Mass Monsters = Heart Problems?

[djhyeon]

Ive always wondered how mass freaks like Ruhl and Coleman do their daily work without suffering from a dangerously weakened heart or lack of fitness (from carrying all 200+ lbs of muscle around).... in the Olympia 2012 stream, the 2 guys who were talking about each bodybuilder who went on stage talked about how Kai Greene was out of breath/exausted after he got down from stage posing and it is pretty disturbing.... he spent a few minutes posing on stage and he's OUT OF BREATH? Minutes of squeezing your muscles as hard as you can can be fatiging but most of us on the IFBB forums wont be OUT OF BREATH as if we just did a 45 min stairmaster session.

IMO it just goes to show how much these guys suffer but at the same time it makes you wonder why they keep competing besides the visible health risks.

[RoroCwalker]

Ive always wondered how mass freaks like Ruhl and Coleman do their daily work without suffering from a dangerously weakened heart or lack of fitness (from carrying all 200+ lbs of muscle around).... in the Olympia 2012 stream, the 2 guys who were talking about each bodybuilder who went on stage talked about how Kai Greene was out of breath/exausted after he got down from stage posing and it is pretty disturbing.... he spent a few minutes posing on stage and he's OUT OF BREATH? Minutes of squeezing your muscles as hard as you can can be fatiging but most of us on the IFBB forums wont be OUT OF BREATH as if we just did a 45 min stairmaster session.

IMO it just goes to show how much these guys suffer but at the same time it makes you wonder why they keep competing besides the visible health risks.

How does that even make sense and don't under estimate posing.

[TheIronAsylum]

$$$$$

[XxHesixX]

Ive always wondered how mass freaks like Ruhl and Coleman do their daily work without suffering from a dangerously weakened heart or lack of fitness (from carrying all 200+ lbs of muscle around).... in the Olympia 2012 stream, the 2 guys who were talking about each bodybuilder who went on stage talked about how Kai Greene was out of breath/exausted after he got down from stage posing and it is pretty disturbing.... he spent a few minutes posing on stage and he's OUT OF BREATH? Minutes of squeezing your muscles as hard as you can can be fatiging but most of us on the IFBB forums wont be OUT OF BREATH as if we just did a 45 min stairmaster session.

IMO it just goes to show how much these guys suffer but at the same time it makes you wonder why they keep competing besides the visible health risks.

Well about the posing out of breath thing, you must have no idea how taxing on the body it is to be at that level condition, drugs or not. I promise you if you go aslong as they do without water or carbs, you will be out of breath from just posing.

[IngeKJ]

Maybe Kai holds his breath to expand his ribcage to appear bigger. Try doing a posing routine whilst holding your breath? Pretty hard huh?

[DanielEver]

Ive always wondered how mass freaks like Ruhl and Coleman do their daily work without suffering from a dangerously weakened heart or lack of fitness (from carrying all 200+ lbs of muscle around).... in the Olympia 2012 stream, the 2 guys who were talking about each bodybuilder who went on stage talked about how Kai Greene was out of breath/exausted after he got down from stage posing and it is pretty disturbing.... he spent a few minutes posing on stage and he's OUT OF BREATH? Minutes of squeezing your muscles as hard as you can can be fatiging but most of us on the IFBB forums wont be OUT OF BREATH as if we just did a 45 min stairmaster session.

IMO it just goes to show how much these guys suffer but at the same time it makes you wonder why they keep competing besides the visible health risks.

Ok, the first thing to know, is that a heart can be expanded greatly due to specific cardio work (keeping the pulse around 110-150 for an hour so). The larger heart is, more blood it's able to pump during a single contraction. Fewer contractions it makes — longer it's able to perform.

Increased bodymass makes it more important to check the heart condition, but doesn't mean, that any bodybuilder will face heart problems.

The fact that Kai was out of breath after posing can be attributed to the following:

— his posing is actually pretty demanding and wastes lots of energy
— he was close to contest shape, and when you're really dieting (even if your're about 70 kilos), you endurance drops down severely, making it tough to go up the stairs like you used to
— endurance doesn't depend on the hear condition alone, it's a very complex process which is being interrupted by dehydration and all other parts of preparation

[BOUNTYHUNTERMK2]

Ever competed OP? Try it sometime, then tell me how easy it is to pose your ass off then walk off stage breathing normally.

