Still Competing: What Changes
Most of this hub is written for people whose competing is behind them. A substantial minority are still racing, lifting, or playing — masters swimming, age-group triathlon, masters track, competitive cycling, veterans rugby.
If that is you, one thing changes materially, and it is the sort of thing that is much better dealt with before treatment starts than after.
Anti-doping rules apply to you
This surprises people, and it is the reason this page exists.
Anti-doping rules are not restricted to elite and professional sport. Athletes competing in events sanctioned by World Anti-Doping Code signatories are subject to them — and USADA's own definitions are explicit that the "Open / Elite / Professional" category is distinct from age-group, junior, collegiate, masters and other amateur classifications. Being a masters athlete does not place you outside the system; it places you in a different part of it.
Testosterone is on the WADA Prohibited List. So is DHEA. The 2026 Prohibited List also clarified that esters of prohibited anabolic agents are themselves prohibited — which covers the common ester formulations by name rather than leaving them to inference.
ACT 2 prescribes testosterone for eligible patients where a deficiency is genuine. If you compete in sanctioned events, that prescription is a doping matter unless you hold an approved exemption, and a clinically appropriate prescription is not by itself a defense.
What a TUE is, and the timing that matters
A Therapeutic Use Exemption is formal permission to use a prohibited substance for a legitimate medical condition. The relevant points for someone in this position:
It is approved in advance, not afterwards. USADA advises applying around 30 days before planned use. Decisions from the independent TUE committee typically take up to 21 days once a complete application is received. Competing without prior approval risks an anti-doping violation if you are tested.
There is a pre-check. USADA's TUE Pre-Check Form establishes whether you need one at all, given your sport, level and substance, with a response in a few business days. That is the correct first step and it costs nothing.
It is your responsibility, not your clinician's. This is the part worth being blunt about. The obligation sits with the athlete under the Code. Your prescriber can supply the medical documentation an application needs, and cannot obtain the exemption for you.
Which of our services this touches
Testosterone therapy — prohibited. Requires an approved exemption.
DHEA — prohibited. Frequently missed, because it is sold over the counter as a supplement in the United States, which has no bearing on its prohibited status.
Peptides and growth-hormone-related compounds — several categories on the Prohibited List cover peptide hormones and growth factors. Anything in this family needs checking against the current list before use, not assumed.
Compounded products and supplements generally — a compounded or over-the-counter product is not screened for prohibited substances, and contamination in the supplement market is a well-documented cause of positive tests. Under the Code, an athlete is responsible for what is in their body regardless of how it got there.
The practical rule: tell us you compete, on the intake, before anything is prescribed. It changes the conversation, and it is far easier to have that conversation first.
The other thing that changes
Beyond the rules, still competing changes the clinical picture in one specific way: your training load is current rather than historical.
That means the fueling question is live rather than retrospective. A masters athlete training seriously on inadequate fuel is producing hormonal suppression now, not thirty years ago — and it is the same misread as in the retired population, only more correctable. More on that.
It also means "normal for the population" is an even weaker frame than usual for reading a panel. We read results against your history and your training rather than against a reference range in isolation.
Frequently asked questions
If your events are sanctioned by a World Anti-Doping Code signatory, yes. USADA's definitions treat masters and age-group classifications as distinct from elite, not as exempt from the system.
No. A clinically appropriate prescription for a prohibited substance still requires an approved Therapeutic Use Exemption. That is the entire purpose of the TUE process.
No. The obligation sits with you as the athlete. Your prescriber can provide the medical documentation an application requires; the exemption itself is applied for and granted through the anti-doping organization.
Yes. Over-the-counter availability in the US has no bearing on prohibited status, and this catches people out regularly.
The trigger is the event's sanctioning, not how seriously you take it. Use the USADA Pre-Check to find out where you actually stand.
Tell us you compete when you complete the assessment, and run the Pre-Check. Both before anything is prescribed, not after.
Where this fits in your plan
Start with a baseline panel, and say on the intake that you compete and in what. It changes what we can appropriately prescribe and it changes what your results mean against a current training load.
We measure first. Then we act.
References
- Therapeutic Use Exemptions. U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
- Athlete Advisory: What's New on the 2026 WADA Prohibited List? U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, 2026.
- The Prohibited List. World Anti-Doping Agency.
- Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs). World Anti-Doping Agency.
- Back toFor Athletes
- Strength and power historiesA strength background changes where decline starts, not how fast it proceeds — and a high baseline hides it. What to measure, and why full history matters.Read
- Under-fuelingYears of training on too little fuel leave marks on hormones and bone that don't lift when the training stops. Why it gets misread as a hormone problem.Read
How we write and review our content
ACT 2 Health provides clinician-led care. Treatments are available only to eligible patients following clinical evaluation and within applicable regulations. This content is educational and is not medical advice. Individual results vary.
Care is delivered via telemedicine by healthcare professionals licensed in the state where the patient is located. Services are available only in states where our providers are licensed.
Anti-doping eligibility is the athlete's responsibility; this page is general information and not a determination of your status.