What use is testosterone for cyclists?

[TheArbiter]

The impression I get from my body builder acquaintances is that testosterone is not good for cardiovascular based sports. It leaves you huffing and puffing, out of breath, and the pump (the blood rush to your muscles) makes you feel like your legs are about to explode.

But I regularly see testosterone cited in the list of drugs that doping cyclists use. So what would they use it for if the above information is correct?

 

[pedaling squares]

The impression I get from my body builder acquaintances is that testosterone is not good for cardovasclical based sports. It leaves you huffing and puffing, out of breath, and the pump (the blood rush to your muscles) makes you feel like your legs are about to explode.

But I regularly see testosterone cited in the list of drugs that doping cyclists use. So what would they use it for if the above information is correct?

Good question. The effects/benefits probably have a lot to do with the dosage and how the athlete trains. A bodybuilder using low aerobic, mass-building training will probably feel out of breath far quicker than a cyclist with high aerobic training. This article touches briefly on the topic.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/31/sports/31drugs.html

One expert, Don Catlin, suggested that testosterone would be used by cyclists to enhance recovery. That would be a great benefit obviously in Grand Tours or even on long stages with numerous hills (like for example, Floyd's epic breakaway). Also in the article, a former rider and testosterone user reports feeling stronger when on the drug. Added strength would be a huge benefit and the high aerobic training would probably keep the athlete from adding unwanted muscle mass.

Perhaps a former user of this drug who surfs this forum might be able to offer some personal insight on how this drug affected their build or aerobic capacity.

 

[TheArbiter]

Good question. The effects/benefits probably have a lot to do with the dosage and how the athlete trains. A bodybuilder using low aerobic, mass-building training will probably feel out of breath far quicker than a cyclist with high aerobic training. This article touches briefly on the topic.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/31/sports/31drugs.html

One expert, Don Catlin, suggested that testosterone would be used by cyclists to enhance recovery. That would be a great benefit obviously in Grand Tours or even on long stages with numerous hills (like for example, Floyd's epic breakaway). Also in the article, a former rider and testosterone user reports feeling stronger when on the drug. Added strength would be a huge benefit and the high aerobic training would probably keep the athlete from adding unwanted muscle mass.

Perhaps a former user of this drug who surfs this forum might be able to offer some personal insight on how this drug affected their build or aerobic capacity.

Interesting article. It seems to be a small dose recover thing.

 

[krebs303]

Just out of the shower rubbed some testosterone gel on and read this thread. I have never noticed any aerobic benefits. But even at 59 if I push strength training it will build muscle fast. The gel works faster (20 mins.) than injection (24-36 hrs) in my experience. Can buy it OTC at my local pharmacy.

 

[Epicycle]

It is important to know that the high exercise workload of professional cyclists severely lowers many hormone levels. This is why doping doctors like Eufemiano Fuentes and Francois Bellocq have explained doping as rebalancing hormone levels. It is why low doses of testosterone can have a much bigger effect on heavily trained cyclists than on athletes who do much less cardiovascular exercise. It is also why microdoses of EPO are effective to counter the drop in erythropoetin hormone levels during heavy racing or training periods.

Low testosterone levels inhibit muscle repair after an intense workout or race. Testosterone can also increase hematocrit and give a mental boost.

 

[ThisFrenchGuy]

I am reading of quick resume of Dr.Francois Bellocq, maybe someone should open a thread on him. He actually said more damning stuff than Ferrari, and even wrote a book to explain his positions.

"Rebalancing the hormones level" seems to be a bit of a catchphrase he used and that many of his patients took upon.

 

[Bala Verde]

I am reading of quick resume of Dr.Francois Bellocq, maybe someone should open a thread on him. He actually said more damning stuff than Ferrari, and even wrote a book to explain his positions.

"Rebalancing the hormones level" seems to be a bit of a catchphrase he used and that many of its patients took upon.

Do you have a link to that article/bio?

 

[ThisFrenchGuy]

Do you have a link to that article/bio?

In French.
A site you may know.
http://cyclisme-dopage.com/portraits/portraits.htm

He tried to distanciate himself from the "crooks dwelling in the locker rooms" in some instances. Some of the other quotes are a bit less romantic though.

 

[Hooptie]

This guy says it makes you go slower.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/otbphoto/2828013591/in/set-72157607114789367/

 

[Eva Maria]

Many riders have used Bellocq's words to rationalize their doping. They often call the use of Test and HGH "Recovery Therapy" as if doping is a natural thing.

