Anabolics for 12 year olds? The search for an edge starts early

good point

Michael Jordan grew 6 inches aged 18-19. That secondary growth spurt happens. I don't know how often.

You're right... use of steriods, and specifically peptides and hormones (GH) are becoming alot more widespread amongst teenage males. The sad part is they are getting on the gear for their image and looks... so if they are doing that, and peptides are very easily obtained in Australia, then its a bit of a no-brainer to think they'd do it for sport. Besides, when all your favorite league players are busted for it, what kind of a message does that send out. Peptides and steriods are perfect for rugby, because they speed up your recovery so much more quickly. After all, that is what steroids do - rebuild muscle, quickly.

I saw some of the rugby players on their way to training from BBC in Brisbane. Some of the boys were massive. I was staggered at how big they are now at school, compared to when I finished school late last century.

Sporting ground ahoy!!!! Take care to starboard maties, I see a range rover breaching a car park. Careful not to startle her with our Asian hatch - they can be tricky when fearful. Where are some buxom wenches? Aharrrr, perhaps I will take a moment to slake my thirst with a mug of frothy ginger ale. Tis the boat shoe life for me, lads.

Mate it's interesting to get the perspective of people who are into schoolboy footy as much as I am, but I must say that this article mirrors the almost fear-mongering vibe that I get from many past players becoming re-interested in schoolboys. I guess I just get frustrated when those that have been not involved directly for a number of years come to a game and then make subjective and ofttimes ignorant comment about how different the game and players look. The change hasn't been sudden, it's been progressive over the last 5-7 years I'd say. For reference, I'm a physio in Brisbane with a lifelong love of and research interests in rugby. Recently a friend and colleague of mine, an orthopaedic surgeon who works up here and loves rugby also and does a fair bit of work on players suggested that I open a line of research into the average bony mass of the glenoid i.e shoulder socket in the young rugby playing males 14-18 who are having shoulder reconstructions and look for a link to the amount or type of weight training they are doing. Basically his theory was that rugby boys in schools are starting weight training earlier in their teenage years which is affecting the bony growth of their glenoid i.e shoulder socket, and less articulating surface area of the joint equals less stability and more risk of injury. This is basically like putting 2 and 2 together and getting 8. The early development of physical training programs in young athletes is a good thing for preventing injury when done appropriately. The thing is, so widespread is this practise now that what we're seeing in the private school circles and other elite schoolboy rugby competitions is that they're getting great coaching, great strength and conditioning (scholarships and recruiting play a role here as well) so the result is stronger, bigger, faster and more powerful athletes playing the game at a faster pace than ever before = harder average collisions = greater potential for acute injury. This risk is heightened further when you get an imbalance between the physical preparation levels of one team and their opponents. Smaller, less well prepared kids will unfortunately be at risk of injury when pitched in physical confrontation/collision against better prepared opponents. Drugs are not a significant factor in the average change in levels of physical preparation of young rugby athletes. Their use is not widespread, and only occurs in distinct, isolated incidents. If drug testing is decided to be appropriate then sure I'm all for it but meaningless, attention grabbing headlines like "Anabolics for 12 year olds..." are disappointing to say the least. Keep in mind this is a forum where people will believe what is published so in the future I implore you to take that responsibility seriously and if you feel it's an appropriate topic then try to engage in a somewhat objective, informative and meaningful discussion and exchange of ideas rather than present one perspective seen through the glassy window of no recent experience.

My missus works in drug prevention [ which includes tobbaco ,alcohol and illicit drugs ] told me a couple of years ago that the fastest growing area of illicit drug use at schools in Oz was PEDS ,mostly steroids . Its actually more widespread than documented for various reasons [ it is very difficult to get kids to open up on this subject ]

These days it's pretty common to have a growth spurt at around that age, or at least where I live in South Africa. I matriculated in 2012 and a lot of my friends had a growth spurt then including me. At the start of 2012 I was 183cm tall and weighed 68kg. I'm 20 now and now I'm 190cm and 97kg. And this is my first year going to the gym. Mind you the weight is only because I started eating like a man posessed. But still I find it very common for guys to have huge growth spurts at 18. Andre Esterhuizen who played in the U20 World Cup was in the same class as me in KHS and he's another example. I don't know why it's happening though maybe because the nutrition is much better now? Or maybe it's just in the genes to have one last spurt before adulthood? Who knows.

