Found this interesting, thought you guys might too...
Steroids work, in part, because you expect them to work.
Let’s take a look at two studies examining the placebo effect’s impact on “steroid-induced” strength gains.
In the first (Ariel, 1974), researchers told 15 trained athletes they could get their hands on some free, legal steroids. The subjects were already relatively strong at the start of the study – with squat and bench press maxes around 300 pounds, and military press maxes a shade under 200 pounds.
They trained for 7 weeks with the promise that the people who made the best strength gains (to give them an incentive to train hard and make as much progress as possible) in those 7 weeks would get free, legal steroids. So the athletes trained for 7 weeks, and put a combined total of ~22 pounds on their bench, military press, seated press, and squat.
Then, 6 of the participants were selected at random to take part in the “steroid” trial. They were told they were being given 10mg/day of Dianabol, when really they were taking placebo pills.
They trained for another 4 weeks, thinking they were on drugs.
In just 4 weeks, they put a combined total of ~100 pounds on those same four lifts. 100 pounds instead of 22, in 4 weeks instead of 7. Simply because they THOUGHT they were on steroids.
So the placebo effect clearly increases your strength gains from training when you simply *think* you’re on steroids. You expect more gains, so you get more gains.
However, what about lifting more today?
For that we turn to another study (Maganaris, 2000).
In this one, the researchers were in a perfect position to study the placebo effect. The researchers were coaching a powerlifting team, and the eleven members of the team actually asked their coaches about using steroids. Presumably they trusted their coaches, so when their coaches told the lifters they were providing them with fast-acting steroids, the lifters bought it hook, line, and sinker.
Their coaches gave them saccharine pills, telling them they were steroids. Then they maxed out on squat, bench, and deadlift.
An important thing to note is that these were all nationally ranked powerlifters. The average bodyweight was around 85kg, with average maxes of 257kg squat, 207kg bench, and 260kg deadlift (566 squat, 456 bench, 573 deadlift at ~187 pounds). Based on how close the bench is to the squat and deadlift, I’m assuming they were lifting in powerlifting gear, but I’m not positive. However, they weren’t new lifters – these guys were really strong.
When they maxed, thinking they were on steroids, every single one of them hit PRs on every lift. The smallest PR on any lift was 5kg. Most were 10 or 12.5kg PRs. These PRs represented 4-5% improvements on their maxes, taking their 724kg average total to ~755kg (1597 pounds to ~1670).
After that, they trained for two more weeks, continuing to think they were on steroids.
After these two weeks of training, they were asked how their training had been going. All of them reported that they’d been lifting heavier weights, lifting the same weights for more reps, and generally feeling more energetic and having better training sessions.
Then they maxed again. However, the coaches put a twist on it. 6 of the lifters were allowed to continue believing they were on steroids. 5, however, were told they had been taking a placebo the whole time.
The results were astounding.
The group that continued to believe they were on steroids stayed at about the same level they had reached two weeks prior. There were a few small regressions and a few small new PRs, but on the whole they held onto the 4-5% extra strength they’d gained by thinking they were on steroids.
The group that was informed they’d been taking a placebo absolutely tanked. Their maxes essentially returned to their pre-placebo baseline. None of them could hit a single lift that equaled what they’d done two weeks prior. This is IN SPITE OF knowing they hadn’t been taking steroids when they had hit PRs two weeks before, and in spite of reporting better training for the two intervening weeks. As soon as the mental crutch was removed, they couldn’t perform on the same level, even though they knew the initial PRs and the two good weeks of training were just the result of their hard work – not drugs.
So from these two studies we see a piece of why steroids are so effective. On top of how well they work physiologically, when people go on steroids, they THINK they’re going to get a ton stronger. They can lift more weight just by thinking they’re on, and they’ll gain more strength from training just by thinking they’re on. Part of the reason steroids work so well is that you expect them to work so well.
Of course, the effects of steroids aren’t just all in your head. They do, very much, work.
Greg Nuckols, Strengtheory.com
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