WHAT EXACTLY DOES "DRUG-FREE" OR "NATURAL" MEAN?

By Skip La Cour

In the bodybuilding world, a "natural" or "drug-free" bodybuilder can be simply described as a bodybuilder who has competed in a contest in which he or she has been drug-tested. Assuming the methods of testing are reliable, those bodybuilders have not used any steroids, growth hormone, or illegal physique-enhancing drugs to build their physiques.

The length of time in which a bodybuilder must be drug free varies with the different organizations that promote the different contests. Most organizations require athletes to be drug free for at least one year. Other contests may require three years, five years, or even a lifetime without the use of drugs.

That starts the debate over whether or not a person who has ever used drugs in the past should be included in the description of a "drug-free" athlete. Opinions on this issue seem to be evenly split down the middle. Those who have never used drugs feel past drug-users should be excluded from the distinguished "natural" status. Bodybuilders who have employed the assistance of drugs in the past feel that, just as with any other drug, you no longer benefit from their effects once you have discontinued their use.

The different bodybuilding organizations have different methods of testing. The most common and cost-efficient procedure seems to be the use of a polygraph. Other organizations use urinalysis, while others use both methods. Some contests randomly test their participants while most of them test every single one.

I believe for a bodybuilder to be considered natural, he or she must not use anything that is not readily available to be purchased legally. This includes illegal recreational drugs or prescribed medications that may not be considered bodybuilding drugs, but can aid in a person losing body fat or getting more sleep to recover.

There is nothing particularly "natural," so to speak, about sports supplements, but I believe that their use should be -- as it is -- considered permissible.