Powerlifting and cardio

[tank]

lung and heart health is genetic mostly, right? like 2 guys that eat the same exact thing for 1 year and same exercise (hypothetically) will have differently impacted cholesterol and such?

[J_Byrd]

Originally Posted by tank

lol. nice analogy. out of curiousity how often, if ever, do you guys get blood/cholesterol checked out?

I was just joking about that part. Cardio has its time and place for everyone in the gym, even powerlifters. I get my stuff checked out normally 1 time a year. Even at over 300lbs(not anymore) it has always came back good. Doctors normally give me the shocked look haha.

[Off Road]

BtB said it all. Better conditioning means better recovery between sets and between workouts.

At bare minimum I'd get in some high intensity conditioning twice a week. This could be a sled, a prowler, hill sprints, heck even walking would be better than nothing. Another option would be to do a couple of days of Crossfit type workouts as long as they don't interfere with your lifts. My favorite is still the sled as it only loads the the muscles in one direction which makes it easier to recover from. But don't do a heavy sled session the day before a heavy leg workout!

[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by tank

lung and heart health is genetic mostly, right? like 2 guys that eat the same exact thing for 1 year and same exercise (hypothetically) will have differently impacted cholesterol and such?

I have everything checked ear year. I get an extensive exam.

When I lift weights my numbers are dramatically lower, even if my weight is high. In 2007 I returned to lifting after a layoff and weighed about 274. My numbers were horrible. 6 months later I had them checked again, now weighed 290, and my numbers were all incredibly healthy.

Exercise and mostly clean eating work wonders for me. Of course extra weight still is harder for the body to manage over time, but that's a conversation for another thread...

[tank]

Originally Posted by BendtheBar

I have everything checked ear year. I get an extensive exam.

When I lift weights my numbers are dramatically lower, even if my weight is high. In 2007 I returned to lifting after a layoff and weighed about 274. My numbers were horrible. 6 months later I had them checked again, now weighed 290, and my numbers were all incredibly healthy.

Exercise and mostly clean eating work wonders for me. Of course extra weight still is harder for the body to manage over time, but that's a conversation for another thread...

so let me open this can of worms: does powerlifting, big 3 and accessory work, help mitigate the relative unhealthiness of the typical powerlifting diet? and to what extent? (opinions of course, unless we have doctors or scientists in the house)

[Off Road]

Originally Posted by tank

so let me open this can of worms: does powerlifting, big 3 and accessory work, help mitigate the relative unhealthiness of the typical powerlifting diet? and to what extent? (opinions of course, unless we have doctors or scientists in the house)

First, not all powerlifters eat badly. And the way they train doesn't make up for poor health choices. Otherwise powerlifters would be the healthiest bunch on the planet. Can't use proper training as an excuse to make poor choices in the rest of your life.

[Spartigus]

I dont really do much cardio apart from hill sprinting or barbell complexes 1-2 times a month. Anyway, I did this lung capacity test about 2 weeks ago, the person I did it with is a cyclist, he more or less focuses on it. We are the same height, 5"11, but I am about 38lbs heavier than him, and it turns out my lung capacity is about 20% bigger than his. Just something interesting.

[5kgLifter]

Originally Posted by tank

so let me open this can of worms: does powerlifting, big 3 and accessory work, help mitigate the relative unhealthiness of the typical powerlifting diet? and to what extent? (opinions of course, unless we have doctors or scientists in the house)

I don't do "powerlifting" as such, or at least I didn't lift heavy at the time that I will relate to for ths post: but, I would have to say I ate "rubbish" but was healthy and I reckon it's because I did 3 sessions of cardio a week, only about 20-30 minutes and then 1 long walk...pretty sure that's why things balanced out, in the long run.

Originally Posted by Spartigus

I dont really do much cardio apart from hill sprinting or barbell complexes 1-2 times a month. Anyway, I did this lung capacity test about 2 weeks ago, the person I did it with is a cyclist, he more or less focuses on it. We are the same height, 5"11, but I am about 38lbs heavier than him, and it turns out my lung capacity is about 20% bigger than his. Just something interesting.

This is an interesting point, after having my asthma go into overdrive last October and being instructed to use a steroid-based inhaler (which thankfully, I'm not currently using and hope I never have to use one again) my lung capacity seemed to diminish, because breathing got worse and I was told to upp the dosage so anyway, I weaned myself off it instead (necessity because the body stops producing steroids when you supply the body with it)...anyway, to get to the actual point...I have been monitoring my peak flow during the entire process of being on the inhaler/weaning off the inhaler/ and lifting...but I haven't done cardio, in the sense of anything medium to high intensity, just walks, at present...

...the thing I noticed with heavy squats or intense deadlift sessions is that they push the peak flow meter off the scale, for me, and up to what the nurses wanted me to get the lung capacity to via use of increased steroids; which I find interesting...so, hopefully, squats and deadlifts will win over the inhaler *fingers crossed*.

[Spartigus]

Originally Posted by 5kgLifter

This is an interesting point, after having my asthma go into overdrive last October and being instructed to use a steroid-based inhaler (which thankfully, I'm not currently using and hope I never have to use one again) my lung capacity seemed to diminish, because breathing got worse and I was told to upp the dosage so anyway, I weaned myself off it instead (necessity because the body stops producing steroids when you supply the body with it)...anyway, to get to the actual point...I have been monitoring my peak flow during the entire process of being on the inhaler/weaning off the inhaler/ and lifting...but I haven't done cardio, in the sense of anything medium to high intensity, just walks, at present...

...the thing I noticed with heavy squats or intense deadlift sessions is that they push the peak flow meter off the scale, for me, and up to what the nurses wanted me to get the lung capacity to via use of increased steroids; which I find interesting...so, hopefully, squats and deadlifts will win over the inhaler *fingers crossed*.

Thats interesting. Maybe it has to do with holding your breath while lifting?

[5kgLifter]

Originally Posted by Spartigus

Thats interesting. Maybe it has to do with holding your breath while lifting?

I wondered whether it was because we suck in air prior to the lift and it makes the lungs work hard whereas breathing normally throughout the day we generally have more of a relaxed pattern and not so much air held in the lungs; plus the exercises themselves are taxing as well.


LOL, I think we might have just said the same thing