A few years back there was an articleon Tony Williams from the bulldogs. It claimed he was bench pressing 180kgs when he was 16 years old. I,m not sure if that's correct, and if it is was its natural. I tend to think its possible given, he was probably as big than as he is now.When Brad thorn came back to the broncos, he was amazed by the strength of the younger players , they were basically pushing as much iron or more than he was. You here footballers say, there under 20 squads are physically bigger than the first grade sides. Too me, not enough emphasis on skills of the game too much on developing power and size. I know this is strictly not rugby , but I,m sure what is happening in league is replicated in union as well.

haha nice one johnno! One day/week I work from home and sometimes go to the gym mid morning: that's these mums' territory all right! Great article, loved it. I often wonder the same, "what are those kids taking to be that big that young"? I reckon proteins and supplements are much more widespread these days, especially in Oz. in Europe, much less. Played rugby and football there till the late 90s (then in my 20s), never took a single protein shake. Here, I sometimes see 15-16yo at the gym with their strange protein bottle. Its probably ok and harmless but cant help think they look like wan*ers. just a big cultural difference I guess.

lol good man, find a Posh-Spice girlfriend, your set.

Sorry was in a rush before so couldn't write everything I wanted. You've done pretty well mate because there is a heaps of old info out there which isn't quite right. For example, the old belief that weights damage the growth plates of kids is one which doesn't really hold up. If you are interested email me at hugh@pulsefitphysiology.com.au and I can send you some papers on youth resistance training which you may find helpful.

I think the study you referred to is being run with a little too much in the media. I only read the abstract, but I believe it was a study of 900 kids over three years. 4% had taken performance enhancing drugs at some point in their career. That makes for 36 kids or thereabouts. It's more than I'd like, but not an epidemic. The abstract also didn't mention the ages of the kids who had used doping. Where the media has taken too much license is with the supplement stats. About a third of the kids said they had taken supplements. Supplements included protein powders, vitamins and creatine monohydrate. Some outlets have conflated the number of kids who take supplements with the number who have taken PEDs. Frankly, I'm surprised the number of kids who have supplements is only 33%. It would be a hell of a lot more if they included "energy drinks" which are probably more unhealthy. As for the kids being behemoths, we know more about strength and conditioning than we did a while back - and they start younger. Plus, people are getting bigger in general - then, the biggest ones gravitate to footy. While I have no doubt there are some very fishy practices, it's important to look at all the perspectives.

Hooray finally someone who knows what an exercise physiologist is! Yes I'm an exercise physiologist and currently completing a masters of strength and conditioning.

Are you a physio or an exercise physiologist? I'm neither. I've had to try to teach myself!

In that sense I don't think the body stops forming and getting stronger till 20-21. You can certainly do some bulking around age 17-19.

While you're right about kids not being able to achieve much hypertrophy until they've reached puberty and are producing testosterone to stimulate muscle protein synthesis there is no reason why they shouldn't start training with free weights before then. Teaching exercises like the squat, deadlift and the olympic lifts early with an emphasise on technique and proper progression help to ensure that the kids have correct technique in these exercises so once they reach puberty it is safer to start loading. It also means you don't have to spend time correcting poor movement patterns developed from excess sitting etc. when they are starting in the gym. There are also significant gains in strength that pre-pubertal kids can make without hypertrophy due to neural adaptations. It also helps in injury prevention as it teaches proper landing mechanics, which reduce the likelihood of non-contact soft tissue injuries such as ACL rupture or ankle sprains. This is particular important in girls as they are more susceptible to ACL rupture due to their hip width, which increases valgus collapse of the knee (knees coming in together).

I actually bought some of those Timberland deck shoes a couple of weeks ago! I have a few polo shirts - I just need to find some country road jeans to complete the yuppie look.

I guess not so much a growth spurt in height but more bone density and muscular development. I finished my season with the 16a’s in the low 70’s and fronted up at the start of preseason in grade 12 in the mid 80’s. I was in the gym from grade 10 and sweating away trying to put on mass to no avail. I didn't change much but suddenly I almost couldn’t help putting on mass. My little bro inlaw is in year 12 at the moment and his parents were both professional body buidlers. He hasn’t lifted a weight and the development his muscles have been going through since late last year is incredible. It’s prime time to put on size.

Nice article - esp the description of the mothers. Could be any one of many local private school games.