Pot and Training/Diet, Good? Bad?

Training Bodybuilding
1

After a semi-heated yet friendly debate with one of my professors + classmates the other day, I pose this question to you guys and girls, whom opinion I’ve turned to for a long time now…Here goes:

We basically got into the debate after someone in class asked whether or not POT/WEED has detrimental effects on the body as far as training/nutrition and all that goes…I was of the opinion that although cannibis raises your heart rate, it wouldn’t have more of an effect other than increasing your appetite, which in turn, if implemented smartly, could help your dieting tramendously.

Now, this is just a theory of mine, as I’ve read that bodybuilders have often smoked in the attempt of enhancing their training, whether it be at that moment(in the gym) or overall (diet, etc…) My professor was ranting and raving about supposed negative effects of the drug, although never mentioning any specifics, saying that it would alter your metabolism and your absorption of nutrients. Is there any evidence of this, or the fact that it could negatively effect the chemicals in your brain/hormones that are instrumental in growth/development???

Also, does the frequency of smoking pot affect training/results? For example, if a person would in theory smoke randomly (lets say 2-3 times a week), would they have an advantage over the “pothead” that smokes everday/several times a day??? I ask, because I’ve seen both in my friends: The random tokers who train well, but there doesn’t seem to be a correlation, and the “for real smokers” who train and in a few cases, gain great physiques. I mean, if someone who smokes like 5 times a day trains and diets well, and ultimately reaches a great body, then the pot couldn’t have negatively effected them TOO much, right???

I apoligize in advance for any/all assumptions I’ve made, and am really asking because I wanted to settle this thing already. Thanks everyone.
-Cheers

2

Um, Pot kills brain. Brain makes body lift stuff. Lift stuff make muscle grow. So without good brain body cant lift good so muscle come good. In conclusion, pot will have negative side effects on your training.

3

Go ahead and smoke up, then let us know how it works for you.
Settle this once and for all.Consult with your professor on how to execute a valid and consistent study. Get a blood profile done regularly, video log the workouts and chart progress. Have the pot analized for T.H.C. content to be sure of consistent dosing levels. The whole shebang.

I would be interested in the results, and you could make a great contribution to the scientific comunity.
That and I’d love to see someone squat 600 while blown out on the chronic. That would be priceless.

4

GriffinC, thanks for replying so quickly, I do appreciate it, although I can’t say there was much in your answer to help me/that I already didn’t know…I’m looking for actual knowledge/experiences, or medical info…I am of the understanding that POT has several negative side effects on the body such as it’s effects on the lungs (more tar and monoxide than tobacco), the increase in heart rate and blood pressure (although is it a harmful increase???).

There has not been, however, any medical evidence that Marijuana kills brain cells. The fact that it may make most people lazy-asses who want nothing more than to blaze and watch TV, really doesn’t prove to me that it cannot be implemented in a positive way into ones training/diet. The reason for this belief is the fact that I have 2 close friends whom I went to college with, that were HEAVY smokers (Honestly, about every 3-4 hours!!!).

Even so, they really watched their diets, trained very hard, took the proper supplements, and basically did everything someone attempting to Bulk/lean up would do. They wouldn’t necessarily smoke right before going to the gym, but use it more as an appetite increaser. Both guys had dramatic results over a year period, and continued smoking throughout… Obviously, training without the presence of recreational drugs would be the optimal/best scenario, but for the sake of all the smokers out there, and for those like myself searching for the truth, any substantial info (as oppossed to lecturing comments telling me: "POT bad…NO smoke!!!)would be greatly appreciated. Thanks T-Brethren.
-Cheers

5

Mindeffer01, now I have to say that the image of some beast squating 600+ lbs. while faded out of his mind has for sure got to be hilarious.

Now, as far as your suggestion of the study, it’s definitely not a bad idea, although getting something like together, professionaly, is probably a logistical nightmare, if not impossible. What might be a good idea is to use myself or a willing buddy for an informal experiment. The thing is, that it would have to be something like 8-10 weeks long, or at least some considerable amount of time, to record realistic results.

