Biology Forums - Study Force

Discuss how homeostasis may be altered in order to enhance performance.  Explain what performance enhancers are and why they are a concern.

1) Simply put....homeostasis means that our bodies strive to stay in balance.

2) There are three types of performance-enhancing drugs − creatine, anabolic steroids and steroid precursors. Creatine is a naturally occurring compound in the body that is used primarily to enhance recovery after a workout and to increase muscle mass and strength. Anabolic steroids are synthetic versions of the hormone testosterone, used to build muscle and increase strength. Steroid precursors, such as androstenedione ("andro") and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) are substances that the body converts into anabolic steroids. They are also used to increase muscle mass. Then starts changes in homeostasis; our bodies are, naturally, very well balanced. Almost everything in our bodies has an equilibrium point — a set body temperature, fluid volume, hematocrit, blood sugar, and countless others.

Our bodies respond to anything that stresses these levels. The classic example is our set 98.6-degree Fahrenheit body temperature. When it gets hot, we’ll sweat, and when it gets cold, we’ll shiver, but our bodies attempt to stay at 98.6 degrees.

Homeostasis also explains our training adaptations. You may lift weights with the desire to get stronger and impress your friends, but that’s not what motivates your body. Lifting weights damages muscles, which is another homeostatic stress. Do enough damage and the body will say, “I don’t like this damage so I’m going to build the muscle back bigger and stronger. That way, the next time this stressor is thrown at me, I can homeostatically handle it.”

Detraining is just the reverse. Remove the constant stressor and your body will no longer feel a need to maintain such large muscle tissue. Soon enough, you’ll have to head back to the gym.

And how does homeostasis accomplish this amazing balance? Hormones. Sensors throughout our body detect any imbalance and tell the brain to release the appropriate hormones to make us sweat, feel thirsty, release glucose, or whatever may be needed to restore balance. Once the stressor is gone, the hormones break down.

Most doping products are just synthetic versions of our natural hormones. They use the body’s normal pathways, but they fool our bodies into responding to a bigger stress than what’s really there. They intentionally cause the body to get out of balance.

The body tries to balance even artificial changes. So, once an athlete stops taking doping products, what’s left in the system will break down rapidly and the body will, over time, find its true levels again. The athlete will “detrain,” no differently than if simply reducing the training volume. This could take months.