From Victor Conte:
I am simply stunned that the NSAC granted Chael Sonnen a TUE for testosteroneuse today. My opinion is that this ruling is outrageous. The bizarre part isthat the NSAC rendered the condition of testing him after his upcoming fight toassure that his testosterone levels are not elevated. Anyone who understandshow anabolic steroids work knows that an athlete does not perform at their peakwhile using steroids. For example, sprinters actually run much slower while onsteroids because they cause muscle tightness. Steroids work by a process knownas cell volumization and this makes an athlete’s muscles tight or”pumped,” which actually reduces functional muscle performance. Thepeak performance gains come 10-14 days after tapering off of testosterone. Thisis when an athlete becomes much more explosive and significantly faster. Sotesting an athlete at a time when he has tapered off a substance on purpose tomaximize the performance benefits makes little sense. The period from 10 weeksout from a fight until 2 weeks out should be the targeted drug testing period.The NSAC seems to lack a basic understanding of the way testosterone is used byathletes. I also highly question that Sonnen was being truthful when hetestified that he had not previously used anabolic steroids or testosterone. Ibelieve the ruling made by the NSAC in the Sonnen case was not in the bestinterest of combat sports and it will encourage other fighters to use thisapproach to circumvent drug testing.
Victor Conte
@VictorConte
http://snac.com
