Competitive Edge lies with Power Lifters even after end of Doping

In a recently concluded study, it was found that power lifters who used anabolic steroid in the past still benefit from its usage though the traces are no longer identifiable. The study pointed out that the changes made to the shoulders and quadriceps of these previously doped power lifters gave them a competitive edge over those who presently dope or do not dope at all.

The research conducted by Anders Eriksson and Lars-Eric Thornell, Department of Integrative Medical Biology Section, found that there is a very high chance that a high number of nuclei in the muscle lead to increased muscle mass in the quadriceps and shoulder regions even after several years of anabolic steroid usage.

From Bio-Medicine.org:

The researchers examined data in two muscles: the vastus lateralis, found in the quadriceps, and the trapezius, a part of the shoulder-neck muscle. Each muscle is key to power lifting.

Three groups were examined. One group was comprised of seven power lifters who had previously used anabolic steroids for long periods of time but stopped their usage some years ago (PREV). One group was currently power lifting but did not use steroids (P). The third group was power lifting and taking steroids (PAS). The researchers examined muscle fiber distribution, fiber area, subsarcolemmal and internal myonuclei number per fiber, myonuclei expressing androgen receptors, satellite cell numbers per fiber, and proportion of split fibers in each muscle for each individual.

Findings

The researchers found that several years after anabolic steroid withdrawal, and with no or low current strength-training, the muscle fiber area intensity, the number of nuclei per fiber in the quadriceps was still comparable to that of athletes that were currently performing high intensity strength-training. They also discovered that the shoulder-neck fiber areas were comparable to high-intensity trained athletes and the number of nuclei per fiber was even higher than found in the current steroid-using group.

It was concluded in the study that the previously doped power lifters have an "unfair" advantage over power lifters (who doped and who do not dope) who engage themselves into high intensity strength-training in the present times, possibly due to a high number of nuclei per fiber.