STIMULANTS

Stimulants are performance enhancing drugs.

Class of psychoactive drug that increases activity in the brain. Studies in cyclist have shown faster cycling time
Pyschoactive drug is a chemical substance that changes a person’s
mental state by affecting the way the brain and nervous system
trials after caffeine ingestion.
works.
Amphetamines are chemically synthesized,
They work on the central nervous system to increase alertness, controlled substances.They increase strength,
concentration, metabolic rate, power, strength, and to decrease muscular power, and endurance. Amphetamines
fatigue
are banned by IInternatinal Olympic Commitee.
They speed up the messages travelling between the brain and the
body. Methods of consumption: vaping(nicotine),
snorting(cocaine), inhalation, injection and orally.
Examples- caffeine, cocaine, amphetamines, methamphetamines,
ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, MDMA (ecstasy), and Many stimulants can be addictive
phenylephrine.anabolic steroids, androstenedione, human growth
hormone, erythropoietin, diuretics, creatine a
STIMULANT USE PROS
● Increase muscle mass and strength
● Increase metabolism rate
● Increase testosterone levels which increases
aggressiveness in sport ● Reduce tiredness and fatigue

● Reduce muscle damage during hard work- ● Increase alertness

outs
● Increase heart rate
● Improve recovery time

● The athletes body looks better because of

the muscle gain
STIMULANT USE CONS
● Nervousness and irritability ● Long term negative effects:

● Insomnia ● Dependency, Addiction, Paranoia.

● Dehydration ● Hallucinations, Violent behavior,

● Impair fine motor control ● Compulsive drug-seeking behavior.

● Lead to impulsive decision making ● Respiratory problems, Loss of

coordination.

● Obsessive behavior.
ATHLETE EXAMPLES: BEN JOHNSON

Canadian athlete who won the 1988 Olympics 100 meter

men’s final.He ran a then world record time of 9.79 seconds
but was found guilty of using stanozolol, a water-based
steroid similar to the male hormone testosterone that could be
taken by athletes to increase muscle mass, which can enhance
an athlete’s performance.
Sanction: Stripped of the gold medal and IAAF banned him
from competing for life.
In July 2013, an American athlete Tyson Gay was meant to make
Usain Bolt sweat in the 100-metre dash at the Moscow World
Championships. Instead, Gay pulled out from the tournament for
testing positive for a banned substance.
Sanction: the American was banned for a year and forfeited the
Olympic silver medal he won as part of the United States 4×100
meters team in London.
 BLOOD DOPING, EXOGENOUS DRUGS,
ENDOGENOUS DRUGS, THERAPEUTIC USE
EXEMPTIONS
Endogenous drugs. These are substances that originate
. Blood doping – refers to a handful of techniques
used to increase an individual's oxygen carrying red from inside the human body.They include endogenous
blood cells and in turn improve an athlete's opioids which act as pain relieving compounds that the
performance. Commonly used in endurance sports. body can make by itself. Endogenous cholesterol is a
Red blood cells shuttle oxygen through a person’s form of cholesterol produced by the liver in a person’s
blood, therefore, any boost in their numbers can
body.
improve the amount of oxygen the blood can carry to
a body’s muscles. The result is more endurance.
Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUE) This is an
Exogenous drugs – a drug for the body that is exemption that allows an athlete to use, for therapeutic
derived from the outside or external influences and purposes only, an otherwise prohibited substance or
not made internally by the hormones in the body
method of administering a substance. Determining a
itself. For instance, insulin taken by a diabetic
somebody is exogenous insulin. TUE requires strict adherence to a sport governing
body’s standards.