Bodybuilding and Weed

[Howl]

I am pretty heavy into bodybuilding and weightlifting but got hurt pretty bad about a year ago with my knee and had to quit till i was fully recovered. Now I am good to left heavy again and I am wondering how it will effect me. When I lifted heavy before I smoked but no where near as much as I do now, it was like a once or twice a month thing then but since all my friends do and I wasnt able to do much else if been everyday almost since then. Will if effect muslce growth or anything like that? cause if not, no reason to cut back really? I dont think it does from what I know.

[Dr. Greenthumb]

My eyes lit up when I saw the title of this thread.

Ideally, you shouldn't smoke anytime before a workout and wait at least 4 hours after the workout to smoke. The reason for this is that weed raises your estrogen and in turn drops your testosterone levels. Testosterone effects your strength and muscle growth. If you are going to smoke before a workout try and do it 5 hours or more before the workout. When you smoke you're putting free radicals in your body, these radicals try to break down muscle or whatever else they might bond with in your body. To prevent this try to drink tea, pomegranite, cranberry, and orange juice...they're all antioxidants that remove those free radicals from your body(to the best of my knowledge tea and pomegranite are the most potent).

Now that I've told you the negative effects weed can have to a nody builder let me tell you some of the positive ones. Cannabis/THC has been shown to improve joint stability which makes people less prone to injury. It's also great for relaxing sore and overused muscles. For me it also works as a motivator.

Everything I told you is for optimum strength for your workout but often time I won't stick to it. As long as you're going to the gym regularly and applying yourself to what you're doing you're going to get results. Alot of time When I smoke earlier in the day then go workout I find myself working out harder just because I know I shouldn't have smoked. I end up getting a better workout than I normally would just because of the motivation.

I think as potheads we should all after our physical well being. It's not the only thing, but I just like to buck that stereotype about potheads being lazy. People are always surprised when they see how healthy I eat and how dedicated I am to workout, then find out I'm an avid potsmoker. It makes them think twice about their opinions on weed.

[Certified-Nutter]

ok, sorry to greenthumb, his thing was too long for me to be bothered to read
exercise/weightliftin with weed, well i been doin that the past 2 years, lol, i never smoke before a session (well, a session at the gym anyway) and i smoke after that like, i find its a good unwind y'kno, after a good steam n cold shower, go have a nice smoke like.
but on days i dont goto the gym (i only go about once a week) i will workout at home with the dumbells n barbell i got, and i will smoke and exercise throughout the day like, i do a small sesh on weights, do a small sesh of weed, then back to the weight, then the weed, etc etc
i dno ifits just me, but it feels funky as hell when u stoned n exercising, but i dont do it to long or intense so that it ruins the high, i just pick it back up later sort of thing, lol

[Dr. Greenthumb]

I hope this ones short enough for you to read nutter:

Do you take any supplement? (protein powder, BCAA, creatine,etc)

[Certified-Nutter]

yes, thats perfect for my attention span, i will read ur previous when i am less wrecked, promise
no i dont take any protein supplement or anything like that, the intire of my consumption is alcohol, other drinks, food, munch and weed

[Fanya]

Holy shit Greenthumb you posted exactly what I was going to. Well done!!!

I agree on all count with what he said. I too am an enthusiastic lifter and love the weights as much as the herb. I try to never smoke before workouts and keep the seshing to later in the night. I find that it's very nice to get high after the endorphins stop making me happy, haha.

I'm still a novice in terms of size/strength but I read a lot about the sport and try my best to keep a constant rate of improvement. Started around 120-125lbs, now just over 150, trying to get to 170 @ 5' 9''. I use whey protein for post-workout shakes and have experimented with creatine, which is really nice.

Also, I don't know if any of you have seen Pumping Iron, but after the competition as they are eating Lou's birthday cake, Arnold is shown puffing a joint. Just cracked me up.

Ehh and sorry I sort of rambled, but yes weed will affect your lifting and no, it's not that big of a deal. Just stay smart about when you're smoking in conjunction with your planned workout.

[Dr. Greenthumb]

I'm glad to see we have even this many lifters on weedguru, at this rate potheads will become the physically dominant species.

I'm also still an amateur bit like you but I'm a very enthusiastic lifter. I lift 5-6 days a week and try and do cardio 3 times a week (although I haven't done cardio in two weeks). I do pre/post workout shakes with protein, glutamine, and bcaa. I've been thinking buying some creatine but I'm waiting for the glutamine to run out first.

[Certified-Nutter]

man i am so much more lax than ye guys, lol
i am more of a fitness kinda guy rather than body build, i rather pack a backpack with a load of my weights (usualy about 20 - 30kg) and go for a 5 mile jog(in some parts walk) or if i am really pushing myself i'll go for 10 miles (yes yes i am very lazy, but heck, i just wanna stay healthy in shape, dont care that much for improvment or gain lol

[Howl]

Here is the extent of how heavy i lift and how serious I am, this might change the terms of all the information you guys have given me, which has helped a lot. When I got big into I went from weighing 145lbs-190lbs in about a year. I lift 4 days a week, each body part twice a week. I also do take creatine, not the full dose though, same thing with my protein supplement.

[Dr. Greenthumb]

That's a pretty big transformation. How many exercises would you do for each muscle?

[(weedguru)scarf]

so kevin spacey was doing it all wrong in American Beauty? oh man...

[IcIrIs]

I have my own weight set in my room and I have decided never to smoke pot and lift weights again. I was baked and I started weight lifting, and then I started to like the feeling of my muscles burning from the lifting so I kept going and going and going till I couldn't lift that weight anymore so I took of 5 pounds and kept doing that till I couldn't lift 5 pounds anymore. Lesson well learned! I couldn't lift or move my arms for about a week, and since then I do not weight lift High. I did notice however afterwards that my arms gained about a half inch around , but wasn't worth the week of pain.

[Howl]

That's a pretty big transformation. How many exercises would you do for each muscle?

I do 4 exercises for each muscle group... 4 sets of 8 for everything or until failure, whichever comes first.

And IcIrIs, your arms gaining some size was not from the weed. No matter when you lift it happens, blood flows more heavily and rushes to the muscles that are being worked out when you weight lift, causing your arms to look bigger for a while during and after lifting

[IcIrIs]

That's a pretty big transformation. How many exercises would you do for each muscle?

I do 4 exercises for each muscle group... 4 sets of 8 for everything or until failure, whichever comes first.

And IcIrIs, your arms gaining some size was not from the weed. No matter when you lift it happens, blood flows more heavily and rushes to the muscles that are being worked out when you weight lift, causing your arms to look bigger for a while during and after lifting

no this was at the end of the week of pain i noticed it.

[(weedguru)scarf]

why do you lift weights?(aimed at everyone)

is it to release pent up aggression?
is it enjoyable?
to impress the opposite ... or same... sex??
for competition?


im just curious as to why so many people do weights?