Is actively putting on muscle for years bad ?

[arbit]

Is actively putting on muscle for years bad ? Any extra body mass puts a strain on internal organs, heart, liver etc. There is a reason why putting on muscle is so darn hard.
So, is actively putting on muscle (by changing diet etc, going on bulking cycles) ultimately detrimental to health ?

I'm not talking here about moderate activity, but rather about people who are 6' and want to get 200lb +. And I'm not evening considering folks who take steroids.

The comparison is between a 220lb + person vs a 170lb person. The 170lb person eats clean, lifts weights, does cardio, but has not put on a whole lot of muscle.

[pierini]

My guess is that plus or minus 10% of our truth is the healthiest so the big question is what is our truth.

I always ask middle-age men like me how much they weighed when they graduated from high school as a first clue of what their truth is. This, of course, assumes, that the person had completed growing at this point, knowing that some people aren't finished until a couple years later. Case in point is my brother-in-law who was about 5'4" when he graduated from high school and grew almost another foot by the time he finished from college.

I weighed 161 lbs. when I took my Army physical exam during my senior year in high school. Applying this plus or minus 10% test to me would put my upper end weight at 177 lbs. Lately, I've been weighing between 178-180 lbs. I was as high as 193 lbs. last year. For me, I think the 178-180 lbs. is closer to my truth than the 193 lbs. but to each his own.

I think the litmus test for a healthy life is to weigh the least amount of weight to be as strong as you reasonably need to be not as strong as you unreasonably want to be and find other ways to deal with your insecurities besides wanting to look like Arnold from yesteryear.

[Firehawk]

I think, like anything, there is a risk and reward. Everything has a consequence. If you're heavier in life, even due to healthy weight, your joints, tendons, etc will be stressed more. Yes you're built to handle the weight while in your prime, but bodily processes eventually become less regulated and eventually it will become a detriment. I think it's just a part of getting old.

I started to think a lot like your question suggests when I turned 30 years old. Instead of wanting to be as strong as possible and lift using powerlifting equipment, I started thinking about the internal damage I might be doing (the very heavy weight with really stressful pressure on the heart). It's just not worth it. I'd rather put some muscle on but not go off too far in any one particular direction.

I would think the wisest approach would be in your younger years if you want to add a lot of muscle naturally, go for it, and as you get older, make sure you change lifting patterns to support endurance and keep the cardio strong. That seems to make the most logical sense, with respect to longevity.

[Shannon Clark]

I agree with everything that was said also. One thing to also remember here is that as each year passes and you continue to grow, it's going to become harder and harder to progressively gain more muscle mass.

Say in your first year of training, you might have been able to build 10-20 pounds of muscle, and then in your second year, maybe only 5-10 (this will be individual though).

The larger you get, the harder and harder it will be to keep on building muscle mass, so your body will reach very close to a natural limit where it will all balance out.

I think the biggest issue where it comes in for health is if you're not eating healthy in order to consume sufficient calories to maintain growth and if you're avoiding any type of cardio work as well (which some bodybuilders will do).

If you aren't doing those things and are living a healthy life, I think having additional muscle will be a good thing.

I doubt it. Remember the really big "fit looking" guys who die of heart disease often got much bigger than is possible for normal humans with normal hormone levels by using other methods. So yeah, if you keep adding it until you are 300lbs at 7%...you will likely die early. If you use resistance training as part of a healthy lifestyle you will likely live longer.

I have no proof of anything I just posted...it's just my opinion and I could be wrong.

[arbit]

Originally Posted by .V.

If you use resistance training as part of a healthy lifestyle you will likely live longer.
.

Resistance training as part of a healthy lifestyle is one thing, here you are not actively looking to increase your bodyweight, eg, Mr P.
Now, if Mr P were to increase his food intake, go on bulking/cuting cycles etc to get tp 210lbs to increase his muscle mass --- that is what I'd call actively putting on muscle.

I still think that if one is doing it with food and proper insulin management (pre/post workout feedings) that it can be done quite safely without harming the body.

However, I do have concerns aboutn the insulin spikes done indefinitely because I truly believe that excess glucose beyond what is stored as glycogen (15g/lb of lbm) and what is used for building muscle contributes to heart disease and increases risk of developing diabetes. BUT, I also think that a ketogenic cutting diet once or twice a year will also clean out those arteries and REDUCE that risk again.

[pierini]

Actively putting on muscle or passively putting on fat, take your pick.

[Firehawk]

Originally Posted by .V.

I still think that if one is doing it with food and proper insulin management (pre/post workout feedings) that it can be done quite safely without harming the body.

However, I do have concerns aboutn the insulin spikes done indefinitely because I truly believe that excess glucose beyond what is stored as glycogen (15g/lb of lbm) and what is used for building muscle contributes to heart disease and increases risk of developing diabetes. BUT, I also think that a ketogenic cutting diet once or twice a year will also clean out those arteries and REDUCE that risk again.

I don't think his question pertains to the way you put muscle on, more of the health/hazard of extra lean mass over a long period of time on the body.

Originally Posted by pierini

Actively putting on muscle or passively putting on fat, take your pick.

Oh I like that. Going to remember that one. Thanks!!!

[arbit]

Originally Posted by Firehawk

I don't think his question pertains to the way you put muscle on, more of the health/hazard of extra lean mass over a long period of time on the body.

Yes exactly.

We know extra fat on body is bad. So now the question is whether extra lean muscle is still worse that no extra body mass. Eg, whether a 220 lb person at 15% bodyfat is worse off than a 180lb person at 15% bodyfat.

[Heretic]

Originally Posted by arbit

Yes exactly.

We know extra fat on body is bad. So now the question is whether extra lean muscle is still worse that no extra body mass. Eg, whether a 220 lb person at 15% bodyfat is worse off than a 180lb person at 15% bodyfat.

I understand what you are going for here, but for me it becomes a quality of life issue. Lets say that being 5'4'' and 200lbs takes 5 years off my life because of the extra wear and tear of being heavier and carrying extra muscle. I feel strong. I love being strong and I would never want to be "normal" even if it did get me those 5 years back. So I think for most people who "actively try to put on muscle mass" the risk is totally worth the reward of being way above average in strength and size.

Just my opinion, but then again I am not in this for fitness I am in this game to be big and strong. If I wanted to be healthy I'd become a vegan.

[LINDA]

Good question!

My guess would be that it depends on your genetic tendancy. Statistically heavier people are at higher risk for health problems (BMI is based on statistics not lifestyle), but then there are examples of people who defy statistics and live long lives escaping chronic health issues (if that is how you measure good health).

I don't think putting on mass just for the sake of having it is going to give you any health benefits except maybe to protect you in a car accident. As someone else mentioned there is a trade-off when it comes to joint wear and tear.

Your body will increase in strength, endurance etc. with various forms of training but depending on your genetics and you may or may not gain a relatively large amount of mass.

Mother nature knows best when it comes to building size. If you are actively using it she'll respond with what is right for you. If you are not, you'll fall back down to the equilibrium point that you are needing. It's only when we think too much that we interfere with the formula (things like training for aesthetics or eating for pleasure etc.)

That maybe what has been said in a slightly different way, but that is my take on it.

[pierini]

This thread had some great discussion - Discuss Fitness at it's finest just like the old days.

I used the points discussed here and made it my Pierini Fitness blogflection for today here:

http://pierini-fitness.blogspot.com/...your-pick.html

Thanks arbit for starting the discussion and thanks to everyone for participating.