I remember when David Miller came back from his doping suspension said " I am not even doing recovery therapy" as if he should be congratualted for doing the right thing.

 

[usedtobefast]

This guy says it makes you go slower.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/otbphoto/2828013591/in/set-72157607114789367/

no it does not.

 

[elapid]

Epicycle is correct. Hard training and particularly three-week GTs decreases endogenous production of testosterone. Testosterone is one of the many hormones required for recovery. A training- or racing-induced deficiency in testosterone will decrease a cyclist's ability to recover efficiently or as well as a non-deficient athlete. Some drugs, including testosterone, may actually be worthwhile considering within a certain therapeutic range because testosterone in an endurance sport like cycling is more of a survival drug, or one that does rebalance one aspect of the hormonal system which is put out of wack by training and racing, rather than a PED. Shoot me down in flames, but there is some merit to this argument IMO.

 

[Kennf1]

Epicycle is correct. Hard training and particularly three-week GTs decreases endogenous production of testosterone. Testosterone is one of the many hormones required for recovery. A training- or racing-induced deficiency in testosterone will decrease a cyclist's ability to recover efficiently or as well as a non-deficient athlete. Some drugs, including testosterone, may actually be worthwhile considering within a certain therapeutic range because testosterone in an endurance sport like cycling is more of a survival drug, or one that does rebalance one aspect of the hormonal system which is put out of wack by training and racing, rather than a PED. Shoot me down in flames, but there is some merit to this argument IMO.

Which reminds me of a quote I think attributed to Phil Anderson, who said that cycling at the pro level is flat-out unhealthy.

 

[Krebs cycle]

The impression I get from my body builder acquaintances is that testosterone is not good for cardovasclical based sports. It leaves you huffing and puffing, out of breath, and the pump (the blood rush to your muscles) makes you feel like your legs are about to explode.

But I regularly see testosterone cited in the list of drugs that doping cyclists use. So what would they use it for if the above information is correct?

In addition to what epicycle wrote, testosterone is also an upstream regulator of EPO. Increased testosterone will therefore stimulate EPO production.

 

[slcbiker]

Lots of stuff being thrown around here with no scientific studies to back it up. At least Catlin was smart enough to qualify his statement by saying he thought that testosterone "might" help recovery.
Anyone got a link to a real scientific study that shows benefits to endurance athletes?

 

[Krebs cycle]

Lots of stuff being thrown around here with no scientific studies to back it up. At least Catlin was smart enough to qualify his statement by saying he thought that testosterone "might" help recovery.
Anyone got a link to a real scientific study that shows benefits to endurance athletes?

The lack of referencing here is probably because the mechanism by which testosterone assists with recovery is basic textbook physiology. testosterone has many effects on the body, but the basics are as follows....

Intense exercise = increased cortisol = increased muscle protein catabolism = bad for recovery

Testosterone = increased muscle protein anabolism = counteracts the catabolic effect of cortisol = good for recovery.

The testosterone/cortisol ratio is therefore used as an indicator of anabolic/catabolic state.

There are lots of scientists around here. If we don't post a link to a study its probably because there are too many to choose from.

Anyway, anyone can search for themselves at pubmed which is an invaluable resource.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez

 

[elapid]

There is a lot of controversy regarding whether testosterone actually has a positive effect, and FoxyBrown has posted a few papers showing that PEDs like HGH have no more beneficial effect than placebos.

Lucia A, et al: Hormone levels of world class cyclists during the Tour of Spain stage race. Br J Sports Med 35:424–430, 2001.
Lucia and others found that both testosterone and cortisol were significantly decreased from basal levels during the Vuelta.

Lucia A, et al: The Tour de France: a physiological review. Scand J Med Sci Sports 13:275-283, 2003.
In this review, Lucia also commented that similar decreases in both testosterone and cortisol were found in runners after 6 months of strenuous training.

 

[forty four]

testosterone has a huge effect on athletic ability in all sports some more than others. basically its the 1 big difference between men and womens physiology it has many effects long term on hematocrit muscle mass recovery mental state etc... its the main reason men surpass women in sport in general. put simply it is the **** it or kill it hormone which is what makes men highly competitive in the first place.

 

[forty four]

i can speak from experience that after months of racing and training that test levels dwindle you can feel it both physically and mentally.

 

[Anonymous]

The lack of referencing here is probably because the mechanism by which testosterone assists with recovery is basic textbook physiology. testosterone has many effects on the body, but the basics are as follows....

