Mcgwire admits to steroid use during 1998 home run race

[RedHot25]

Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed

I don't think there is nothing to be gained by using steroids. The fact remains that they don't do nearly as much as some people make them out to do, especially for a hand eye coordination sport like baseball.

They are banned because everyone thinks they do harmful things to the body, but as the article said, there is really nothing that they do to your body that doesn't go away immediately after you stop taking the steroids or is fairly easily reversable. There are many things that will never be banned that are quite a bit worse than doing steroids. Why isn't everyone making a big deal about those things. There are lots of other things that athletes can do that are "performance enhancing" and may be as "harmful" to the body that no one worries about - I think the article compares it to painkillers like Tylenol.

Combine that with the fact that MLB basically was intentionally turning a blind eye to the whole situation in the 90s - basically encouraging to players to take things - and I don't know how anyone can come down like they do on these players.

Jose Cancesco, is that you?

[habernac]

Steroids do not make you stronger. Working out makes you stronger. Steroids make it possible to work out more often as they accelerate your body's recovery (in a simple definition anyway...)

[worth]

Originally Posted by Table 5

If there was nothing to be gained from steroids, why would half the league bother to use them?

They are yummy.

[MJM]

Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed

I don't think there is nothing to be gained by using steroids. The fact remains that they don't do nearly as much as some people make them out to do, especially for a hand eye coordination sport like baseball.

They are banned because everyone thinks they do harmful things to the body, but as the article said, there is really nothing that they do to your body that doesn't go away immediately after you stop taking the steroids or is fairly easily reversable. There are many things that will never be banned that are quite a bit worse than doing steroids. Why isn't everyone making a big deal about those things. There are lots of other things that athletes can do that are "performance enhancing" and may be as "harmful" to the body that no one worries about - I think the article compares it to painkillers like Tylenol.

Combine that with the fact that MLB basically was intentionally turning a blind eye to the whole situation in the 90s - basically encouraging to players to take things - and I don't know how anyone can come down like they do on these players.

So the fact there has been in astronomical drop in home runs in baseball since the year after the cracked down on steroids had nothing to do with the fact that players were no longer juicing?

It may not improve hand-eye coordination, but it certainly improves strength (thus bat speed and power) and reduces the affects of fatigue. Give me a break.

[burn_baby_burn]

The argument that steroids doesn't improve hand-eye coordination is moot. Players like McGwire and Bonds had excellent hand-eye coordination before they used steroids, they had excellent hand-eye coordination when they were using steroids. Instead of hitting a fly ball into deep center field. They were getting a stronger, faster swing at the ball and driving that ball the extra distance to turn that fly ball into a home run more often.

I remember when home run numbers started to climb in the late 90's. At the time I assumed that MLB was using different balls to help increase home runs to bring the fans back after the strike in 1994. An article in SI mentioned how Danny Tartabull hit a ball into the far bull pen in Camden yards during batting practice in the early days of new park. Everyone was in awe at the distance the ball traveled. Fast forward to late 90's, balls would routinely be hit to that bull pen during batting practice.

[InstantDeath]

Originally Posted by habernac

Steroids do not make you stronger. Working out makes you stronger. Steroids make it possible to work out more often as they accelerate your body's recovery (in a simple definition anyway...)

What the hell are you talking about man? They make you way, way stronger.



Case closed.

[InstantDeath]

Originally Posted by burn_baby_burn

The argument that steroids doesn't improve hand-eye coordination is mute.

Moot, not mute. This is a severe pet peeve of mine.

[habernac]

Read my post again. Taking steroids does NOT automatically make you stronger. You need to work out like a fiend to do it. And roids gives your body the ability to recover quickly.

[InstantDeath]

Originally Posted by habernac

Read my post again. Taking steroids does NOT automatically make you stronger. You need to work out like a fiend to do it. And roids gives your body the ability to recover quickly.

Would you get as strong from just working out?
Or would you get stronger from taking steroids and working out?

Thanks for playing.

[burn_baby_burn]

[InstantDeath]

He also took baldenon (sp?) which is a god damn HORSE steroid. They were all taking that stuff....He (allegedly) used the horse steroid with hgh..A lot of body builders do the same thing. It makes you huge...look at him.

Its not going to make someone who cant hit a MLB pitcher smack 50 HRs, but it WILL take a guy hitting 25, and make him hit 45.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by InstantDeath

Would you get as strong from just working out?
Or would you get stronger from taking steroids and working out?

Thanks for playing.

Steroids allow you to work out more and that is what allows you to get bigger, stronger and faster.

Stop being ignorant with the "Thanks for playing" BS

[InstantDeath]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

Steroids allow you to work out more and that is what allows you to get bigger, stronger and faster.

