tryin to stop smoking

bgk65 · 02-25-2009, 11:29 AM

Hey everyone I am new to this site and I am looking to burn some fat and put on some pretty serious muscle gains and i had a question that i was hoping someone could assist me with...when i was in high school I was for the most part pretty straight laced when it came to partying because i was always in good shape for my athletics, but after i graduated i got into the whole partying scene...I am now 22 and although i have kicked my drinking habit, i'm having a little more trouble with my nicotine habit. I have cut way back on the amount of cigarettes i smoke in a day but i was wondering if anyone knew how much smoking would alter my gains. If anyone out there has any prior knowledge on the subject let me know

thanks...love the site

Dave P · 02-25-2009, 11:34 AM

Cigarettes will have little to no impact on your gains.

suburbanPSYCHO · 02-25-2009, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave P

Cigarettes will have little to no impact on your gains.

2 months off those things, pretty happy. but what about it affecting how intense you can push yourself? ya know, having a harder time breathing or getting enough oxygen during the workout.

J1n · 02-25-2009, 11:43 AM

it will probably hurt your cardio... obviously, not your gains tho

illriginalized · 02-25-2009, 12:25 PM

If want to quit, the only proper way of quitting (from what I witnessed) is cold turkey.

Babakg · 02-25-2009, 12:32 PM

i smoke and i dont think it affects my muscle gains, however, it will obviously affect your cardio and you will notice that during your intense workouts, it is a little harder to breathe

slowbus · 02-25-2009, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bgk65

Hey everyone I am new to this site and I am looking to burn some fat and put on some pretty serious muscle gains and i had a question that i was hoping someone could assist me with...when i was in high school I was for the most part pretty straight laced when it came to partying because i was always in good shape for my athletics, but after i graduated i got into the whole partying scene...I am now 22 and although i have kicked my drinking habit, i'm having a little more trouble with my nicotine habit. I have cut way back on the amount of cigarettes i smoke in a day but i was wondering if anyone knew how much smoking would alter my gains. If anyone out there has any prior knowledge on the subject let me know

thanks...love the site

cigarettes screw up your circulation. i havent had one in a month and i notice a big difference in my skin color and energy. my body is extremely temperamental though (food, alcohol, tobacco, other things) and reacts accordingly-so it may not apply to you. quitting will definitely increase your emotional well being (nicotine is a depressant) and your cardiovascular endurance, no doubt. and both are extremely important when it comes to lifting. i quit cold turkey, just one day upped and said fcuk it and i havent had one since.

Seyton · 02-25-2009, 12:37 PM

I was Smoking for about 3 years. So i decided to quit and i picked up dipping skoal. Dipped for about 8 years and finally out of no were i threw my dip cans out of the window of my truck and have never looked back. Cold turkey worked great for me.

demarsjcd · 02-25-2009, 12:43 PM

Tried quitting smoking by dipping and that was the worst idea everrrr. I ended up loving to dip because I could do it everywhere. Then I found jim beams sunflower seeds and havent looked back

. Seriously though all I did was eat instead of smoking and chew sunflower seeds.

fitnbeachy21 · 02-25-2009, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danny23

If want to quit, the only proper way of quitting (from what I witnessed) is cold turkey.

agreed i use to smoke, i put them down and neverpicked them up again, its basically the only way that works. Also when i stopped I had so much more energy in the gym, cardio was so much better, and my complextion, skin, and body looked and felt 100% better!! its so worth the quit!!

keninverse · 02-25-2009, 01:04 PM

I smoked about a pack to 1+1/2 packs a day for about 16 yrs. I would say that it definitely affected my gains. I stalled out on most of my lifts for close to 6 months last year and no amount of heavy eating or lifting would allow me to hold on to mass. I tried switching to a fullbody routine...that didn't help. I tried eating about 3300kcals/day...that just made me fat. I finally came to the conclusion that I needed to at least try giving up smoking. So I switched to nicotine replacement stuff like patches, gums and lozenges. Nicotine itself is pretty powerful stuff. I was heavily addicted to these different methods for a while and it's not a cheap habit. It's just as much as smoking, sometimes even more. I was so addicted at one point I would hit up a pharmacy at 7am just to get my nicotine fix. Since I've stopped smoking my lifts have improved and my body actually responds to caloric intake. One thing to note is that I still love nicotine. I'll throw on a patch once in a while to get that warm fuzzy feeling that nicotine can only provide. hah...patcher for life.