Intense exercise = increased cortisol = increased muscle protein catabolism = bad for recovery

Testosterone = increased muscle protein anabolism = counteracts the catabolic effect of cortisol = good for recovery.

The testosterone/cortisol ratio is therefore used as an indicator of anabolic/catabolic state.

There are lots of scientists around here. If we don't post a link to a study its probably because there are too many to choose from.

Anyway, anyone can search for themselves at pubmed which is an invaluable resource.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez

Ouch, you didn't use any lube or anything!

 

[usedtobefast]

what i know is that it aids in recovery. from injuries or hard training and racing.

 

[BigBoat]

It is important to know that the high exercise workload of professional cyclists severely lowers many hormone levels. This is why doping doctors like Eufemiano Fuentes and Francois Bellocq have explained doping as rebalancing hormone levels. It is why low doses of testosterone can have a much bigger effect on heavily trained cyclists than on athletes who do much less cardiovascular exercise. It is also why microdoses of EPO are effective to counter the drop in erythropoetin hormone levels during heavy racing or training periods.

Low testosterone levels inhibit muscle repair after an intense workout or race. Testosterone can also increase hematocrit and give a mental boost.

Low sex drive with low testosterone too. Not what a cyclist wants... A 20 year old inactive male might get 900ng/dl if they have slightly above average testosterone levels. Certainly not a 20 year old cyclist.

The average 40 year old that is training hard might have below 300ng/dl! Yikes, time for some synthetic testosterone. Raising it to 1,000ng/dl isnt going to do anything as far as negative side effect. Nolvedex is good for that.

 

[slcbiker]

The lack of referencing here is probably because the mechanism by which testosterone assists with recovery is basic textbook physiology. testosterone has many effects on the body, but the basics are as follows....

Intense exercise = increased cortisol = increased muscle protein catabolism = bad for recovery

Testosterone = increased muscle protein anabolism = counteracts the catabolic effect of cortisol = good for recovery.

The testosterone/cortisol ratio is therefore used as an indicator of anabolic/catabolic state.

There are lots of scientists around here. If we don't post a link to a study its probably because there are too many to choose from.

Anyway, anyone can search for themselves at pubmed which is an invaluable resource.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez

There is a difference between theoretical physiology and proof that something works or doesn't work and how much effect it has. That's why people do studies. For instance:
Hoogeveen and Zonderland in the International Journal of Sports Medicine. "Relationships between testosterone, cortisol and performance in professional cyclists".
From the abstract:
"These results suggest that in endurance trained cyclists, decreased testosterone levels, increased cortisol levels and a decreased testosterone: cortisol ratio does not automatically lead to a decrease in performance or a state of overtraining."

Gosh, you know what, you're right, anyone can indeed go into PubMed.

 

[BigBoat]

There is a difference between theoretical physiology and proof that something works or doesn't work and how much effect it has. That's why people do studies. For instance:
Hoogeveen and Zonderland in the International Journal of Sports Medicine. "Relationships between testosterone, cortisol and performance in professional cyclists".
From the abstract:
"These results suggest that in endurance trained cyclists, decreased testosterone levels, increased cortisol levels and a decreased testosterone: cortisol ratio does not automatically lead to a decrease in performance or a state of overtraining."

Gosh, you know what, you're right, anyone can indeed go into PubMed.

Testosterone is really "light" doping and does not directly increase sustainable power output. But improved sex drive, and improved quality of life is a PED in other areas for an older cyclist.

 

[WD-40.]

Testosterone is really "light" doping and does not directly increase sustainable power output. But improved sex drive, and improved quality of life is a PED in other areas for an older cyclist.

I agree.

Most on this forum would shudder to think what can happen to the body when training hard cleanly. There are elite riders at 19-25 years old that don't dope and have to endure ultra low testosterone levels of LESS than 300ng/dl and frequently even lower. That is not good for the long term health especially the bones... Remember that most cyclists that have low testosterone levels do not know that they have low levels or want to believe it while in their ignorance develop preventable osterpenia or worse.

I know for a fact that testosterone replacement therapy (done correctly) will increase bone density and can be VERY healthy for the elite/pro athlete who will suffer from low levels.

The human body was never designed perfectly with some being more "perfect" than others. A super diet alone is just not good enough for top athletes whether we want to believe it or not.

Road cycling is one hell of a sport but treat it with respect, treat the athletes with respect and realize that sometimes the athletes know how to look after themselves better than those not in their position.