Electrostimulation, Not Steroids, Can Give You a Healthy Edge

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Sgt. 1st. Class Joel Lopez (center) demonstrates push-ups in a mock physical fitness test.
Sgt. 1st. Class Joel Lopez (center) demonstrates push-ups in a mock physical fitness test to grader Sgt. 1st. Class Lastasha Mimms (left), both assigned to the 387th Quartermaster Company in Los Angeles. This scenario was to show the possible consequence of steroid use in a drug awareness skit during Nation Red Ribbon week, Nov. 7, 2012. (Sgt. Marie Adams/201st Press Camp Headquarters)

If you're an athlete, parent or relative of an athlete, you need to read this article.

With Congress continuing to crack down on steroid use in professional sports and most people knowing that steroid use in sports is wrong and harmful to the athletes, why is steroid use growing? Surveys show that a large percentage of young athletes would still take the chance to use them to reach their goals and fulfill their dreams.

The primary reason athletes use steroids is to gain "the edge" over their opponents, which is what every athlete is looking for. They are looking for that rapid ability to get stronger, quicker and faster in order to reach their desired goals. The optimal alternative would be that the actual goals could be reached without steroids.

Along with other retired professional athletes and health industry professionals, former NFL player Chuck Detwiler has been fighting the battle against steroid usage fervently. They also have been searching for healthier alternatives for athletes to replace steroids.

"Athletes have the right to get as strong and fast as they can," Detwiler said. "The problem is that some athletes think the only way to get those types of results at the rapid rate needed is by using steroids or other questionable enhancers."

Adrian Weber, a colleague of Detwiler's who is a formulator for natural supplements and baseball coach, has seen what steroids can do to young athletes.

"Until I met Chuck a few years ago, I thought we were fighting a losing battle," Weber said. 

"In dealing with the steroid problem in the U.S. that is still out of control, a group of retired professional athletes and health industry professionals have found an alternative to steroid use. Electrostimulation has been found to be that alternative. It does everything that steroids do and more, without harmful effects on the body."

So is there any alternative?

"Congress and the public need to look no further," Detwiler said. "We have absolutely found the alternative choice to replace steroids, and it is electrostimulation. Electrostimulation will far surpass what steroids can do for athletes, with no adverse effects on the body, short or long term. Over the past couple of years, we have seen amazing results in young athletes that have used electrostimulation with a device called the Compex Sport.

Jamie Daley is among Detwiler's other colleagues. He is a professional beach volleyball player, high school coach and certified trainer.

"Even using steroids, once an athlete is in season and is no longer doing their strength training regiment, steroids are no longer helpful," Daley said. "The athlete will still start to diminish strength-wise, and they don't help with recovery after performance. E-Stim not only can help maintain the athlete's strength but increase it while the athlete is in season, with no fear of injury or adverse effects on the athlete's performance or body."

E-Stim has been proven in European clinical tests to build muscle size and strength, as well as improve endurance and aid in faster muscle recovery on a post-event basis when the current is at a high level. Compex is the leader in electrostimulation for sports in Europe since 1999.

The Compex Sport was introduced to the U.S. several years ago but only to elite professional athletes and extreme bicyclists and triathletes. Because of Detwiler and others, Compex Sport now is offered to the general public.

Compex Sport has been used and continues to be used by elite professional athletes for years, including former NFL great, tennis player Justine Henin-Herdenne, triathletes Simon Lessing and Petr Vabrousek, champion skier Hermann Maier and Tour de France rider Joane Somarriba. 

 "When I was playing, it was my secret weapon," Rice said. "It helped me get the size and strength I could not get with just weightlifting and maintain it during the season."

Electrostimulation has been used for rehabilitation and therapy for decades. Carole Bergeron, a nurse working with Detwiler and his group, has worked on many clinical trials.

"The difference between E-Stim for rehab and the Compex Sport device is the power of the electrical current," Bergeron said. "E-Stim devices used for rehab work are low-current devices, whereas the Compex Sport is very powerful."

Detwiler said he has seen significant improvements.

"We have seen athletes in basketball (both male and female) increase their vertical jump 3-7 inches, using the Compex Sport, with no other change in their training," Detwiler said. "We have seen athletes in football get quicker and stronger, using the Compex Sport. We know that Compex Sport can do everything that steroids can do, plus other beneficial things that steroids can't, with no harm to the body."

Unlike other professions or disciplines, when an athlete is performing during the season, their body is in a diminishing capacity. Their muscles are getting weaker as the season goes on, because it is impossible in most sports to sustain a strength training regiment during the season. Trying to maintain a strength training regiment will affect the athlete's performance adversely.

"The offseason is so vital to an athlete," Detwiler said. "That is when the athlete hones his or her skill, recovers from injury and works on getting stronger and faster. The offseason is a very short window. That is why athletes are looking for shortcuts, looking for something that will give them the edge."

For more information on the Compex Sport, go to http://www.sagelectrostim.com.

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