Also, I would have to regulate/keep track of the amount/frequency of the smoking, as well as attmept to see if smoking more/less makes any difference. The main objective, honeslty, is to see if it’s possible to “Harness” any or all of POT’s positive aspects and take advantage of them… I will probably need to get someone who has consistently been at it for a while (years maybe) instead of myself, who hasn’t smoked in about a year. Well, maybe I can come up with something, we’ll see. I’ll keep you posted if I do. If anyone else has something for me, Shoot, I’m all ears.
Thanks again.

6

One of the biggest problems is diet. Get stoned, proceed to eat the refrigerator. Weightlifting and munchies are pretty counterproductive. Also, usually when working on diet/exercise you are looking for a thermogenic effect (ie. burn fat). By smoking pot, you are slowing your entire CNS and bio-systems down. You are not going to burn much in this condition. That and people that smoke pot have a tendancy to say “dude” way too much and drop plates on their feet causing injury to their toes.

7

Road Warrior, thanks for the response. I’m sure you’re right about the fact that it’s counterproductive in a way to smoke because pot does slow your CNS down, but at the same time, I think by implementing proper nutrition strategy, you can use those “munchies” to eat healthily and in large quantities. I think that by doing this you can burn as much fat you want. the pot itself isn’t going to store it; as long as the diet is in order and the training is there, the gains SHOULD come…now advantage or disadvantage pot??? Thanks everyone

8

Sure it’s a logistical task, but thats why I suggested consulting a professor that would have experience in conducting studies.Finding participants would also be difficult. Smoking pot and lifting consistently don’t usualy go hand in hand.

Anyways, try the video log. We did a funny thing when I used to smoke a lot. A friend of mine insisted that he was a better guitar player when he was stoned. So we got all smoked up and videoed a session. The playback was hillarious. Timing was all effed up, the whole thing was a joke. The funny part was that the whole time, he thought he was totaly on and just burning up the strings.

Give it a shot, see what happens. It would be interesting to see if the firing of major muscle groups is affected the same way as fine motor skills.

9

also, see if you can find anything on the estrogenic effects of T.H.C.

10

UC Berkeley would be the place to set this up. Lots of participants and open cannabis clubs there. Problem is that the people with a legal smoke card are usually sick or injured…not good candidates.

11

I was in the pothead category for several years, although I have now quit. For a while the “munchies” (especially late night) actually caused me to gain weight, but eventually I got to the point where I wasn’t hungry unless I was high. A combination of being lazy and unmotivated and not eating much caused me to lose weight again.

But oddly, when I was high I would spend hours thinking about my workouts, my form on certain exercises, and planning new workouts, supersets, etc.

12

Yeah, that’s the thing, I think considering the available resources, including time and participants, an informal study/experiment is more appropriate. I think maybe it could look something like this:

-2 individuals, Guy A and Guy B, ideal if both are aprox. same stats (metabolic rate, siza, BF%, etc), but in reality it’s all relative (within reason of course)

Each comes up with an optimal routine and diet, specifically arranged and designed for them in mind, including stuff they may already know is effective. Guy A is “Sir-smoke-a-lot” and Guy B is our square. They begin their diets (very strict) and training (intense) and continue for 8 weeks with only 1 difference.

Guy A smokes several times a day, everyday! Something around the average of 2 “hits” (pipe/vaporizer) every few hours, as to keep the THC in the blood stream at somewhat of a consistent basis. (NOT HIGH, I repeat, not HIGH, just enough to “tweak” you so to say)
I think something along these lines would actually be a decent gauge as to how an individual, obviously with the intention of doing so, can utilize weed to their advantage in the training/nutirion/bodybuilding world.

Considering that I have been training since early high school (aprox 9 years) and know that I can gain (with proper nutrition/lifting) about 5-8 “quality”, keepable lbs. in that time period (8 weeks) With this in mind, (if I were Guy A) I can really see whether or not the wacky plant is worth anything (other than the usual good stuff) Hypothesis: Studies show that smokers consume 30-40% more calories in a day compared to non-smokers.

If this has any real validity, I surmize that Guy A (myself, for this example) will gain MORE “quality”, keepable lbs. than Guy B. You heard me…I really think that it’s not only possible, but probable…Let us find out! Thanks guys and please don’t hesitate to throw any suggestions my way.
-Cheers
Hypothesis

13

Since when does pot use kill brain cells?

Ridiculous. It plugs into amandimide receptors which are in your brain. It causes no disfunction.

Alcohol kills brain cells.

