Oprah: Armstrong admitted doping

[SamH]

Steroid use among athletes doesnt really bother me at all:shrug:

Agreed.

 

[BroomWagon]

Steroid use among athletes doesnt really bother me at all:shrug:

Not judging what you say and from what I understand, one may be able to use a small degree of steroids safely.

Steroids basically change the body’s hormonal action and improve the body’s ability to utilize protein more efficiently for rapid tissue repair. However, these chemically induced activities provide a long list of side effects from hair loss to acne, from heart failure to liver disease. In using steroids, the compromises are extraordinary and should be carefully considered. Yet the will - the ego - is so strong that the side effects are often dismissed. The self, matching today’s lifestyle, looks only toward the favorable effects, and, hoping for the best, plunges headlong into careless drug use.

The risks involved with using anabolic and androgenic steroids do not stop with acne or hair loss. If you’re a committed bodybuilder and enjoy an essence of independence in your life, you can surely plan to lose it. Steroids are insidious, and commonly cause psychological as well as physiological addiction. When you’re on a chemical cycle, the weights go up easier, your muscles pump and so does your ego and enthusiasm. But when off the chemical cycle, and as the body normalized, the reverse inevitably takes place. The lifter is left with depression and a hopelessness which often leads to radical social behavior and the cessation of training entirely. This is a very sad and unhealthy situation indeed, and silently plagues many young bodybuilders today.

midwestchristianbodybuilding.com/draper5.htm

So I would take a pass, one sees the muscle magazines, nowadays, so many of the bodybuilders have the same muscular build and some say that is because of steroids.

That EPO has clinical use, I guess it may be a small wonder drug but it has probably killed people too through abuse.

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To another point, though some assert by his own book “It’s not about the bike”, Lance is an Atheist; here is an interesting quote from him:

“I’m sorry for you, … I’m sorry you don’t believe in miracles.”

thinkexist.com/quotation/i-m-sorry-for-you-i-m-sorry-you-don-t-believe-in/541927.html

…please keep Sheryl in your thoughts and prayers yet know that I have never known a stronger woman in my life."

ivillage.com/lance-armstrong-keep-sheryl-your-prayers-0/1-a-22753

So as said earlier, supposedly, he can be proclaimed as an atheist but one would tend to think Atheists don’t make statements like the above. He’s a bit of an enigma here.

 

[ringil]

Also, see if you find anything googling “Lance Armstrong” and “Atheist”, I read that book “It’s not about the bike”, seems he says he is one in that book. I will add on, he may have said things like this but he doesn’t seem to be consistent and says some other things that sound like a believer.

If we believe folks who know Armstrong; Lance’s god is Lance.

 

[maximus]

Steroid use among athletes doesnt really bother me at all:shrug:

It is just sad how many of them do and it presents a dilemma to those who are more conscientious about their long term health. Granted, the rewards are many for those reaching the pinnacle of success.

God Bless

 

[BroomWagon]

A lot of people stick up for Lance mainly because he’s an American I think… so I don’t even mean to be unkind in how I view him. That sport and most or at least a lot of sport is not an honest enterprise to begin with, cycling is especially tainted along with some other sports just in my view.

 

[BroomWagon]

Looks like the interview or at least highlights is at this website:

bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cycling/21033130

In Summary

Admits doping in all Tour de France wins
Did not consider himself a "cheat" at time
Saw doping as "a level playing field"
Admits mistakes and issues apology
Will now co-operate with official inquiries

Very sad, I ride the bike a lot for exercise and errands and even transportation but I’d be content if they took this “sport” out of the Olympics, there was a great champion Bottechia in the 1920s or 1930s and there have been a few others but over all, it’s kind of sickening and disgusting really though riding through the countryside is scenic.

Betsy Andreu on CNN regarding Armstrong saying he was not the kingpin of the team: “He was co-owner of the team, decided who was hired, fired, who got paid what. He was cosying up to politicians, the governing bodies. It’s completely disingenuous and a way of distancing himself of being the leader.”

Wife of a former Armstrong team-mate, Betsy Andreu, speaking on CNN, said (re Armstrong’s refusal to admit he told a doctor while in hospital of all the banned substances he had taken): “The hospital is where it all started. He’s going to infuriate people who know the truth. He’s still protecting people who are close to him.”

