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Is heavy weight training healthy?

Is heavy lifting good for you?

  • No it's not

    Votes: 5 26.3%

  • Yes it is

    Votes: 10 52.6%

  • I lift extremely heavy pints

    Votes: 1 5.3%

  • I only lift carrots

    Votes: 3 15.8%
  • Total voters
    19
slobake

slobake

resident ... something
Aug 6, 2011
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#1
I have a good friend in his early forties who has a really bad back. He swears it is from all the extreme lifting he did when he was younger. I know that he did lift that way because he went from a pretty skinny kid to someone totally bulked up when he was in his 20's.
I have done a lot of resistance training myself but have always stayed away from routines designed to produce body builder muscles. It probably goes back to my days as a competitive swimmer. I never thought getting really bulked up was a good idea.
I could us a little weight training right now though. ;)
What say you Talkbass? Do you have experience with this? Do you think extreme lifting is healthy?
 
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#2
yes, it is healthy provided you do it right...technique, methods, balanced regimens, safety, frequency, stretching, all play into it. and lifting heavy doesn't necessarily equate to bulk. depending on how you structure your routine, you can get a LOT stronger with not a huge mass gain, or you can pack on mass while you get stronger. also, how heavy is 'heavy'?
 
#3
I think everything in moderation is a good approach.

You can train your muscles to exert more force than normal, but you can't do anything to make your joints and ligaments to bear more force than normal. I used to be into power lifting, but now I'm just fat...... (If you do bulk up, you need to maintain it. Trust me.)
 
#4
In the category of fence sitters I'm confident in saying it depends.

I was a 155 lbs kid as a freshmen in HS and graduated as a 198 lbs remade person. I kept that life style clear through my 30's switching, along the way, from body building to strength training and carrying 225 - 230 lbs on my frame. I didn't have any issues to speak of until several years after I stopped being so diligent, and then it was exacerbated by flat out becoming obese. Having said that the only clean, concise pain I can attribute to my former lifestyle is joint pain in my fingers and occasional pain in my elbows. My back woes were a direct result of being a fat bastard which I've since fixed.
 
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#7
()smoke() said:
yes, it is healthy provided you do it right...technique, methods, balanced regimens, safety, frequency, stretching, all play into it. and lifting heavy doesn't necessarily equate to bulk. depending on how you structure your routine, you can get a LOT stronger with not a huge mass gain, or you can pack on mass while you get stronger. also, how heavy is 'heavy'?
Click to expand...
That was my experience. I did gain 20 lbs in high school but it may have not all been from working out.
My events in swimming were the 200 and 400 yard freestyle. Because of that I had very strong forearms but I was not real bulky. I took down more than one guy in arm wrestling who looked a lot bigger than me.
 
#9
I used to lift very heavy. I am pretty certain that my need to have both of my shoulders rebuilt came from stupid-heavy bench pressing (up to 2x bodyweight).
It is possible to lift heavy and smart. It is more *likely* to lift heavy but not always smart, and that's what will get you.
 
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#12
slobake said:
That was my experience. I did gain 20 lbs in high school but it may have not all been from working out.
My events in swimming were the 200 and 400 yard freestyle. Because of that I had very strong forearms but I was not real bulky. I took down more than one guy in arm wrestling who looked a lot bigger than me.
Click to expand...

Part of that may be body type. Ectomorphs tend not to gain muscle easily - those "skinny wiry strong guys". Mesomorphs put on muscle easily. I'm more of a mesomorph. When I was younger my biceps would grow just by watching someone do curls :D Well, not quite, but it was very easy for me to pack on muscle.
 
#14
93rbench1.jpg


-Mike
 
#19
Funky Ghost said:
That was my experience as well Kess. My chest and lats were a thing of wonderment to the other kids. I got big quick. My legs were a tad slower and my arms were my achilles heel along with my shoulders. My most hated muscle to work, without a doubt, were my deltoids.
Click to expand...
I always had massive legs, short and thick. Now one is big and one is small. I call them Laurel and Hardy.
 
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