But What Does It Do for Running and Swimming?

Maybe it's time to go tell my doctor I have that problem . . .

From today's KC Star:

Researchers have discovered that cyclists may be able to increase their athletic performance by taking Viagra.

Ten competitive male cyclists were tested on an exercise bike under normal conditions and also while breathing air low in oxygen. Some were given a sugar pill, and the others took Viagra.

Those taking Viagra improved their performance up to 45 percent, which would allow a cyclist racing in the high Rocky Mountains to cover a stretch of road in 39 minutes that would otherwise take him more than an hour.

“The participants told us that while they were riding the bike they didn’t know whether they were on the drug or not,” said Anne Friedlander, the study’s senior researcher. “However, what they did say was that in the showers afterwards they pretty much knew which pill they had been given.”