Stop being ignorant with the "Thanks for playing" BS

Cheeky, not ignorant. Dont take it seriously...
But guys - steroids dont just 'increase your recovery time' - they make you bigger when you work out - its no mystery. You dont look like Mark McGuire did because you 'work out more' you look like that because you are on the steroids.
Here:

Anabolic steroids officially known as anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS), are drugs which mimic the effects of the male steroids testosterone and dihydrotestosterone. They increase protein synthesis within cells, which results in the buildup of cellular tissue (anabolism), especially in muscles.

[InstantDeath]

A review spanning more than three decades of experimental studies in men found that body weight may increase by 2–5 kg as a result of short term (<10 weeks) AAS use, which may be attributed mainly to an increase of lean mass. Animal studies also found that fat mass was reduced, but most studies in humans failed to elucidate significant fat mass decrements. The effects on lean body mass have been shown to be dose dependent. Both muscle hypertrophy and the formation of new muscle fibers have been observed. The hydration of lean mass remains unaffected by AAS use, although small increments of blood volume cannot be ruled out.[31]
The upper region of the body (thorax, neck, shoulders and upper arm) seems to be more susceptible for AAS than other body regions because of predominance of androgen receptors in the upper body. The largest difference in muscle fibre size between AAS users and non-users was observed in type I muscle fibres of the vastus lateralis and the trapezius muscle as a result of long-term AAS self-administration. After drug withdrawal the effects fade away slowly, but may persist for more than 6–12 weeks after cessation of AAS use.[31]
The same review observed strength improvements in the range of 5-20% of baseline strength, largely depending on the drugs and dose used as well as the administration period. Overall, the exercise where the most significant improvements were observed was the bench press.[32] For almost two decades it was assumed that AAS only exerted significant effects in experienced strength athletes, particularly based on the studies of Hervey and coworkers.[33][34] In 1996 a randomized controlled trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine demonstrated however that even in novice athletes a 10-week strength training program accompanied by testosterone enanthate at 600 mg/week may improve strength more than training alone does.[32][35] The same study found that dose was sufficient to significantly improve lean muscle mass relative to placebo even in subjects that did not exercise at all.[35] A 2001 study by the same first author, showed that the anabolic effects of testosterone enanthate were highly dose dependent.[31][36]

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by InstantDeath

Cheeky, not ignorant. Dont take it seriously...

Not cheeky; you've been here less than a month and you are trying to be "cheeky" with someone who has built up years of respect.

You make some solid posts. Cut the crap until you have earned respect and then maybe people will recognize when you are trying to be funny.


And for god sakes, stop playing with freaking font on your posts.

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by InstantDeath

Its not going to make someone who cant hit a MLB pitcher smack 50 HRs, but it WILL take a guy hitting 25, and make him hit 45.

The most scientific evidence posted in this thread to date states that steroids would help players hit the ball an average of 3 feet further. In other words, it would take a guy hitting 25 home runs, and make him hit 26 or 27 home runs.

Food for thought, at the very least.

[InstantDeath]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

Not cheeky; you've been here less than a month and you are trying to be "cheeky" with someone who has built up years of respect.

You make some solid posts. Cut the crap until you have earned respect and then maybe people will recognize when you are trying to be funny.


And for god sakes, stop playing with freaking font on your posts.

dually noted. Not trying to piss anyone off.

[InstantDeath]

Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed

The most scientific evidence posted in this thread to date states that steroids would help players hit the ball an average of 3 feet further. In other words, it would take a guy hitting 25 home runs, and make him hit 26 or 27 home runs.

Food for thought, at the very least.

Where did the 3 feet number come from?

The guy hit 70 home runs. Something was helping him significantly.

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by InstantDeath

Where did the 3 feet number come from?

The guy hit 70 home runs. Something was helping him significantly.

Read the links that Troutman posted.

[CaptainCrunch]

Back in my last 2 years in high school everyone pretty much used steroids that either went to a certain gym, or played football. You'd either buy it from a team mate or a trainer at the gym.

The most common ones that we'd use were Deca Durabolin (still got the puncture marks in my butt from that one). Winstrol, and anything else that was handed to us with the promise of size and strength.

I only did a couple of cycles because I didn't trust the stuff, but you saw results.

We had kids on our team that would put on 15 pounds of pure muscle in the off season which wasn't unusual until you saw that they had double their bench press in 2 months.

There is strength gain from steroids but that comes from improved muscle building and recovery and the fact that you can increase the intensity of your workout by a large factor.

Taking steroids for any length of time is stupid. I had one friend of mine who thought that he was so powerful that he crushed his throat doing bench presses. I had another friend that was hardcore and laid a horrible beating on his girlfriend at the time and spent time in prison.

I'm sure that we'll all see something go wrong with us healthwise down the road.

But it was cheap, it was easy, it made us look good and we had an edge. I remember that it wasn't that long ago that you could pick up a body building magazine and order of pharmacy of different types of steroids.