performance enhancement Flashcards
What are ergogenic aids?
Ergogenic aids are practices, substances or methods (legal or illegal) that improves performance. An ergogenic aid is anything that enhances (or is thought to enhance) physical or mental performance.
What is the importance of testosterone?
Testosterone is a hormone that is found in men and it plays a vital role in their body. It helps with bone mass, fat distribution, muscle mass and strength and the production of red blood cells.
Explain how steroids benefit an athlete and what types of athletes benefit from its use.
They enhance performance, reduce muscle damage, helping athletes recover more quickly and enabling them to work harder and more frequently.
Lots of athletes would benefit, especially endurance athletes such as swimmers or runners.
Explain EPO.
Athletes take EPO because it increases their number of red blood cells which will allow them to run over a long period of time and have endurance. Another reason is that it also increases their oxygen carrying capacity.
The drug EPO (erythropoietin) is banned from sports as it is believed to enhance athletes performance which gives people who take it an unfair advantage over the other athletes who haven’t taken the drug.
What are the two types of blood doping and explain the difference?
Autologous transfusion: This involves a transfusion of the athlete’s own blood, which is drawn and then stored for future use.
Homologous transfusion: This involves athletes using the blood of someone else with the same blood type.
WADA
= World Anti-Doping Agency
A substance is added to the list if it meets two of the three criteria listed below:
The potential for enhanced performance
The potential for being detrimental to health
Violation of the spirit of sport
In order to be accepted the following must be true:
The athlete would suffer significant health problems if they do not take the medication
There is no suitable alternative which is not listed
There are no considerable performance enhancing benefits
