Would You Dope to Get Fit?

My attention and curiosity was piqued by a recent article written by famed exercise science researcher Samuele Marcora. The article, entitled, “Can Doping Be a Good Thing? Using Psychoactive Drugs to Facilitate Physical Activity Behavior,” looked into whether adherence to an exercise program, motivation to exercise, or even the intensity at which you exercise could be facilitated via the use of psychoactive drugs. Yes, you read right: psychoactive drugs.

In other words, could the use of popular smart drugs like modafinil, or heavy dosing with compounds such as caffeine, make you more likely to stick to an exercise program or develop a healthy exercise habit? As weird as it may seem, Dr. Marcora has some interesting thoughts.

Electrostimulation to Enhance Exercise Performance

Before we delve into this latest article from Dr. Marcora, you should know about some previous research that sheds interesting light on this topic. In this research from a couple years ago, which I first reported on here, Brazilian sports scientists used a non-invasive form of brain stimulation called transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) to apply a tiny electrical current to the cortex in the brain. This cortex is the primary culprit when it comes to exercise fatigue. The idea was that this stimulation would briefly interrupt the way neurons in the cortex communicate with each other, and distract the brain from shutting down the body. Of course, there was also a control group of cyclists that also had the electrodes attached, but didn’t get any stimulation. 

So what were the results of this brain tweaking? After 20 minutes of real or fake brain stimulation, the cyclists completed an all-out ride to exhaustion. And sure enough – the cyclists who underwent the electrical stimulation had significantly lower heart rates, lower perceived exertion and a 4% higher power output (that may sound small, but is actually huge for a cyclist).

The researchers noted that this increased performance may go above and beyond mere “distraction” of the brain, but may actually be caused by a mingling of pleasure and pain centers in the brain. This is because the right side of the cortex is strongly linked to feelings of pain and physical exertion, while the left side of the cortex is linked to pleasant feelings and emotions that occur when you one see someone smile, or hear your favorite song, or cuddle up with loved one.

OK, as you may have guessed, electroshock stimulation to the brain isn’t quite as accessible as, say, copious amounts of coffee. So let’s take a look at this latest article from Dr. Marcora.

Using Legal Drugs for Doping to Enhance Exercise

I should begin by clarifying that Dr. Marcora’s latest article is not a research study, but instead a thought-provoking article on doping. He begins by inferring that humans are inherently lazy, and that to maximize fitness or adherence to an exercise program, we ideally need to find ways to reduce perception of difficulty (also know as RPE, or Rating Of Perceived Exertion) and discomfort during exercise without actually reducing the correct dose exercise intensity or duration.

He then goes on to propose what may seems like drastic or even unethical exercise intervention: the use of psychoactive drugs to facilitate adherence to or intensity of physical activity, noting that a psychoactive drug that reduces perception of effort during exercise may be particularly useful for the many people who are overweight, have low exercise motivation, or exercise after work in a state of mental fatigue.

He also introduces the concept of something called “self-efficacy,” which is highly correlated to physical activity behavior in adults. He says there is a reciprocal relationship between exercise and self-efficacy, meaning that an inactive person who is just beginning an exercise program, and who has low self-efficacy, would perceive exercise to be more of a chore than someone with high self-efficacy. So a drug that reduces perception of effort could be very helpful to get someone adhering to an exercise program. He notes that a safe, safe, cheap, and widely available psychoactive drug that has been proven to reduce perception of effort during exercise is one you’re probably familiar with: caffeine. But he also mentions methylphenidate (commonly used for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and modafinil (a smart drug used by many executives and students to reduce mental fatigue and sleepiness and enhance cognition). Finally, he mentions that in addition to the use of these stimulants to reduce perception of effort, another strategy to consider would be the use drugs acting on the opioid system (e.g., dopamine, marijuana) to enhance the positive feelings experienced after exercise, often known as the “runner’s high.”

So what’s my take on doping to enhance exercise performance? Here’s the deal: as I’ve said about getting motivated to exercise, there are an incredible variety of ways to increase your exercise adherence or exercise intensity—all without the central nervous system and adrenal stimulation of copious amounts or caffeine, or the potentially liver damaging and sleep disrupting effects of “smart drugs.” Sure, caffeine and pharmaceuticals have their place, but in my opinion, they should be used as a last resort, and I firmly believe that reliance upon “doping” shouldn’t really be necessary to get you excited to exercise or to exercise hard.

Here a few examples of other ways you can get motivated:

1.) Clip Pictures. If there’s a body or a look that you’re trying to achieve—like a better butt, a flat stomach, or more shapely calves—then look out for photos of that look in fitness magazines or books. By clipping these pictures and keeping them in a public place, like your refrigerator or bathroom mirror, or in a private place like a diary or photo gallery on your phone, you’ll have a constant reminder of why you’re exercising.

2.)  Use Social Accountability. If you go on your Facebook page or the Get-Fit Guy Facebook page, or start a blog or a Twitter account, you can tell others about both your exercise goals and your workout achievements. Social accountability, and the ability to brag to others, are both great ways to get externally motivated to exercise.

3.) Get a Workout Buddy. To keep you from sleeping through a workout, there’s nothing like knowing a friend is tapping their feet waiting for you to show up for a 6 AM run. If you have trouble roping a friend into your fitness plans, check at your local gym for fitness groups or exercise clubs, like Masters swim classes, triathlon training groups, or circuit training groups. And if you really want a fitness-specific friend, check out the next tip.

4.) Consider a Personal Trainer. Though a friend can certainly motivate you to exercise, a personal trainer will push you, provide you with a plan, and get you workout results even faster. For help with finding a personal trainer, check out the Get-Fit Guy article “How to Choose A Personal Trainer.”

5.) Make a Plan. Even if you can’t afford a personal trainer, one of the best ways to motivate yourself is to know what kind of workout you’re going to do, so that when you roll out of bed each morning, you’ve planned for exercise in your daily schedule. You can get plans from books, magazines and websites. Some are free, but the better plans typically cost a small amount—though still far less than the investment in a coach or trainer. Here’s a link to some weight loss, training, and nutrition plans that I’ve created!

6.) Keep a Log. By creating your planned workouts, then filling in a quick description of how you did, or even simply “checking off” the workout as completed, you harness the power of the pen to keep you motivated to exercise. Motivation experts around the world have known for a long time that a key component of achieving any goal is to write it down!

There are plenty of other tips in that exercise motivation article, so be sure to click here to check it out.

So what do you think? Would you dope to get fit? Head over to Facebook GetFitGuy and join the conversation there to pipe in with your opinion on this! 

Image courtesy of Shutterstock.