So why is it that for many, if there is a lifter with above-average strength, they are considered "users"? Many even like to put a number on it. "You can't lift X without drugs!" How would anyone be so arrogant as to make that assumption?
I remember reading an interview with a Russian throws coach. He was asked if his athletes took steroids. He said, "Yes, but so did everybody. But people often miss the larger picture. When we put a thrower on drugs, he typically gained 7 meters on his throw. But if we put him on a cycle of B-12 injections, he would typically gain 4 meters." I estimate the distances because I don't remember them exactly, but the proportions are there. So, take what you want from that story, but what it said to me was that there are a TON of inefficiencies in our training. If you get rid of all of those inefficiencies and give it your best effort (not just say it's your best but your actual no-**** best effort), you can make up a hell of a lot of ground that you may have missed otherwise. And if you make up that ground and your competition doesn't, you can beat a cheater with fair play. And that's pretty dang satisfying if you ask me.