Testing For Anabolic Steroids (Part 1)
by Mick Hart
Drug testing in modern day sporting events is quite common
practise nowadays. We are normally lead to believe that a very
small percentage of competitors use performance enhancing drugs,
but the truth is that is very common place amongst modern day
competitors. There really isn't anything wrong in wanting to
have a competitive edge over your main rivals, and that would
normally amount to some form of anabolic steroids backed up by a
plan to beat the test.
Many competitions in powerlifting and bodybuilding are now drug
tested at events. The idea is, of course, that everybody
competes on a 'level field', aside from personal talent for
sport. However, what frequently happens is that the guy who is
on 'juice' and has found a way to get round the drug test comes
out the winner. It isn't fair by any means, but that's life.
Some people may find the practice of using drugs to prepare for
a 'natural' event rather unsavoury. Personally, I neither
condemn or condone such a deed; its entirely the business of the
individual, and its also up to them to realize that if they get
caught, it might just cause them a few problems... Aside from
that, the principles behind evading a drug test are quite
interesting in their own right. In this article, I will deal
with some types of testing procedure and straight forward
methods that can be employed to beat them.
Types of Testing Procedure: When it comes to the tests carried
out at sporting events, it is generally the urine which is put
to the test for the presence of drugs. This type of testing is
what we will be looking into although blood testing isn't that
much different, when testing for illegal substances.
There are a number of different laboratory testing processes
used to test for performance enhancers, and it is important to
know how these work, so that you can find a way to beat them!!
By virtue of that statement, it goes without saying that you
should find out what type of testing procedure your sample will
be analysed by well in advance of the test so you can plan
ahead...
Gas Chromatography(GC): This method uses a separation technique
to divide a urine extract into its component chemical parts.
These substances are carried through chromatographic columns by
a gas: chromatography is simply a means of separating mixtures
of compounds from each other, and enables identification in many
cases. The chemical compounds in the urine are identified by
their 'retention time' on the chromatographic column - the
retention time is unique for each drug, and so enables
identification.
Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry(GC/MS): This test uses a
mix of gas chromatography, proceeded by mass spectrometry on the
chemicals separated from the urine on the chromatographic
column. The mass spectrometry permits the exact identification
of any drugs found present in the urine by actually forming an
exact 'molecular fingerprint' of the chemicals found present.
That means in effect the chemical structure of the drugs that
are present (the atoms present within the drug, and in the order
they are actually bonded together) results by using this method.
The problem is that this test is extremely expensive to use and
only the richer sporting bodies would use it. The cost of the
test is round about one hundred pounds per sample (around $200
US).
It is quite fair to say that these two test are reasonably
accurate, although there is always room for human error. One
example would be due to poor cleaning after the previous test
and if that sample should have contained illegal drugs...This
would obviously cause contamination and could lead to an
incorrect positive test. So in the case that you are found to be
positive, make sure you do protest, especially if you were clean
or should have been.
High Performance Liquid Chromatography(HPLC): This technique is
extremely interesting as it tends to be used on test samples
that are suspected of having anabolic steroids present. It's
quite similar to GC, apart from that a liquid is used as a
carrier for the sample through a chromatographic column, and not
a gas. HPLC is both sensitive and a lot easier to carry out than
GC. This test is often carried out on results that have already
come from less sensitive ones.
Testing For Anabolic Steroids (Part 2)
About the author:
Find out how to build some serious lean muscle... using Safe Methods of Steroid Use with rebel bodybuilder and steroid coach Mick Hart's highly acclaimed http://www.bodybuildingandsteroids.com/laymans-index.htm A Layman's Guide To Steroids
