By Tom Venuto, CSCS
2001 NPC Natural Eastern Classic Middlweight Champ
I admit it, I'm a muscle-head through and through. No step-aerobics, model fluff, distance running, circuit training, stair climbing wimpy workouts for me, no sir! Just give me cold, hard iron, and lots of it and I'm happy! Now don't get me wrong, cardiovascular workouts do have their place in a bodybuilder's regimen, especially before competitions. But bodybuilding is first and foremost about building muscle, and muscle is built from pumping iron. I know this might ruffle a few feathers - in fact I can hear all the pencilnecks and white lab coat types protesting: "You need aerobics to be healthy, it's good for you, it will increase VO2 Max, improve cholesterol, decrease bad cholesterol, lower blood pressure, etc., etc." This is all well and good, but I've always felt instinctively that weight training makes you healthier. Of course, I couldn't prove my hypothesis. You need concrete evidence from double-blind studies, placebo's, and control groups - all that good scientific stuff I couldn't be bothered with. All I know is that over the past decade, we muscleheads have received our vindication. Scientific research has finally proven what we, the hardcore bodybuilders, have always known: Strength training does improve your health!
Scientists, physicians, and health professionals have always been reluctant to admit there were any physiological health benefits of resistance training. Most clinicians are ultra-conservative and will not accept any assumptions as facts until they are proven through tedious research. At one time it was even believed that bodybuilders were at higher risk of cardiovascular disease and hypertension than sedentary individuals. Not to mention the fact that all weight lifters were considered dumb, slow and muscle-bound. Years ago, scientific proof of bodybuilding's benefits did not exist. New evidence, however, has now proven the cynics wrong.
A review of the current research published recently in the journal Strength and Conditioning showed improvements in incidence of coronary heart disease, colon cancer, osteoporosis, and diabetes in bodybuilders. Of particular interest is the effect of strength training on coronary heart disease (CHD), which is one of the biggest killers in the United States. One important risk factor for the development of CHD is the blood lipid profile, specifically the ratio of good to bad cholesterol. It is well known that people with high cholesterol are more likely to have the old ticker give out on them. In the past, some studies on well-conditioned bodybuilders concluded that these athletes possessed a less favorable blood lipid profile than aerobically trained athletes or even sedentary individuals. Chalk one up for the pencilnecks.
It is now believed that these studies failed to take into account the negative effects of steroids, which many of the test subjects may have been using. The positive health benefits of the strength training programs were negated by the detrimental effects of the anabolic steroids. It is well documented that anabolic steroids increase the risk of cardiovascular disease by raising the amount of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) "bad" cholesterol in the blood. Other factors that were not controlled included individual differences in diet and genetic background. In other words, the study participants who had a family history of heart disease and were eating Big Macs and french fries skewed the test results. Since none of you reading this are taking steroids or eating fatty foods you don't have to worry about a thing. Or do you?
Because of the flaws in the methodology of these earlier studies, more research was needed. Investigations conducted by Dr. Michael Stone of Appalachian State University, Dr. Ben Hurley of the University of Maryland, and Dr. William Evans of Tufts University has confirmed that strength training utilizing weight bearing, large muscle mass exercises has a positive impact on blood lipids comparable to those produced from aerobic types of exercise. The research also showed improvements in body composition, glucose metabolism, and bone mineralization. Chalk one up for the muscle-heads.
One health concern bodybuilders have always had is the relationship between strength training and blood pressure. After all, when you've got that leg press loaded up with ten plates on each side and you're pushing with all your might, you often turn several shades of pink, red, and purple. Kind of makes you wonder if this is a good practice for you doesn't it? Unfortunately, there isn't any evidence to show that strength training might decrease resting blood pressure. On the positive side, the latest research shows that despite a short-term increase in blood pressure during intense weight training, this does not lead to long-term increases in resting levels. So don't worry about those heavy leg presses that make your head feel like it's going to explode and your eyeballs pop out - the discomfort is only temporary.
Another major victory for the pro-bodybuilding side was won in 1990 when the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) added weight training to their position paper on "The Recommended Quality and Quantity of Exercise for Developing and Maintaining Fitness in Healthy Adults." The ACSM is one of the world's most prestigious exercise and sports medicine organizations. They're kind of like the E.F. Hutton of the fitness world: When the ACSM speaks, people listen. Their previous position paper only included cardiovascular training in its exercise recommendations because there wasn't enough published research verifying the benefits of strength training. The 1990 document included weight training. Chalk another one up for the muscleheads.
Based on all the latest research, it appears that what natural bodybuilders have known all along is now finally being accepted as truth by the scientific community. While the indiscriminate use of anabolic steroids seems to negate most of the beneficial health effects of weight training, NATURAL bodybuilding is clearly good for what ails you!
