Are COX-Blockers the New Steroids?

If you're trying to buff up without (technically) cheating, all you may have to do is take a hit of the recommended daily dose of ibuprofen (the main ingredient of Advil) or acetaminophen (the main ingredient in Tylenol), according to a presentation by Chad Carroll at the American Physiological Society. For three months, Carroll and his team at the Human Performance Laboratory in Ball State University stuck 36 men and women in a gym three times a week for 15–20 minute weight sessions, giving them either a placebo or the recommended daily dosage of ibuprofen or acetaminophen every day.The group that took a placebo got bigger, stronger muscles—but those rolling on ibuprofen or acetaminophen did even better, as measured by MRI. The drugs work by blocking an enzyme called cyclooxygenase, commonly referred to as COX. Dr. Trappe thinks that, over time, this action enhances the muscle's metabolic response to resistance ...