·  Recreational drugs can stay in your system for a while depending on what it is (cannabis up to a couple of months).

·  If you are taking any medications that have been prescribed, check every ingredient against the prohibited list and ask your doctor to do the same – obviously they will know medicine better than you (the list can be found at http://www.wada-ama.org/en/World-Anti-Doping-Program/Sports-and-Anti-Doping-Organizations/International-Standards/Prohibited-List/). Checking can take a while but it’s what we’re obliged to do under the code. If there is no other medication you can use then we can get a therapeutic use exemption but we have to do it in advance.

· If you have any questions, ask – whether a doctor, pharmacist or even me (though I am no expert) as sometimes things will be under a different name on the package from the prohibited list. Common things to look for are steroids in some topical creams, diuretics in vascular medications, stimulants in cold and flu/allergy medications and painkillers (though I assume no one is regularly using morphine or heroin haha). There are also websites where you can check your medication – the best place to start is here: http://www.globaldro.com/

· Be careful with over the counter things – e.g cold and flu, creams etc. Ask the pharmacist and read the leaflet. As above, check each of the ingredients against the list.

· Finally, be really careful with any supplements. I assume none of us are taking nutritional supplements (i.e. powders and energy drinks that we expect bodybuilders to use) but these often contain prohibited substances which sometimes aren’t even listed on the package. If you want to  use them do a thorough online search about them first!