Hi Everyone,
Ever since I was a young man I have asked myself this question, is body building healthy? Regardless of whether it is muscle or fat joints still have to carry this load around, will to much weight irrespective of origin cause arthritis? When you build muscle or fat, the body has to make a lot of extra blood vessels to service the living tissue, is this extra load good for the heart? Do body builders enjoy a long life, whats their longevity?
Eating huge amounts of food means the body has a lot more waste to get rid of, can this contribute to cancer.

Good ole bodybuilding! I am around this everyday of my life. I work at my college's gym and there are guys in there that live and breathe bodybuilding. Not to mention my boyfriend is highly into it as well. Is it healthy...in my opinion no. The added weight may cause arthritis since heavy weight puts strain on your joints. I do know that arthritis can also occur in joints that are injured. So if for some reason u injure ur knee, shoulder, elbow, etc during workouts you could potentially have a higher chance of arthritis in those areas later on. I wouldn't see how extra blood vessels would do any harm. I see more good than bad from that. But with my knowledge on this topic let's just say that bodybuilders aren't just eating a lot of food, they are taking a lot of supplementation. These include protein, creatine, nitric oxide, testosterone boosters, etc. The lifting part of bodybuilding isn't going to hurt you...it's all the supplements associated with it that will. Bodybuilding is a whole different world and most of those people know the consequences. Large amounts of protein put strain on your renal system which could potentially cause renal failure and live damage. Taking nitric oxide dialates blood vessels to allow for more blood flow to muscles during lifting, but when taking improperly it can cause serious problems like aneurysms. As for testosterone boosters...it just sounds awful. Adding extra hormones into your body to increase natural muscle is messing with the equilibrium of your body. Body builders can enjoy a long life if they properly diet and take supplements. Cycling off supplements is very important and the process of it all is still confusing to me. As for the large amounts of foods, it's for bulking purposes since more fat mass causes one to be able to lift more therefore increasing your muscle mass. It has to be the appropriate foods to bulk. As for contributing to cancer...i will honestly say I do not know. I'd say more so the food won't cause cancer and if anything does it would be the supplements. I hope this helped u a bit. If you have any more questions feel free to ask. I know a lot of people who make this their lifestyle and are very educated on it. Sorry for it being so long haha

Hi FutureRD86
You certainly know a lot about the culture of body building, I also frequented gyms most of my life but body building was not one of my serious pursuits. My main interest is how it effects their longevity and finally I have at least one abstract about both lean extra weight and body mass in general, here it is

Thomas T. SamarasCorresponding Author Contact Information, E-mail The Corresponding Author, a, Lowell H. Stormsb and Harold Elrickc
a Reventropy Associates, 11487 Madera Rosa Way, San Diego, CA 92124, USA
b University of California, San Diego, 4694 Arda Way, Oceanside, CA 92056, USA
c Foundation for Optimal Health and Longevity, 575 Otay Lakes Road #45, Chula Vista, CA 91913, USA
Received 4 April 2002; accepted 4 April 2002. ; Available online 9 June 2002.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze the relation of total body weight to longevity and mortality. The MEDLINE database was searched for data that allow analysis of the relationship between absolute body weight and longevity or mortality. Additional data were used involving US veterans and baseball players. Trend lines of age at death versus body weight are presented. Findings show absolute body size is negatively related to longevity and life expectancy and positively to mortality. Trend lines show an average age at death versus weight slope of −0.4 years/kg. We also found that gender differences in longevity may be due to differences in body size. Animal research is consistent with the findings presented. Biological mechanisms are also presented to explain why increased body mass may reduce longevity. Life expectancy has increased dramatically through improved public health measures and medical care and reduced malnutrition. However, overnourishment and increased body size have promoted an epidemic of chronic disease and reduced our potential longevity. In addition, both excess lean body mass and fat mass may promote chronic disease.