So was this on Oprah’s network or National TV??

 

[ringil]

Armstrong kind of comes across like a sociopath. He may be devoid of conscience.

 

[PrayRosary]

It is just sad how many of them do and it presents a dilemma to those who are more conscientious about their long term health. Granted, the rewards are many for those reaching the pinnacle of success.

God Bless

Im not too sure I even believe that there are long term risks anymore. steroids have been around awhile now, and these guys arent dying like we were told they would. Arnold, Stallone, these guys look great still. I bet there are only a handful of deaths per every 100,000 that take them. Now all I see is commercials for Testosterone Replacement Therapy for middle aged men. But that is just a legal way of using steroids.

 

[BroomWagon]

If one had a doctor and if one took it in low doses but who can do that? Celebrities.

There may be other factors, injuries, pain killing medicines, etc. but we certainly know a lot of wrestlers have died and probably some NFLers.

supplementsource.ca/v/celebritybodybuilders/index.html

bodybuilding.about.com/od/supplementationbasics/a/steroiddangers_3.htm

Some of those wrestlers have gone absolultely crazy though in things they’ve done.

Another danger factor of steroids is the form in which it’s taken. Oral steroids have higher risk factors because they can do more damage to the liver and other bodily systems, but they are often preferred because they are excreted from the system faster and make it easier to pass drug tests. Intravenous steroids are less likely to lead to some of the negative side effects, but they take much longer to leave the system than the oral forms.

steroid-abuse.org/is-it-really-dangerous.htm

A lot of places that sell steroids also sell pills to try and keep your liver clean.

HGH, Testosterone, a few different things are out there, I’ve seen the natural testosterone supplements at the store.

 

[BroomWagon]

I get a men’s fitness magazine subscription, this issue that just arrived has some article on Human Growth Hormone.

 

[Dale_M]

So was this on Oprah’s network or National TV??

It was on her network, but it was also streamed online.

 

[maximus]

Im not too sure I even believe that there are long term risks anymore. steroids have been around awhile now, and these guys arent dying like we were told they would. Arnold, Stallone, these guys look great still. I bet there are only a handful of deaths per every 100,000 that take them. Now all I see is commercials for Testosterone Replacement Therapy for middle aged men. But that is just a legal way of using steroids.

I know we live in a time where anything goes for most people. This is a valid point, if are there safe ways to do this and if so then why not have that particular PED above board. However, some of these PED increase aggressive behavior and have led to tragedies most famously illustrated by the professional wrestler C. Benoit.

God Bless

 

[GaryTaylor]

Personally I found the interview absurd in that its preposterous to suggest “everyone” is using performance enhancing drugs. Not true and a self-serving statement. Everyone does know the drill though, you entertain this at your own risk, and if you fail, there is no need to point fingers at anyone but yourself.

 

[InigoMontoya]

I know we live in a time where anything goes for most people. This is a valid point, if are there safe ways to do this and if so then why not have that particular PED above board. However, some of these PED increase aggressive behavior and have led to tragedies most famously illustrated by the professional wrestler C. Benoit.

God Bless

The issue with PED’s in sports like cycling, swimming, and track & field are that they’re Olympic sports and fall under their umbrella organizations and the World Anti-Doping Agency. They are faced with the most stringent testing procedures and rules to encourage the events are purely of the human body.

While in private sports such as baseball, football, or even bowling to some extent all create their own rules and testing, with the goal of not finding anyone but the most flagrant chemical exploiters, as mild usage is considered good for the sport.

Most of the chemicals commonly used today do not induce the so called “roid rage” phenomenon, they’re also not single chemicals but cocktails designed to improve the body in a number of ways, help with recovery, and counteract negative effects that some may give.

 

[GaryTaylor]

The assumption has no basis. You don’t know who in fact is using. Second since they lie, how does one know they are telling the truth in what they did use? Last, all steroids are not the same and many are Blackmarket, hardly they can be called safe.

And where does the idea arrive “Its good for the sport?” Fact is it creates an advantage, and one deemed illegal, I see no fairness in this.

 

[Maxirad]

Does anybody here on CAF think that Oprah will interview John Corapi someday?

