee. Furthermore, athletes taking explicit measures to evade detection exacerbate the ethical violation with overt deception and cheating.
Female bodybuilding is the female component of competitive bodybuilding. It began in the late 1970s, when women began to take part in bodybuilding competitions.
Clenbuterol is a sympathomimetic amine used by sufferers of breathing disorders as a decongestant and bronchodilator. People with chronic breathing disorders such as asthma use this as a bronchodilator to make breathing easier. It is most commonly available as the hydrochloride salt, clenbuterol hydrochloride.
Trenbolone acetate, sold under brand names such as Finajet and Finaplix among others, is an androgen and anabolic steroid (AAS) medication which is used in veterinary medicine, specifically to increase the profitability of livestock by promoting muscle growth in cattle. It is given by injection into muscle.
Performance-enhancing substances, also known as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), are substances that are used to improve any form of activity performance in humans. A well-known example of cheating in sports involves doping in sport, where banned physical performance-enhancing drugs are used by athletes and bodybuilders. Athletic performance-enhancing substances are sometimes referred as ergogenic aids. Cognitive performance-enhancing drugs, commonly called nootropics, are sometimes used by students to improve academic performance. Performance-enhancing substances are also used by military personnel to enhance combat performance.
Professional bodybuilding or pro bodybuilding can refer to bodybuilding for an income and/or possessing qualifications such as an IFBB or Wabba International Pro Card.
Desoxymethyltestosterone (DMT), known by the nicknames Madol and Pheraplex, is a synthetic and orally active anabolic–androgenic steroid (AAS) and a 17α-methylated derivative of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) which was never marketed for medical use. It was one of the first designer steroids to be marketed as a performance-enhancing drug to athletes and bodybuilders.
The BALCO scandal was a scandal involving the use of banned, performance-enhancing substances by professional athletes.
The use of anabolic steroids and performance-enhancing drugs in American football is officially prohibited by virtually every sanctioning body.
Don H. Catlin is an anti-doping scientist and one of the founders of modern drug-testing in sport.
See also *Anabolic-androgenic steroids abuse
Prostanozol, also known as demethylstanozolol tetrahydropyran ether, is an androgen/anabolic steroid (AAS) and designer steroid which acts as a prodrug of the 17α-demethylated analogue of stanozolol (Winstrol). It was found in 2005 as an ingredient of products sold as "dietary supplements" for bodybuilding.
Growth hormones in sports refers to the use of growth hormones for athletic enhancement, as opposed to growth hormone treatment for medical therapy. Human Growth Hormone is a prescription medication in the US, meaning that its distribution and use without a prescription is illegal. There is limited evidence that GH doping improves athletic performance, although the perception that it does is common in the sporting community. Potential side effects of long term GH doping could mirror the symptoms found in sufferers of acromegaly, a disease in which the anterior pituitary gland produces excess growth hormone. These symptoms include swelling of the hands and feet, joint pain, fluid retention, and excessive sweating.
Doping, or the use of restricted performance-enhancing drugs in the United States occurs in different sports, most notably in the sports of baseball and football.
Research data indicates that steroids affect the serotonin and dopamine neurotransmitter systems of the brain. In an animal study, male rats developed a conditioned place preference to testosterone injections into the nucleus accumbens, an effect blocked by dopamine antagonists, which suggests that androgen reinforcement is mediated by the brain. Moreover, testosterone appears to act through the mesolimbic dopamine system, a common substrate for addictive substances. Nonetheless, androgen reinforcement is not comparable to that of cocaine, nicotine, or heroin. Instead, testosterone resembles other mild reinforcers, such as caffeine, or benzodiazepines. The potential for androgen addiction remains to be determined.
The practice of doping in tennis involves the use of prohibited, performance-enhancing substances listed by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The practice is considered unsportsmanlike and unethical, with punishments for such offences ranging from official warnings to career bans, depending on the severity of the offence.
Doping in figure skating involves the use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), specifically those listed and monitored by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Figure skaters occasionally have positive doping results but it is not common. Bans can be enforced on figure skaters by the International Skating Union (ISU) and each country's individual skating federation. These bans can often be career ending due to the competitive nature of figure skating. A ban may be revoked if it can be proved that the skater tested positive for a prescribed medication. Some figure skaters will use PEDs to help with recovery time, allowing them to train harder and longer. Figure skating is an aesthetic sport that combines both athleticism and artistic licence, where weight-loss substances will have little effect on athletic performance but skaters may be perceived as more graceful and sleek, which is required for an athlete to be competitive.
