Long-term Effect of Heavy Drug-Use on BB

MrBean

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This is something which I hope that some of you can shed some light on.
What long-term consequences do you think the following drug-use would have on the individuals long-term ability to bb, ie the person has now quit the bad habits & lives a clean life:
1. smoking marjuana daily for 5 years;
2. taking either or all or some of LSD, ecstacy, speed, cocaine, ice, heroin on a weekly basis for 5 years.

I ask this because my friend, who used to do the above but has now quit and is my new lifting partner, is concerned that his ability to train is affected by his past drug-use.
I'm just happy that he has turned over a new leaf and encourage him to live the healthy life, but I'd like to give him an answer to his question.

Any comments would be welcome.
:)
 

Matthew D

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to many variables really.. just have him get in there and train and see what happens..
 

MrBean

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Matthew D
Yeah, I really try to encourage him to come to the gym & do his best.
But after punishing his body with all those drugs & eating very little for so long, he is very thin & lacks strength.
Although he puts in 100% effort in the gym, he is concerned that he has done long-term damage to his body which will impede any gains in bb.
 

Matthew D

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It MIGHT and I stress might but he will never know unless he cleans up his eating, rests correctly, and works out. Even if he doesn't get huge he will have still improve his over health..
 
bioman

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I can answer #1 somewhat.

MJ lowers levels of serum testosterone and if done long enough and consistently enough may have had an impact on your freind's strength, muscle mass et cetera. As far as I can tell the effect is temporary and will subside with cessation of MJ smoking.

The other drugs..dunno much about their long term consequences but looking at real world examples of people who have been junkies, quit, then lead a healthy lifestyle I'd say your freind could recover and grow. Look at the Red Hot Chili Peppers lol, they were junkies and now are pretty fit, not huge albeit but fit.
 

jweave23

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Originally posted by bioman
I can answer #1 somewhat.

MJ lowers levels of serum testosterone and if done long enough and consistently enough may have had an impact on your freind's strength, muscle mass et cetera. As far as I can tell the effect is temporary and will subside with cessation of MJ smoking.
I smoked marijuana daily for years and never noticed anything of the sort. I have read numerous in-depth studies regarding the studied physical effects of marijuana smoking and this was never mentioned as a direct effect imposed by marijuana, nor experienced by myself or other lifters who smoked. Do you have anything to back this, other than opinion? The circumstances surrounding marijuana smoking may not be conducive to maintaining lean mass or accruing strength, but this is by no means because of the marijuana, rather usually an impact of the lifestyle associated with it, in my experience. The lowering of test levels was also a nasty little rumor that never had any credibility, nor has anyone ever been able to provide me with a study that would support this, other than one study on female rats that was way off base and misconstrued, if memory serves me correctly.

As for the long term use of other drugs, they may or may not have had a lasting impact on your friends health, but it is in the past. What I mean by that is this: your friend may want to have a complete physical by a good doctor, and if nothing seems suspect, than he should approach this lifestyle as any other newbie to it. If nothing is noticed and he does have a physical and nothing seems to out-of-whack, then I would not be concerned.
 

MrBean

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bioman
I've heard that MJ can lower test before.
Also heard that it can cause bitch tits with long-term heavy users.

jweave
That's a good point about getting a physical.
If anything else it may set his mind at ease.
 

jweave23

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Originally posted by MrBean
bioman
I've heard that MJ can lower test before.
Also heard that it can cause bitch tits with long-term heavy users.

jweave
That's a good point about getting a physical.
If anything else it may set his mind at ease.
don't always believe what you hear, I've had several posts on this here and at BB.com
 
BigVrunga

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You'd have to define 'heavy use' of marijuana. Last I knew, 'heavy use' was defined as 3.5g a day. If you smoked 3.5g a day of parsley you'd probably lower serum testosterone:)

Read this:
http://www.marijuana.com/Exposing_06_1095.html

Its from a pro-marijuana site, but it does cite actual studies.

I second jweave's advice - have your friend get a physical to make sure everything is in order.

BigV
 
Jarconis

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at least if he decides to get REAL serious, he wont do this " oral only cycle" bullshit because hes skeered of needles :)
 
BigVrunga

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Is that penguin really slapping his buddy or is that CGI?

BigV
 

size

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First off, I suggest encouraging him to take it very slow. If he is still very skinny and weak, do not add to much heavy training as it could have a negative effect on his immune system if it is already bad.



Drug use is not intelliigent. I would suggest not reading any website that is "pro" or "anti", instead do medical searches.
 
BigVrunga

BigVrunga

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The reason I posted the link above is because it's footnotes are actually hyperlinks to actual research articles.

Size is right though - definately look for straight medical research that isn't biased.
 

PC1

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Great advice here.

I'll add a note of encouragement for your friend. There is, or was, a guy over on bb.com who, for well into his 40's, drank heavily, ate poorly, etc. Don't know about pot, but in general he was in poor health and ran himself into the ground.

He quit the booze and has been training naturally now for several years, having adopted what we'd all call a healthy bodybuilders lifestyle.

He's into his 50's, and deadlifts somewhere in the 400-450 lb range if memory serves me correctly. Nothing elite, but a dramatic turnaround by any standard. I don't think he'd mind my passing along his handle, he's posted under the name BENDER.

Unless we've neglected our health to the point of disease, we're all blessed with remarkable resiliency. If your friend is young and generally healthy, he's probably ok. If his doctor gives him the thumbs up after a physical exam, he has nowhere to go but up. Psychologically, it would put to rest a lot of his fears and concerns if he did get the physical...... and then get on with his new life.

Good luck.
 
bioman

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Jweave-

While the link posted shows some evidence that MJ may lower t levesl I personally don't view it as much of problem or a reason not to smoke. In my personal experience it's gonna be the munchies that really work to screw with a body builder, lol.

That being said I know many atheletes who have smoked habitually for many years and are top knotch bad asses.
 
prolangtum

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Bud is the best ant-depressant/sleep aid for me. As long as I smoke it regulary in moderation, I am fine the next day. I limit myself to a couple of bowls. If I dont smoke for say a month, then smoke one night, then next day I am dragging ass.
 
bioman

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Ditto. A "friend of mine" uses bud to counteract the sides of M1T.
 

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