This doesn't look good to me

Hi Everyone,
Had a bit of spare time today so I decided I would do my own research on this subject and from what I have found here I would say my arguments are wrong. Look at how long these famous body builders lived.
Bill Pearl 78,Joe Gold 82, Irvin Zabo Koszewski 80's, Mickey Hargitay 80, Charles Atles 80, Eugen Sandow 58 ( it says stroke after pulling his car from the mud but it was also suggested that he died from syphilis complications), Jack LaLanne 92, Gene Mozee 60's. These guys were life long body builders.
Cheers

I would definately say there are some mixed responses on this topic. A few people I've talked to said they knew bodybuilders who didn't even live past 45. And to me that's frightening. I guess it just depends on how well u take care of yourself when in this lifestyle. If you abuse supplements and such I am going to assume longevity with be cut short. Definately do some more research in this area because I would love to share the info with my boyfriend! haha

Hi FutureRD86,
Your last comments made me think a bit more about this subject, maybe using death as an end point is not the best way to understand this health issue, so to attempt to understand it better I have contrasted heavyweight boxers (champions) with famous body builders, I don't think very many people would equate boxing with health. Looking only at the elite of both areas has introduced a bias anyway, they may not represent the average participants. Anyway here goes.
Gene Tunney(81), Jack Dempsey (87), Jess Willard (86), Jack Johnson (Negro 68), Joe Louis (Negro 66),
Max Baer (50), Max Schmeling (99), "Jersey " Joe Walcott (Negro 80), Jack Sharkey (91), Floyd Patterson (Negro 71), Primo Canera (60).

Primo was a giant 6'6" (2Metres)tall and weighed 265 Lbs (120Kg), during his championship reign a reporter recorded what he ate for breakfast.
one quart of orange juice, two quarts of milk, 19 pieces of toast, 14 eggs, half a pound of Virginia ham.
I used Primo because of his size, at this point in time the average height of males was 5'5" tall, Primo died from stomach cancer.

Years ago I read an article written by Professor Mark Walquist from Monash University and he claimed that excessive food consumption can cause cancer because of the time it took to eliminate.
Cheers

I think a differentiation must be made between professionals and casual practitioners, as in any sport.

Personally I believe moderate running is healthy, but probably not marathon running. Likewise, I think lifting weights is also probably healthy, when done moderately (non professionally).

I don't think there could possibly be anything to the arthritis argument, because strengthening your muscles actually strengthens your joints, from what I understand. Muscles, tendons, and ligaments all work together to hold a joint in place. When you strengthen the muscles around a joint it takes some of the work load off of your tendons and ligaments. Also, the extra blood flow to the muscles and joint regions would be beneficial, in my opinion.

Also, don't most doctors and physical therapists recommend weight training for those with arthritis or injuries?

The extra lean body mass also increases your metabolism, thereby helping one avoid becoming overweight or obese.

Further, I remember reading somewhere that the frailty and inability to get around that characterizes some elderly might possible be due to inactivity and failure to continually stimulate and use their muscles by being active. Body building is supposedly good for improving balance, and it certainly keeps your muscles in use (the average person looses muscle mass with each decade otherwise). The positive benefits of just being able to get around would surely overshadow any of the negatives.

I mean, I think the "truth" is probably that any activity or sport is going to have positive aspects and negative aspects, but, overall, if done moderately and sensibly, I think weight lifting would be a positive thing.

BTW, the "body building" culture one sees in the gym is really unhealthy, for the most part. They DO use supplements like crazy, and they generally are not concerned with health at all. All these supplements may not be bad, but surely a lot of them are. There are "natural" body builders though. Lastly, I think just about anyone trying to compete competitively in a sport eventually ends up crossing the line and sacrificing health, whether it be the Tour De France, a gymnist, body builder, or marathon runner. Their objectives are not health, but performance.

Hi electric_sheep,
All of these points you have raised in my opinion are valid and good points, but I still think body building in general must be unhealthy. People that experience exceptional longevity have something in common a very good ratio for cholesterol, to find your ratio you take total cholesterol and divide it by your HDL fragment, so if your total cholesterol was 240 and your HDL was 40 you would divide 240 by 40 to find your ratio. Traditional Okinawans who enjoy an exceptionally long life, No1 in the world, and Boston marathoners both have the same ratio 3-4, but I haven't heard of exceptional longevity amongst the Boston marathoners. The surest way to reduce cancers in a population is to reduce calorie intake for that population (ref. Okinawan Centenarian Study- University of the Ryukyus, in Okinawa). According to researchers the average cell within the human body takes 127 hits per day from all sources, free radicals, bacterial, viruses, toxins etc, the body has it's own mopping up system to deal with free radicals and other invaders, but metabolising food creates free radicals so over-eating producers a lot more free radicals (more hits). More rubbish requires more rubbish trucks to remove it, and you run an elevated risk of DNA damage to a cell, which can be the beginning of a cancer.
Cheers

Hi Body Builders,
Do you guys get blood checks for free radical build up such as lipid peroxide??

