How unhealthy is bodybuilding? How long are you expected to live? etc

[fhg43]

Blood&Iron-
I have been curious about the current crop of BBer's-how long will they last? There are lots of new drugs out there that are awesome in what they do for people-when used theraputically. I think a lot of guys who ingest stuff like candy are signifcantly shortening their lives. Newer AS and other drugs which are performance enhancing are helpful when administered in a clinical sense, but I think a lot of guys are using outside of this supervision and are far from healthy. I have Bill Pearl's book and he looks great for his age-I was impressed. He added years to his life while I think some of the newer guys have seriously shortened their lives.

FHG

 

[Mike P.T.]

live fast, die young, be a beautifull corpse

hahaha now thats some funny shit!!!

 

[Imnotdutch]

u think u will longer when u are a small chicken?
only the biggest survive!

I think you mean only the strongest survive.......or perhaps those with the best functional physique (which isnt what most bodybuilders have) survive. Then theres only the smartest survive......

How big figures in survival I dont know.......it slows you down, gives you a shitty power to weight ratio, your food requirements are huge.......all of which means you have a lesser chance of survival.

Anybody else get tired of all the macho bullshit associated with size??

Merry Xmas.....

 

[FitnessFrk]

The heart is a muscle and does increase in size to accomodate a larger body to some extent. It's ability to function properly is dependent on genetics, excercise and the overall nutritional intake.

about the only negative things about bb'ing is the large amounts of free-radicals produced which have a negative effect on the aging process and how they effect oxidative stress.

 

[Grizzly]

If you even skip ahead 10 to 20 years to look at the crop of bodybuilders of Arnold's era they seem to be dropping like flies. Arnold's recent heart troubles(He full of shit IMO when he denies they had anything to do with AS.) Don Stevens, a contemporary of Arnold's, died recently, as well as a BB'er featured in Pumping Iron whose name I can't recall at the moment. I figure a lot of today's pros won't make it much past their mid-fifties. Look at Don Long, Lee Priest, Flex Wheeler, etc, etc, etc. That kind of pharmaceutical abuse definitely has consequences, as, in all likelihood, does anything taken to extremes.

Even if his heart troubles are from AS, and not a congenital deffect like he claims, he's still alive, isn't he? Ah, the wonders of modern medicine. And they'll only get better. Here's some names for you. Arnold, Lou, Tom Platz, Vince Taylor, Robbie Robinson. All contemporaries and all still kicking.

As for the new crop, I guess Dorian is the oldest of the big names. I suppose he'll be the guinea pig. What's he now? Damn near, if not already, 40. We'll only have to wait ten years to see what happens. I suppose that it'll be interesting.

 

[Grizzly]

Here's a thought: Do you really want to live that long to begin with? Ok, sure, as a young'n' it's easy to say that I don't want to get old. But, seriously, look at old people. Who the hell wants to get like that? All the disease, the decrepit bodies that don't work right, the emotional turmoil. Take my grandpa, for example. He's 78 and healthy as a horse. He doesn't really have any of the typical ailments of the old, except for the fact that his hands barely work due to the arthritis. Bodily health-wise, he's doing alright. But his mind isn't. My grandmother died a few years ago so now he lives by himself. He's going crazy. Most of his friends are dead. No one to talk to. No one to hang out with. What kind of life is that? Just waiting to die sounds like a shitty existence to me. Hasn't anyone seen the Highlander? It's the shitty part of immortality. You live while everyone you've ever loved dies. Old age is just a little overrated.

I just thought of something. Depending on your religious beliefs death is a blessing anyway. If you're a member of "the big 3" (Islam, Christianity and Judaism) you end up going to a much better place, unless you fucked up. So just don't fuck up. If you're like me, then you believe that you just plain die, fade to black and become fertilizer. If that's the case, then shit! Who gives a fuck if you die because you won't remember it anyway. One second you're alive and the next you're not. It's kind of hard to miss something that you don't remember.

 

[Blood&Iron]

Here's a thought: Do you really want to live that long to begin with? Ok, sure, as a young'n' it's easy to say that I don't want to get old. But, seriously, look at old people. Who the hell wants to get like that? All the disease, the decrepit bodies that don't work right, the emotional turmoil. Take my grandpa, for example. He's 78 and healthy as a horse. He doesn't really have any of the typical ailments of the old, except for the fact that his hands barely work due to the arthritis. Bodily health-wise, he's doing alright. But his mind isn't. My grandmother died a few years ago so now he lives by himself. He's going crazy. Most of his friends are dead. No one to talk to. No one to hang out with. What kind of life is that? Just waiting to die sounds like a shitty existence to me. Hasn't anyone seen the Highlander? It's the shitty part of immortality. You live while everyone you've ever loved dies. Old age is just a little overrated.

In general I'd agree. Frankly, the thought of old age scares the shit out of me. But look at the alternative.

I just thought of something. Depending on your religious beliefs death is a blessing anyway. If you're a member of "the big 3" (Islam, Christianity and Judaism) you end up going to a much better place, unless you fucked up. So just don't fuck up. If you're like me, then you believe that you just plain die, fade to black and become fertilizer. If that's the case, then shit! Who gives a fuck if you die because you won't remember it anyway. One second you're alive and the next you're not. It's kind of hard to miss something that you don't remember.

Well, I'm an atheist but I still think Plato was full of shit(At least I think you're paraphrasing 'Crito'. Maybe I'm misremembering.) Death scares the shit out of me. That's why I plan on being cryogenically frozen, unless I'm really old, then I'm asking for a viking ship burial(Joking here...well, kind of.)

As for your examples of bodybuilders who are still healthy, I never claimed there weren't any, I was just pointing out a fair number of them have also bit the dust.

 

[mattcanning99]

about the only negative things about bb'ing is the large amounts of free-radicals produced which have a negative effect on the aging process and how they effect oxidative stress.

damn true, very important, and probably the only adverse effect bodybuilding can have on regular (non greg kovacs extreme) guys and gals. research this more if you want, but from my research, this has been the single largest "potential" hazard of recreational bodybuilding

 

[BigDdaGanjalist]

about the only negative things about bb'ing is the large amounts of free-radicals produced which have a negative effect on the aging process and how they effect oxidative stress.

hmmmmmmmm....

 

[Grizzly]

Well, I'm an atheist but I still think Plato was full of shit(At least I think you're paraphrasing 'Crito'. Maybe I'm misremembering.) Death scares the shit out of me. That's why I plan on being cryogenically frozen, unless I'm really old, then I'm asking for a viking ship burial(Joking here...well, kind of.)

As for your examples of bodybuilders who are still healthy, I never claimed there weren't any, I was just pointing out a fair number of them have also bit the dust. [/B]

Let's see here. First, none of that had to do with Plato. Secondly, I think it's funny that you mention the viking ship thing. I've always planned on going out that way. That's odd, eh? Thirdly, and most importantly, yes you did imply that tons of them were dying. You said, that they were "dropping like flies." That's an expression used when you mean to imply that many, many people are dying. Maybe you should have said that a few, a very few, are dying now and again.