And i think both are bad for training, but in moderation there’s nothing wrong with pot. Alcohol has too many negatives to ever be recommended. Having said that, I’m having a drink tonight!

It pisses me off when sanctimonious arseholes jump on ppl when the ask legitimate questions. It pisses me off more when ppl write crap as if it was fact.

Fact - alcohol use is more detrimental to the body than pot use.

Fact - pot use does not kill brain cells. It does slow down complex decision making time however, and can make chips taste fantastic and tv be enthralling.

14

Many studies have shown that marijuana decreases testosterone and growth hormone levels while increasing cortisol. Basically this reduces the capacity of your body to build musclemass, favors muscle catabolism and fat deposition. Here are some studies:

“In men, a single dose of THC lowers sperm count and the level of testosterone (Hollister, 1986).”

“The THC-induced block of GnRH release results in lowered LH and FSH which is responsible for reduced testosterone production by the Leydig cells of the testis.(…)THC appears to depress prolactin, thyroid gland function, and growth hormone while elevating adrenal cortical steroids. (Harclerode, 1984)”

“Testosterone levels in the left testicular vein, left testicular androgen-binding protein secretion rate (in vitro), sperm motility, percentage of morphologically normal spermatozoa, sperm morphometric parameters and outcome of sperm function tests were significantly lower (p less than 0.05) in smokers than in nonsmokers. (Sofikitis et al. 1995)”

“Human studies have shown that chronic users have decreased levels of serum testosterone. (Pardo et al. 1985)”

“Heavy marijuana use may be especially dangerous for adolescents during puberty. Such use has been associated with diminished sperm motility, decreased sperm counts, decreased circulating testosterone levels…(Kolodny et al. 1974)”

Now, in all fairness there are also studies suggesting that marijuana users have testosterone levels “within the normal range”. However these studies did not test for changes associated with marijuana use. The marijuana might have decreased the subjects “T” levels but not enough to go below the normal range. That having been said, that normal range is quite wide and you can be in it while still having sub-optimal levels to build muscle.

15

Just chimeing in on one of my favorite subjects. I quit pot for 6 months this year but have started again. I am a daily/heavy smoker when I am smoking. Anyhow, I have been on a cutting diet/workout for the past 3 months. I have lost 23 lbs. 220 down to 197 following a strict diet and exercise plan. I feel that even though I habitually smoke I have been successful in changing my body.

I don’t know if I would have had better results without any THC in my system, but I think I did well anyway. Now I am about to embark on gaining LBM with a new diet and exercise plan. I was really wondering if I should just quit again or will I still get good results doing it how I do it now. I would like to add that pot does make people lazy, but if you put your mind to working out, you can succeed. I consider this my only vice in life, besides having a few drinks on my cheat night.
Working out for me is a hobby/lifestyle now, I am not competing or anything. So I kick around quiting for the Bodybuilding benefits versus that I really enjoy weed. Decisions of a 35 year old man…

16

See, I’m glad someone posted a personal 1st-hand account of their pot/training/diet results. I wonder if you look at the amount of time you were dieting and trining to achieve those results (while cutting), if it was longer because of the THC…simply, would you have gotten those results in that amount of time without the pot? If it would be aprox. the same time period, I ask, then it would seem to me that the weed was not detrimental. Just my 2 cents…
Thanks

17

The diet differences alone are enough to creat a difference in results. For this study to be valid you would have to be on the SAME very strict diet and exercise regiment designed and monitored by a third party. Remember that the variable you are trying to study is the effect of T.H.C., not who can eat the most. If that were the case I could throw a few fat guys your way and skew the results in favor of those who don’t smoke. After all, those guys are “keeping” a lot of poundage, and damn strong to boot. Also the study will be considered inherently biased since the designer is also a participant. Thats a big NO-NO.
There are a lot of holes in your methodology. You may want to consider that your professor actualy knew what he was talking about.

18

I heard smoking crack promotes weight loss, anyone tried this??
JK, see how stupid some of yall sound now?
Of course pot has negative effects (laziness, lack of motivation, munchies) but you gotta decide if its worth it to you. If it is , then go for it, but dont try to come on here and say its not bad for you…

19

Pot is legal down here. Buy me the pot plus food and i will more than happily be part of your research.

20

i can personally say in the past 6 months i have steadily smoked pot while at the same time putting on 40 lbs lean mass.