Among the most destructive habits one may pursue is that of smoking. Every organ of the body is damaged by the numerous toxic compounds contained in tobacco smoke. This has triggered widespread anti-smoking campaigns and rising intolerance with the public.
There are also substantial social consequences of smoking with several employers refusing to hire smokers, regarding them as a liability rather than an asset. Smokers are banned from many public places to avoid the harmful impact on passive smokers.
Both smokers and innocent passive smokers develop health issues like cancer, heart disease, respiratory and digestive problems. Hence smokers are being highly ostracised, because the deaths of millions of smokers and thousands of passive smokers are attributed to smoking on a global scale every year. Such deaths seem bizarre, because they are mostly preventable.
Smoking has a pronounced impact on body building efforts. It is highly addictive. How does it impact muscle growth, let’s check out.
Reduces Workout Performance
Smokers cannot push themselves to the maximum while working out. A smoker’s heartbeat is 30% faster than that of a non-smoker. Hence the heart of smokers has to work harder to ensure sufficient circulation during workouts. Such rising heart rates also enhance your blood pressure. Your body will reach anaerobic state when blood flow reduces because of narrowed blood vessels and the working muscles do not gain enough blood rich in oxygen. In this state, body starts making lactic acid which causes burning feel in the muscles. Tar in cigarettes collect in the lungs and lungs don’t perform optimally. Your muscles are starved of oxygen which reduces endurance and you are unable to resume with last few reps.
Lowers Levels of Testosterone
Muscle building by mass gainers is much impacted by your levels of testosterone. The muscle cells have receptors for testosterone, named androgen receptors. Muscle fibres are maintained when testosterone binds to receptors. Smoking damages cells which create testosterone within your body. When level of this hormone reduces, muscles transform into fat, especially in undesirable locations like stomach and chest. Low testosterone enhances fat deposits, especially in the belly.
Increases Cortisol
The amount of Cortisol, a stress hormone is increased by smoking and it reduces levels of testosterone in the body. Cortisol reduces synthesis of proteins, a big need for growth of muscles. In case of smokers, there is an enhanced level of Myostatin which is a hormone that reduces strength and growth of muscles as well as prevents toning of muscles.
Causes Resistance to Insulin
Smoking renders you resistant to insulin. This has a disastrous impact on your goals of muscle building. Insulin is a hormone cum protein that is released after consuming carb-rich food. They serve as a signal for muscle cells to absorb the idle glucose in the blood stream.
Glucose is released after consuming meals and is used to create ATP energy cells for the body. When you turn resistant to insulin, then your muscle cells do not respond to the cue to absorb glucose from the blood. You are deprived of energy in spite of an overload of glucose in your blood.
Insulin resistance renders you tired and you cannot perform to the optimum. It also damages your storage of Glycogen. Glycogen is a longer chain of glucose and it is the energy saving mechanism of the body. Less glycogen implies that your work-out intensity will be less than normal. Insulin resistance also impacts absorption of nutrients from the body and promotes fat deposits, especially in the belly.
It is highly advised to stay away from smoking in order to achieve your bodybuilding goals. If you are looking for high-quality bodybuilding supplements online India for muscle growth, then browse Nutristar, a trustworthy portal selling authentic national and international brands.
