VIAGRA : The latest research on exercise performance.
Viagra has moved from the bedroom to the locker room. The buzz on the street was that Yankee superstar Roger Clemens had a bottle of Viagra disguised as vitamin pills stashed in his locker. Last May, Italian cyclist Andrea Moletta was removed from the Giro d'Italia after police found a cache of Viagra and syringes in his car. Not surprisingly, the tabloids had a field day following these incidents and charged that legions of athletes in baseball, football, bodybuilding and Olympic sports took Viagra to boost endurance and physical performance. The World Anti-Doping Association (WADA) considered banning Viagra before the Beijing Olympics, but backed off because it had no evidence that the drug provided a competitive advantage.
What do firm erections have to do with sports like bodybuilding? Viagra improves blood flow control. Muscles need plenty of blood to remove wastes and deliver energy, oxygen, and hormones. Increased blood flow could speed the delivery of key amino acids to the muscles, which would promote muscle protein synthesis and growth. It seems reasonable that Viagra could boost performance and that bodybuilders might take it.
