The ANBF maintains one of the most comprehensive and structured drug-screening programs in natural bodybuilding. Our approach is built on redundancy, consistency, and deterrence—ensuring that clean athletes are the ones who reach our stages and are rewarded for doing so.
Rather than relying on a single testing method, the ANBF employs a multi-layered drug-screening and risk-assessment strategy. Depending on the athlete, event, and competitive context, this may include VAST Screening, traditional in-person polygraph examinations, or, when warranted, a combination of both.
In addition to direct testing, the ANBF may utilize highly specific, targeted questionnaires and structured information-gathering tools as a separate and supplemental method of evaluation. When used, these tools can be reviewed through advanced analytical systems, including Artificial Intelligence–based risk assessment models, to help identify inconsistencies, behavioral markers, or response patterns that warrant further scrutiny. In select cases, voice analysis may also be incorporated as part of this layered review process.
The ANBF further reinforces its standards through off-season urine testing, randomized urine testing at events, mandatory urine testing for all Pro Card winners and Pro prize money recipients, and randomized elite-level testing, which may include expanded laboratory analysis such as IRMS testing when appropriate.
This program is intentionally dynamic. Athletes are not provided with a predictable or uniform testing pathway. Effective deterrence depends on uncertainty, and when competitors do not know exactly what screening method they may encounter—or in what sequence—it becomes extremely difficult to circumvent the system.
For natural athletes and coaches who compete with integrity, this approach provides confidence and protection. For those attempting to cheat, the message is clear: the ANBF operates with depth, adaptability, and intent, and getting away with violations is far more difficult than it may appear.
The objective remains unwavering: consistent enforcement, meaningful deterrence, and a level playing field across every ANBF-sanctioned event.