Steroids in BJJ

Hey Guys,

Today I thought I would share one of my more controversial articles.

This was published a while back just as one of the most loved athletes in the sport, Braulio Estima, got caught for a banned substance.

This topic is a very real one that is getting bigger all the time. Take a few mins to have a look and let me know what you think!

Steroids in BJJ

Let’s get some stuff out of the way.

Steroids are in BJJ.

They are at the highest and lowest levels of the sport and they are here to stay.

Now before you start warming up your fingers for hate mail, take a second to read through this article before you vomit hate and insults onto an E Mail that I won’t read. I am not anti or pro steroid. I have worked with athletes who have used and those who haven’t. I’ve worked with athletes across a vast array of sports, many of which included drug testing. I am not a drugs coach or a doctor (although I am lucky enough to have colleagues who are). The views I express here are my own and are a reflection of what I see happening.

Steroids are in our beloved sport because our sport is getting bigger. As BJJ is getting more and more popular, more people are entering competitions. As more people are entering, competitions are becoming more and more competitive, especially on the higher level.

This means that part time and full time BJJ athletes are having to work harder to win big competitions, gain prize money and earn a living (yes, if you want to do BJJ full time you’re going to have to find a way to earn at least enough money to live, your parents will not support you forever). Fighters are spending more and more time perfecting every aspect of their game from strength and conditioning to nutrition to flexibility and mobility. I can tell you first hand that the most dedicated athletes are taking care of every factor, every day, whether they have a competition coming up or not. This is how you become world class. This is how you separate yourself from the pack and make a name for yourself.

The athletes that are looking to become the best in the world want to leave no stone unturned when it comes to gaining even a 1% advantage over the competition. Most people can’t even fathom the lengths that world class athletes go through to make sure that they have even the slightest edge over their rivals. The top BJJ players are spending every minute of every day thinking how to be stronger, faster, more flexible and more technical in order to destroy their rivals.

This is where steroids come in.

Whether you agree with them morally or not, no one can deny that steroids allow you to train harder, recover faster and allow you to make quicker gains in muscle mass and strength. That’s a fact.  However the other fact is that the IBJJF and other fighting organisations have deemed steroids too much of an advantage to be allowed in fair competition (it’s not just a matter of legality either as steroids are perfectly legal in many countries).

The IBJJF have gotten tighter in their policing of banned substances recently and brought in the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) to help regulate them. The IBJJF now uses the USADA list of banned substances (also called the WADA prohibited list) for all substances that athletes are forbidden to take while competing and in the off season. Some of the better known ones is as follows,

Testosterone

Test-CHP (or any form of testosterone) will bind to the A.R on fat cells resulting in fat break-down and also prevents new fat formation.(15) Testosterone CHP will also promote nitrogen retention in the muscle(2), which is good, as the more nitrogen the muscles holds the more protein the muscle stores, and the bigger the muscle gets. Testosterone has the ability to increase red blood cell production(9), and a higher RBC count may improve endurance via providing more highly oxygenated blood to working muscles. More RBCs can also improve your recovery from strenuous physical activity, and has a "volumizing" effect on your muscles.

Winstrol

Winstrol - Stanozolol is a very commonly used anabolic steroid for cutting cycles (losing weight and/or fat).

Dianabol

Helps increase Testosterone production up to 40% depending on dosage (helps add muscle, see Testosterone).

Deca

Produces less Testosterone than Dianabol (up to 20%) and doesn´t produce many estrogenic or androgenic side effects (thus its popularity).

HGH (Human Growth Hormone)

Human growth hormone is produced in the body by the pituitary gland. Once it is released, Human Growth Hormone (HGH) is a protein that stimulates the body cells to increase both in size, as well as undergo more rapid cell division than usual. In addition, it enhances the movement of amino acids through cell membranes and also increases the rate at which these cells convert these molecules into proteins. Clearly, you can see that this would amount to an anabolic (muscle building) effect in the human body.

The ways in which the IBJJF tests its athletes is changing all the time to try and find the best way to make sure that it is fair and accurate (more on this later). Currently the IBJJF takes 10 athletes at random out of the medal winners and tests them for the substances on the banned list. If they fail for any of the substances they will have their medal and prize money removed and may face a ban from future events. If an athlete does test positive for a banned substance they are given the option of an appeal (more on this in a bit).

This all sounds pretty fair and a good deterrent to athletes looking to make their career in BJJ right?

A world class competitor wouldn’t jeopardize their future career just to win a BJJ tournament would they?

 Well let’s have a closer look at what a world class BJJ competitor can make from being successful.