[Anthony.b]

It's no secret they will have enlarged hearts due to supplementation.

[DanielEver]

It's no secret they will have enlarged hearts due to supplementation.

that's not a direct cause of supplements, that's a result if being an idiot

[CraZ DrtRider17]

Posing is super hard, it takes a lot out of you and leaves me breathing heavy and sweating.. If you don't think posing is a workout.. you haven't been under the demand of judges, ever really posed, or your a pussy on stage and in the gym

[T3mpest]

Ive always wondered how mass freaks like Ruhl and Coleman do their daily work without suffering from a dangerously weakened heart or lack of fitness (from carrying all 200+ lbs of muscle around).... in the Olympia 2012 stream, the 2 guys who were talking about each bodybuilder who went on stage talked about how Kai Greene was out of breath/exausted after he got down from stage posing and it is pretty disturbing.... he spent a few minutes posing on stage and he's OUT OF BREATH? Minutes of squeezing your muscles as hard as you can can be fatiging but most of us on the IFBB forums wont be OUT OF BREATH as if we just did a 45 min stairmaster session.

IMO it just goes to show how much these guys suffer but at the same time it makes you wonder why they keep competing besides the visible health risks.

So go ahead. Put yourself on a low cal diet for 12-16 weeks, lose more fat than most people would BEFORE they starve to death. When you see striations on your ass, you can stop. Then go get under hot stage lights and pose for 20 minutes. Money says your out of breath. Posing is hard, go hit some actual mandatories for a while and really flex them, you'll find you get tired quick standing at wierd angles like that.

Second, Kai Greene missed a meal last year and that is not only why he was flat, but why he may have been tired. Second, I'm not sure I buy the whole Kai was dying backstage thing anyways. They said it on the webcast, but they were really biased towards Phil. Anytime you watch Kai and Phil pose, Phil is the one shaking. Kai always smiles and looks very relaxed.

[BlackNumero]

So go ahead. Put yourself on a low cal diet for 12-16 weeks, lose more fat than most people would BEFORE they starve to death. When you see striations on your ass, you can stop. Then go get under hot stage lights and pose for 20 minutes. Money says your out of breath. Posing is hard, go hit some actual mandatories for a while and really flex them, you'll find you get tired quick standing at wierd angles like that.

Second, Kai Greene missed a meal last year and that is not only why he was flat, but why he may have been tired. Second, I'm not sure I buy the whole Kai was dying backstage thing anyways. They said it on the webcast, but they were really biased towards Phil. Anytime you watch Kai and Phil pose, Phil is the one shaking. Kai always smiles and looks very relaxed.

how on earth do you "miss" a meal at one of the most important contests of your life? Did he sleep in or something? It blows my mind almost as much as pros botching their tan color.

[T3mpest]

how on earth do you "miss" a meal at one of the most important contests of your life? Did he sleep in or something? It blows my mind almost as much as pros botching their tan color.

Honestly, I have no idea, but that's what I heard was he somehow didn't get to eat when he was supposed to. Botching the color I think happens because the color looks very different when it's under the stage lights and all lights are different. Some tans are just plain bad though, runs everywhere.

[ArchangelEST]

It is obvious that OP has not done a proper posing session if he thinks he can just walk it off as if you'd just done some light cardio. That stuff is nasty hard. You are basically on that stage for dozens of minutes at times, holding your muscles flexed non-stop.

I've done a few posing sessions for practice with some local pros. Honest to god, posing was more difficult than a regular workout. I ached all over for days. After having to do and hold a full pose for half a minute to a minute - I was already breathing hard. Doing it several times during comparison shots - you'll feel like you've ran for miles. It ain't easy.

And it's not like that pussi stuff of taking selfies with a phone while flexing one arm. Pro's learn to flex every muscle. Try it. Most people are unable to even do that until several tries. Try to focus on your back, on your legs, on your arms - everything at once. Crazy hard and crazy taxing.
When you work out - you are really pounding just one main muscle - not so with flexing. Doing it properly means everything get's pushed.


