Superhuman

1. I found the steroid video to be quite interesting. It is rare to see news casts about the topic showing that steroids actually don’t have an effect on some people in a negative way. However, the clip failed to show some kind of population study of the effects on people as a whole. It just focused in on a couple healthy men who had no health issues related to their steroid use. In turn, a weak argument could be that steroids have no negative effects on people. It is too generalized and obviously this type of substance use differs for individuals. After watching the testimonies of the two men though, I do agree that steroids could be used responsibly. Both men clearly knew what they were doing, one being a body builder for decades and another being an editor of body magazine.

2. First of all, I feel that teens in high school are too young to be toying with steroids. I don’t think that the age group is mature enough or educated enough on the topic to be injecting such substances into their bodies. With that I feel that it is necessary to randomly test high school aged students, not only for the sake of cheating in sports but for the protection of youth. However, I feel that the standards should be different for grown men, especially those who participate in body building. I feel like steroids are part of body building, even if that might sound inappropriate. What I mean is that having/making a bigger body is the nature of the sport, almost making the use of steroids an exception to the rule. For all other professional sports and high school sports though, I don’t think that the use of the drug should be allowed. It’s unfair for participants with natural talents to have to go up against ones who are consuming superhuman drugs.

3. In a way I feel that Hoberman’s statement is kind of true. With the high demands of physical talent in professional and even high school sports, I can see how being bigger, stronger, and faster puts a lot of pressure on athletes today. However, I also feel that it is an issue that can be turned around. If steroid tests are enforced and regulations are followed through then I don’t see this “double standard” being as big of a problem as it is. If certain age groups are banned from them, then no one will feel any kind of pressure to consume steroids. The only motivation they will have is to naturally work harder and become better on their own, which is the way it should be.