Defining “Drug Free”
by Thom Van Vleck
The most recent issue of MILO came out and in it is an article that I did that I’m particularly happy about. I got to interview John Godina (top discus thrower and world champ in the shot put). He was a lot of fun to visit with and he had a lot of comments about training, drugs, the politics of throwing, and other related topics and he pulled no punches.
My favorite comment was related to being a drug free thrower. John has always advocated being drug free in his throwing and training and he has never tested positive for anything which, as much as one can, backs up his claims of being drug free. When I asked him about drug use in sports he said, “People who use [drugs] are cowards because they are afraid to find out if they are the best without it.” That’s a pretty strong statement.
I have never used performance drugs (that’s probably pretty obvious based on my lifts!) and have no plans to do it in the future. I can’t say I haven’t been tempted, but that’s another story. Many people involved in the USAWA are in it for the drug free aspect. However, exactly where we all fall often leads to debate. One of the most heated debates on steroid use I ever had was on the USAWA forum! It’s just not that simple!
I often talk training with my Uncle Phil Jackson, the JWC guru. One day we were talking about drugs and he posed this question to me: “If they came out with a 100% safe steroid would you use it”. I stated, “No, because as soon as I stopped using it I would lose much of what was gained”. Then, in typical Phil Jackson style, he took it a step further. Phil has always made me think….and think hard about things. He asked, “What if you got to keep the gains?” Well, now this DID make me think.
My two main arguments regarding being drug free has always been that, first, there are health risks, and second, the gains you make would be lost when you stopped taking the drugs. Since those two conditions had been met, I said I would. Then, my Uncle added another layer to the discussion by asking: Would that be cheating? Regardless of whether it is allowed or not, in my heart, would I feel like I was cheating using a drug to get stronger. At the time, I said I would not feel like I was cheating because I had removed my two main concerns regarding performance drug use. My Uncle told me like he saw it: “I think you’d be a cheater”. That made me mad….but it has made me rethink my stand and that’s exactly what the old coach was challenging me to do!
At the time, I countered that I would not feel like I was cheating if everyone had access and the choice to drug use. I thought I had him with that one! But Phil said to me, “So you lift to beat others and win?” Back to square one. I have always wanted to believe that I lift for me. I lift to make myself stronger, not just in body, but mind and spirit in the painful journey to build the body God gave me into the best I could possibly be……and would using a drug to circumvent my own genetic limits be cheating? Would removing the pain, suffering, and the defeat that drugs would take away, lessen the experience and all the benefits? When I thought about it, my heart told me that it would.
Finally, Phil asked me, “What if they came out with a drug that would make you strong without ever lifting a weight…would you use it?” Wow! I had never thought of that, but with gene therapy, splicing, you just never know what is on the horizon. That added yet another dimension to my moral dilemma. To me, the joy of lifting a big weight has come at the cost of hard training and that “cause and effect” has had intrinsic value that has led to lasting satisfaction In other words, as Phil always told me, “The only time success comes before work is in the dictionary.” That was easy, “No way would I use a drug that made me strong without paying the price.
Again, this is an ongoing process for me, but a question every lifter should consider as part of their journey to fulfilling their own potential. You challenge yourself in the gym, you should be challenging the reasons you are there and strengthening your desire to work hard and reach your goals. To me, that’s every bit as important as the lifting.