·      Prize money for IBJJF first place in November in Rio - $4000 ($1000 for second)

·      Prize money for first place in the NY BJJ Pro - $4000 ($1000 for second)

·      AD World Pro: Yearly, Absolute – $30,000 to first / $3,000 to second / $1,500 to thirds. Weight groups – $8,000 to first / $3,000 to second / $1,500 to thirds for black belts and smaller prizes + travel and accommodation for lower belts)

·      Metamoris: $100,000 of prize money divided by 14 fighters.

·      Copa Podio: Undisclosed Amount in Cash Prize. Estimated to be around $10,000 for the winner.

·      Grapplers Quest: Around $3,000 for 1st place, $1,000 for second place.

·      ADCC (every two years):  per weight class: First $10,000.00 Second $5,000.00 Third $3,000.00 Fourth $1,000.00. Absolute Weight Class (Any Weight): First $40,000.00 Second $10,000.00 Third $5,000.00 Fourth $1,000.00. Super Fight Winner : $40,000 Looser : $10,000

This is the allure of steroids to athletes when the desire to win surpasses playing by the rules.

Whether we like it or not, BJJ athletes do not get paid that much money compared to other sports. Not to mention the insane amount of time it takes to get to a level where you can even earn a good amount (8-10 years to black belt on average). It is therefore no surprise that many athletes would do anything it takes to get to the upper levels to even have a chance to earn this amount of cash.

Also look at the actual likely hood that those who are using will get caught. Firstly you have to be one of the 10 people chosen and then you have to test positive for one of the banned substances. Here in lies the problem of why this is an ineffective way to find those on performance enhancing drugs (PEDs).

Just testing people isn’t a guaranteed method to find those using. Just look at the case of Lance Armstrong. He was the most tested athlete of all time however he was on just about every drug imaginable to try and get the edge.

Say I was to give you a test on your 6 times table in a years time. I tell you what the test is going to be on and the exact date in which you will be taking it. Now say I give you $10,000 to pass the test. Chances are you’re going to be prepared. It’s no different when testing for performance enhancing drugs.

So how are the athletes getting around the tests?

Well for a start the actual drug trade is far more advanced than those testing for it. The fact is there is more money is selling the drugs than there is testing for them. More money equals more research, even if it is illegal. As soon as one substance is banned another is found to take its place. As this substance is unknown to the testers, it simply isn’t tested for.

Also certain drugs leave your system at certain times while other drugs are only detectable with certain tests. Now if an athlete (or a coach), has this knowledge they can easily plan what they use and when so that they sail through a drug test. There are also ways that athletes can mask the results of a test by using blockers and masking agents. This is of course, highly against the rules and punished just as harshly as actually taking performance enhancing drugs.

Now even if an athlete is picked and test positive for a banned substance, they are given the opportunity for an appeal. It has been well documented in other sports that organisations will look the other way or allow an athlete to find a reason for a positive test (the most common is a steroid cream of some sort where the athlete didn’t know what they were taking). This happens more frequently than you know in other sports, especially if the athlete is popular and a big draw to the sport or event.

We must remember that the athletes that have made the decision to take PEDs have already made the decision to cheat. With this decision also goes the decision to try to cover that cheat with further cheating. Athletes will go to all kinds of lengths to cover it up. I’ve heard of athletes skipping the country, faking family deaths and even making up false illnesses in order to get prescriptions for things on the banned list (thankfully no one I’ve worked with).

So what is the solution? What can be done to insure that the rules are met and people cannot find a way around the tests?

The only way to truly test athletes for PEDs is to visit each athlete a number of times over the course of the year at random. Then take blood, urine and hair samples, run a full panel of tests for everything that is on the banned list. This method is far from perfect and like anything, there are ways around this to. However the main reason that this will not take place is simply cost. It costs anywhere between $150 - $1500 per test, per athlete to be comprehensive. This is a LOT of money for the IBJJF to be forking out for every competitor who is even ranked in the top 10, never mind every athlete that enters an IBJJF competition!

So the fact remains that steroids and PEDs are here and here to stay in BJJ. Just like in every other sport that has money on the line for those competing, there will always be cheats.

So what does that mean for you and me? What does it mean for those who practice BJJ for the love of the art and like to do the odd competition or two?

Well, nothing really.

While PEDs are certainly used by athletes on the local scene it’s certainly not something anyone should put much thought into. In my experience most of the guys in MMA and BJJ that you think are using probably aren’t, and the ones you would swear are clean might be using. The only thing that you can do is to work hard on your own training and enjoy your own journey.

As the sport of BJJ grows and changes, the problems within it are going to match other sports that came before us. We can either be adults about it and except that this will happen, or bury our heads in the sand and pretend that we are somehow different from everyone else (we aren’t). The best thing we can do is to try and address the problems we face in the most efficient manor that protects the athletes and helps our public perception.

Stay healthy,

Mike