Competitive bodybuilding is big business. According to some tournament directors, an estimated 20% of competitors are using banned or unapproved substances to help them win these tournaments. In an effort to keep this cheating to a minimum, many tournaments have turned to polygraph (lie detector) testing.

The ugly truth is that these tournament directors are either being scammed or are knowingly going along with the ruse. Polygraph testing, if done correctly and to established standards, can be over 90% accurate in getting to the truth. A properly administered exam takes about an hour, and involves collecting a great deal of data before a decision can be rendered. Unfortunately, these tournament directors are hiring so-called “examiners” who can do a test in 5 to 10 minutes. This is downright impossible with a real polygraph. Global standards for polygraph have been established by the American Polygraph Association and the American Society for Testing and Materials. There is no 10-minute polygraph that can comply with these standards. Contestants have been accustomed to paying $20 to $40 each for their own polygraph, while legitimate examiners charge several hundred dollars per test. The disparity is obvious.

I am regularly asked to provide quotes for bodybuilding competitions, and have been told outright that they are not interested in having a real test done, that the “tests” are only done as a scare tactic to try to keep cheating to a minimum. The problem is that this tactic will only work once. After the cat is out of the bag, the deterrent feature of these fake exams is lost. The contestants have learned that they aren’t taking real polygraph exams, and therefor are free to cheat with little chance of getting caught.

What is the solution? Forget about polygraphing every contestant. Choose the top money winners and give them legitimate polygraph exams before the prize money is released. Real tests. Real results. Everyone wins.

Michael Martin is President of the Global Polygraph Network.