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[@RenaissancePeriodization] Exercise Scientist Critiques the Enhanced Games Flop

· 4 min read
[@RenaissancePeriodization] Summarizer
[@RenaissancePeriodization] Summarizer
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@RenaissancePeriodization - "Exercise Scientist Critiques the Enhanced Games Flop"

Link: https://youtu.be/1BAnz0MYHkk

Duration: 20 min

Transcript: Download plain text

Short Summary​

Dr. Mike hosts a discussion on the Enhanced Games, examining whether performance-enhancing drugs actually improve athletic performance. He argues that talent and genetics matter far more than drugs, citing examples like Hunter Armstrong winning the 50m backstroke as a non-enhanced athlete against steroid-using competitors. The episode covers specific results including Mitchell Hooper's failed 515-kilo world record attempt and Christian Glen's unrecognized 20.81-second freestyle, while discussing the science showing steroids provide only about 10% performance enhancement.

Key Quotes​

  1. "Talent. Talent. Talent is going to determine performance in a vast majority of sports way more than how many drugs you take." (00:05:06)
  2. "Motherfuckers that just got it versus ones that just don't." (00:08:28)
  3. "The harsh reality is that for now, enhancement plays very second fiddle to who your parents were." (00:17:21)
  4. "Drugs definitely work. They just don't work as much as people would think." (00:17:12)

Detailed Summary​

Enhanced Games Performance Analysis​

World Record Attempts and Results​

Mitchell Hooper attempted 515 kilos for a world record and $250,000 prize at the Enhanced Games but failed to complete the lift. This came close to Hafthor Julius Bjornson's previous world record deadlift of 510 kilos. In swimming, Christian Glen swam an unofficial 50m freestyle in 20.81 seconds at the drug-permitted Enhanced Games in Las Vegas, but the record was not recognized by official sporting bodies because he took banned substances and wore an outlawed full-body swimsuit.

Sprint Events and Records​

Fred Curley won the Enhanced Games 100m sprint in 9.97 seconds, placing him almost 0.4 seconds behind Usain Bolt's world record of 9.58 seconds set at the 2009 World Championships. Tristan Evelyn, a drug-free athlete, won the women's 100 meters at the Enhanced Games with a time of 11.25 seconds and stated "This proves that winning takes more than chemistry." The boys high school national outdoor record for 100m dash is 9.92 seconds (2023), and Shanti Jackson set the girls 100m national outdoor record at 10.89 seconds in 2023.

Non-Enhanced Athletes Defeating Enhanced Competitors​

Hunter Armstrong, competing as a non-enhanced athlete, won the men's 50 backstroke at the Enhanced Games while competing against athletes using testosterone and steroids. An Australian swimmer who underwent 2 years of supervised doping (DARP) finished last in both the 50 and 100 meter freestyle races at the Enhanced Games.

Science of Performance Enhancement​

Dr. Mike argues that anabolic steroids provide approximately 10% performance enhancement in strength sports, not the massive gains popularly assumed. He cites that the best deadlifters at his body weight lift 850-950 lbs, while his personal best is 600 lbs, illustrating that drugs cannot bridge the talent gap to elite performance. The speaker argues that drugs cannot close the gap between good and elite athletes because sport involves specific muscle contraction types, ranges of motion, cellular morphologies, and technique that drugs don't significantly alter. In swimming, high muscularity and low body fat decreases buoyancy, causing swimmers to sink; swimming performance depends more on technique and fiber type than raw muscularity.

Enhanced Games Scale and Future Prospects​

The Enhanced Games have a much smaller scale than the Olympics, with total athletes comparable to just one sport at the Summer Olympics. Dr. Mike contends that for most sports besides bodybuilding and powerlifting, enhancement does not make a significant difference in performance. The Enhanced Games offer payouts of $500k, which could attract good athletes to future events and potentially elevate competition quality. Dr. Mike claims the Olympics is already mostly enhanced, and the Enhanced Games represent a smaller sample pool with approved drugs taken at sensible dosages.