Cheers

Well. I have heard the free radical argument against exercising before, but I'm just not sure I buy it. The argument is basically as you stated it... exercising puts your body into a form of stress, which increases the production of free radicals, and hence exercising must be bad for you. I even have heard some people try and draw a connection between brain cancer and marathon runners (marathon running being particularly stressful on the body). As you pointed out, people who exercise also eat more than people who don't exercise, and there is (some) evidence that a calorically restricted diet can extend one's life.

My own take on this is... the argument addresses only free radicals and cancer. There are many, many benefits of exercise (moderate, sensible exercise), so, one should not look at only one aspect of it. I do think it's important for anyone who exercises to eat a healthy diet full of anti-oxidants. Having said that, some people challenge the free radical argument itself:

"Exercise does generate free radicals -- but it also produces molecules that sop up the free radicals, William J. Evans, an exercise physiologist at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, said in an e-mail.

In other words, regular exercise actually ''trains the anti-oxidant system," boosting production of natural anti-oxidants, said Dr. David Systrom, director of the Cardiopulmonary Exercise Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital."

From what I understand, the Okinawans themselves are very active.

Maybe we should make a distinction between "body building" and "strength training", too. Just like there is a difference between sprinters, marathon runners, and casual joggers. I think surely the benefits of casual strength training and casual jogging must outweigh the negatives. Millions of years of evolution have designed our bodies for use, not inactivity, which is sort of an abnormality of modern day life.

Here's an interesting article on free radicals and exercising from Runner's World:
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120...10208-0,00.html

2 interesting things:
The free radicals produced while exercising generally stay confined to the muscles (muscle cells), and hence are not as detrimental as externally introduced free radicals (from toxins like cigarettes).

Another reference to the idea that exercising actually boosts your bodies natural anti-oxidant levels and defense system.


Notice, they don't try and endorse "extreme" endurance events, like ultramathons. In fact, they mention that 60+ mile a week runners were shown to get more infections.

I'm not sure of the difference between free radical production in strength events vs. endurance events, nor of the differences in how they promote anti-oxidant production.


Here's another interesting article on the dangers of over doing it:
http://www.menshealth.com/cda/article.do?s...____&page=1

I think one can safely say moderation in all things is wise indeed. I run 3 or 4 times a week, but usually only 4 or 5 miles at the most.

Hi Electric_sheep,
(where did that pseudonym come from??)

Thanks again for some thoughtful intelligent comments. I would, however, like to challenge a few of them.
First of all I have no challenge for any of your moderation comments but we are talking about body builders and this throws moderation out the window, I am referring to people who bulk up for competition.

In order to bulk up sufficiently large amounts of food must be consumed, and food contains calories, calor in latin means "heat, and we burn calories for energy and release heat, creating free radicals in the process, so eating less food produces less free radicals circulating in the bloodstream, a perfect example of this was found in the Okinawa Centenarian Study over 25 years. The younger Okinawans have adopted more of the Standard American Diet (SAD) which contains a lot more calories than the elders diet, blood samples taken from both groups showed a lot more Plasma Lipid Peroxide in the younger Okinawans 2.96 to the elders 1.59 ( ref.p63 The Okinawa Program - Bradley J. Willcox M.D., M.Sc., D.Craig.Willcox M.Sc., Ph.D., Makoto Suzuki M.D.,Ph.D.).

I would love to know what the reading would be on a body builder consuming the food volume I know they have to eat, the 2005 Mr N.S.W. body building champion comes to my house for BBQ's when he is in town, and let me tell you he gains on the BBQ.
While weight training strengthens muscles thereby protecting joints I think the extra weight would more than offset this and would promote arthritis in any impact situation such as running. There is some research to suggest that broken capillaries within joints is the precursor to osteoarthritis by creating the inflammation (Southern Cross University 2005 Prof.P Cheras.)

Cheers you are doing a good job