 

[Sarcelle]

Why is anyone surprised by this? I mean really, the man was notorious for treating everyone close to him like they were nothing. Remember the wife who held his hand through cancer that he up and left? Why is anyone shocked that someone who would do that would do just about anything for money and fame?

I have to agree with this.

He wasn’t exactly husband of the year the way he treated his first wife. I used to admire the man and thought he was unfairly accused, but after reading about the way he treated the people closest to him, I had second thoughts.

 

[maximus]

The issue with PED’s in sports like cycling, swimming, and track & field are that they’re Olympic sports and fall under their umbrella organizations and the World Anti-Doping Agency. They are faced with the most stringent testing procedures and rules to encourage the events are purely of the human body.

While in private sports such as baseball, football, or even bowling to some extent all create their own rules and testing, with the goal of not finding anyone but the most flagrant chemical exploiters, as mild usage is considered good for the sport.

Most of the chemicals commonly used today do not induce the so called “roid rage” phenomenon, they’re also not single chemicals but cocktails designed to improve the body in a number of ways, help with recovery, and counteract negative effects that some may give.

Well I am definitely not an expert on this matter and on what is the cutting edge of PEDs. I can see were the elite athletes can have a staff of Doctors administering and monitoring for side effects and minimize the associated risks. I can also see when this is done on the cheap how things can go wrong with young HS and College athletes who want their shot at sports glory.

 

[InigoMontoya]

The assumption has no basis. You don’t know who in fact is using. Second since they lie, how does one know they are telling the truth in what they did use? Last, all steroids are not the same and many are Blackmarket, hardly they can be called safe.

And where does the idea arrive “Its good for the sport?” Fact is it creates an advantage, and one deemed illegal, I see no fairness in this.

That era of cycling has some nefarious nicknames, while certainly not “everyone” was using, a staggering number were. There are races where years later, there’s still no certainty who should be the winner as so many people were later deemed non-winners due to being tested, as upwards of the top 20 positions were later determined to have been doping. A certain infamous retired cyclist who was often ridiculed as being bat’ crazy essentially cried out about how obvious the cheating was during that era. He was also one of the victims who Armstrong financially pummeled.

The notion of it being good for the sport, is due to such incredible competitions being spectator-rating bonanzas. Everyone likes a chase to a record, or some utterly inhuman display of talent… They sell tickets, magazine covers, provide free advertising, raise excitement, bring new fans to the sport, etc.

 

[BroomWagon]

The issue with PED’s in sports like cycling, swimming, and track & field are that they’re Olympic sports and fall under their umbrella organizations and the World Anti-Doping Agency. They are faced with the most stringent testing procedures and rules to encourage the events are purely of the human body.

While in private sports such as baseball, football, or even bowling to some extent all create their own rules and testing, with the goal of not finding anyone but the most flagrant chemical exploiters, as mild usage is considered good for the sport.

Most of the chemicals commonly used today do not induce the so called “roid rage” phenomenon, they’re also not single chemicals but cocktails designed to improve the body in a number of ways, help with recovery, and counteract negative effects that some may give.

Okay, seeing here Chris Benoit dying in 2007 may have had some other problems:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Benoit#Death

But Eddie Guerrero’s heart failure and passing seems linked up to steroids:

Two weeks prior to Eddie Guerrero’s death on Nov. 13, 2005, he was sent nandrolone, testosterone, and anastrozole. Guerrero died in a Minneapolis hotel room due to what a coroner later ruled as heart disease, complicated by an enlarged heart resulting from a history of anabolic steroid use.

… in the wake of Eddie Guerrero’s steroid-related death, the WWE instituted a “Talent Wellness Program” in February 2006.

sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/more/08/30/wrestlers/

Looks like Guerrero took a variety of steroids.

2007 wasn’t long ago at all.

So, a person takes EPO like Lance and some cyclists and you are under a Doctor’s supervision, it should be safe.

If one takes a smorgasbord mix of steroids you get through other means, it could be dangerous.

For the record, EPO treats cancer, I’m not in that field but from what I understand, Armstrong could have received some of that as a cancer patient.

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It seems Lance fessed up to be able to start participating in Triathlons again, I do see (the) Donald Trump saying “shouldn’t have put the interview on tape” and realistically, Lance will be wrestling with this for years to come now.