That said - Top Pro's are obviously on the juices that can seriously mess up blood pressure, cholesterol, blood cell counts and more. Many smoke a lot. Multiple packs a day I hear. So not really that surprising that some may have an especially hard time with performance during posing.

[Soforak]

OP, Im offseason right now, carrying 225lbs body weight, fully carbloaded, happy, eating a lot, working out intensly, eating clean, and I am what people seems to call ¨drugfree¨

I practice mandatories in my room in front of a mirror, I nearly die when I get to the side tricep pose.. so imagine having a posing routine like Kai has. You do the math

[ArchangelEST]

OP, Im offseason right now, carrying 225lbs body weight, fully carbloaded, happy, eating a lot, working out intensly, eating clean, and I am what people seems to call ¨drugfree¨

I practice mandatories in my room in front of a mirror, I nearly die when I get to the side tricep pose.. so imagine having a posing routine like Kai has. You do the math

So true. Heck, I do a few poses every day just for kicks, and the simple act of taking a couple of pics on a 10sec timer is enough to make me breathe hard for a few minutes. Difficulty of posing is seriously underrated by those who haven't really done it properly.

[SammyJr]

Yep lol. I was completely out of breath when I finished my posing routine. First thing I did was drink some water

[Ajthemeso]

Yep lol. I was completely out of breath when I finished my posing routine. First thing I did was drink some water

smart move mang, next to grabbing an oxygen mask lol.

[Soforak]

So true. Heck, I do a few poses every day just for kicks, and the simple act of taking a couple of pics on a 10sec timer is enough to make me breathe hard for a few minutes. Difficulty of posing is seriously underrated by those who haven't really done it properly.

imo a side tricep with a turn to the front at the end is seriously the hardest pose to hit!

[detrimental]

Mate, I get puffed out from posing in front of the mirror.

I understand your point... But the posing/puffed argument is stupid. Posing is very taxing. Your heart is already working harder because you're pumped up, meaning more blood needs to be pumped to get to 'em. Now start contracting them and using a maximum exertion of energy without running or moving. Posing is a workout itself.

[Superfly1]

Ive always wondered how mass freaks like Ruhl and Coleman do their daily work without suffering from a dangerously weakened heart or lack of fitness (from carrying all 200+ lbs of muscle around).... in the Olympia 2012 stream, the 2 guys who were talking about each bodybuilder who went on stage talked about how Kai Greene was out of breath/exausted after he got down from stage posing and it is pretty disturbing.... he spent a few minutes posing on stage and he's OUT OF BREATH? Minutes of squeezing your muscles as hard as you can can be fatiging but most of us on the IFBB forums wont be OUT OF BREATH as if we just did a 45 min stairmaster session.

IMO it just goes to show how much these guys suffer but at the same time it makes you wonder why they keep competing besides the visible health risks.

how do 300-400lb fat people not seriously weaken their hearts... their is no exact correlation between weight to heart strength..
you can find people 150lb with a weak heart.. and 400lb people who live into their 80s..

as for out of breath... erm obviously.. depleted diet and contracting the muscles hard in poses, their bound to be out of breath..
try doing a posing routine properly.. doesnt matter your weight.. you will be out of breath..

[Shihab0]

Mass monster + Cardio = No heart problems

[Kostabot]

Posing is as hard as a workout. Even when not at competition level condition.

[nturalfreakcy]

I laso have cardiomegaly for years of heavy lifting and I'm only 185 pounds and been lifting naturally for 7 years! I can only imagine how heavy these guys lift in real life! I believe having a real heavy bodyweight could be taxing when you're on your late 50s or 60s.

Athletic heart syndrome is what they call it I believe. Wondering if all pros have this condition though...

[Anthony.b]

Mass monster + Cardio = No heart problems

No.

They will always have enlarged hearts, even regular athletes that don't use can have it, see post #24.

[DrFlexologist]

Isometric holds will cause labored breathing.

[DanielEver]

No.

They will always have enlarged hearts, even regular athletes that don't use can have it, see post #24.

That depends on their training regime, a heart can englarge due to stretching or hypetrophy, and only the last option brings severe health problems.