High blood pressure in bodybuilders

One of my old friends, Sanya, has been seriously “ill” with bodybuilding since school. He became interested in this business once he saw the famous six-time Mr. Olympia Arnold Schwarzenegger on the screen. Since then, he had a dream: to become as strong, voluminous, ripped and muscular as the iron Arnie. However, desire alone is not enough. You also need to have some knowledge. At least minimal. And if they are not there, you need to look for them, draw them from literature, books, thematic Internet sites, such as ours, for example. Otherwise, you can pay so much and dearly... We will talk about one of these sad cases... But, let's take things in order...

So, the yellow-haired newcomer became interested in bodybuilding and decided to become a great bodybuilder, just like the famous Arnie. And not knowing the ford, he plunged headlong into the pool. He began to lift day and night, exhausting himself with heavy physical exercise. Which, as you know, is no longer correct: training should be as fast as possible, but intense.

And if you work out all day long, nothing good will come from it, because constant overtraining and continuous soreness will kill all your endeavors. Your body simply won’t have time to recover, and you will put pressure on it again and again. This is not a path to the step of the pedestal, but rather in the opposite direction. So to speak, one step forward and two back...

Now the second point: our hero was so fanatical that, having become seriously interested in bodybuilding in those distant 90s, when there weren’t really any training equipment, and weightlifting gyms were just beginning to appear, he somehow managed to make a homemade barbell, bench and rack for bench presses and squats. Having such an enviable arsenal of equipment right at home in those early years, he pumped in any free time. I have a minute - I lay down on the bench and squeezed the barbell once or twice. It is clear that with such intensity and frequency of training, he made progress in training. Moreover, he thought of eating accordingly. Strength came, volumes appeared, real male muscles became visible to the naked eye... It would seem that this is success! This is what our hero strived so hard for and dreamed about...

While undergoing a regular medical examination by a regular driver's commission, our self-taught bodybuilder was diagnosed with high blood pressure, heart rhythm disturbances, and other elements from a bouquet of chronic heart disease. And after he had a cardiogram done, he was generally registered with a cardiology clinic, while being strictly prohibited from visiting the gym. Doctors generally forbade him from lifting anything heavier than five kilograms...

And why all? Due to a banal lack of knowledge! The guy simply didn’t know how to do bodybuilding correctly. He simply thoughtlessly pulled heavy pieces of iron as hard as he could, and day after day he made the same classic mistakes, until he finally ruined his health...

By the way, most modern athletes suffer from this rake and suffer from a similar ailment. High blood pressure in bodybuilders is the most common disease these days. And all because of what? - due to a simple lack of knowledge. Well... Let's close this theoretical gap.

What was the main omission of our hero? – of course, this is a blatant imbalance between strength and aerobic training. The guy plunged headlong into strength training, completely ignoring aerobic training, which is absolutely forbidden to do! By doing strength training, you train your muscles. By exercising in an aerobic mode, you train your heart, lungs and circulatory system, which also need daily training. After all, in our body everything is interconnected, and if you have built up powerful, voluminous muscles, but have forgotten about the heart, lungs and blood vessels, then there will be trouble. Only simultaneous gradual gradual and harmonious growth and improvement of all systems of our body will lead you to success.

What did our newbie need to do? – at each physical lesson:

1. Mandatory aerobic warm-up or, as it is also called: cardio introduction.
2. Accordingly, complete the workout symmetrically with an aerobic cool-down.
3. As you progress through your classes, allocate approximately 30% of your total training time to aerobic training.
4. Involve additional cardio training in your free time from working out in the gym.

Moreover, organizing yourself aerobic training is in fact not at all difficult. For example, you can do short runs before each workout, at least 10-15 minutes. Or you can buy yourself a bicycle (by the way, we recommend buying an Author bicycle), and get to your fitness club not by car or public transport, but exclusively by bicycle. So to speak, combine business with pleasure, and also save money on travel. Yes, even a banal daily walk is already a good plus for aerobic training. We also recommend that you visit the pool at least once a week, and, of course, specialized cardio equipment will help you. Now, if our beginner, in addition to the barbell, bench and rack, had designed himself a bicycle ergometer or orbitrack, and together with strength work on the barbell, actively worked on this cardio machine, I think he would definitely not have any problems with blood pressure and cardiogram. So, gentlemen, newly minted bodybuilders, take everything that has been said to heart. And let your blood pressure always be normal and your cardiogram perfect, which is what we sincerely wish for you!