Can the effects of distance running from 10+ years ago affect muscle growth now?

[TheWickerman]

Back in high school-beginning of college, between around ages 14-19, I ran distance cross country/track. I was literally running 100-120 miles per week for many consecutive weeks, with most of them averaging around 70-80 mpw (that's not an exaggeration, literally I ran that much). I have heard about how running kills testosterone and all this other stuff as it relates to muscle building. Well at the time I was 5'9" 135 lbs, and at 19 got injured and decided to quit running and after 5-6 months got into weight lifting. That took off and since then I have done nothing but been wrapped up in lifting. However, it has always been incredibly hard for me to put on muscle mass. The strength side has never so much been an issue, but i've had a really hard time putting on muscle. I can even gain weight easily (I've worked up to 198 before), but after around 170 it seems to always be fat accumulation.

I guess what I am wondering is, did the effects of that much running during my peak testosterone growing years stunt some of my ability to gain muscle? If you say yes, it isn't going to deter me from continuing to pursue the goal and working just as hard, I'm just honestly curious if there is a relationship.

[TJP33]

over analyzing- im not sure when your tlevels start to decline, if it has I don't think its a huge deal- its not like you go to bed one night looking like hugh jackman in wolverine and wake up the next morning becoming Justin Beiber. its a gradual process so you can still make plenty of gains- theres plenty of natural bodybuilders in there 40's still making progress.
Gaining muscle isn't easy, and doing it while staying lean is even tougher- attention to detail.
I would do what you've been doing to reach 170- sounds like your staying lean.. From there I would start being cautious, a small bump only 100 Cals wait 2 weeks and see how your body responds, if you go 2 weeks without a gain of a pound- another small bump.. From previous post, you enjoy cardio- that's fine- but remember to keep it consistent, should be scheduled same amount x days per week- a change to cardio is the same as a change to your nutrition- big picture is energy balance.

[JOoa0ky]

I don't think what happened 10+ years ago should affect you right now unless you're still running like that. If you've lifted on and off before, you'll have noticed that the FIRST time getting to a certain size was HARD but if you slack off and shrink... the 2nd time you do it, it becomes much easier and consequently everytime you repeat that shrinking/growing cycle it becomes ever easier. Similarly since you quit running, but if you start running a lot again, that runners physique can come back really fast granted you put in enough effort.

The whole bulking and cutting thing is way out of hand IMO... I like to keep it much more rustic and simple with a mirror. If I can see a full 6 pack then I'm treading a VERY FINE LINE between eating enough and at a deficit. I like to just float between a 12-14% bf. If my weight and bf starts dropping then its time to increase food intake and/or decrease cardio.

The two greatest obstacles to gains are:
1) Ego
2) Abs

[Jasonk282]

Back in high school-beginning of college, between around ages 14-19, I ran distance cross country/track. I was literally running 100-120 miles per week for many consecutive weeks, with most of them averaging around 70-80 mpw (that's not an exaggeration, literally I ran that much). I have heard about how running kills testosterone and all this other stuff as it relates to muscle building. Well at the time I was 5'9" 135 lbs, and at 19 got injured and decided to quit running and after 5-6 months got into weight lifting. That took off and since then I have done nothing but been wrapped up in lifting. However, it has always been incredibly hard for me to put on muscle mass. The strength side has never so much been an issue, but i've had a really hard time putting on muscle. I can even gain weight easily (I've worked up to 198 before), but after around 170 it seems to always be fat accumulation.

I guess what I am wondering is, did the effects of that much running during my peak testosterone growing years stunt some of my ability to gain muscle? If you say yes, it isn't going to deter me from continuing to pursue the goal and working just as hard, I'm just honestly curious if there is a relationship.

No. You know how to gain weight, you hit close to 200 lbs before. T levels, IMO, are vasty tied into fat intake. Look at the people that consume lots fatty foods, they tend to have pimples all over them.

If you're not eating enough fats then that will, IMO, have an impact on your t levels.

I'm 35 and have no issues with T or gaining muscles/weight. I've gone from 165-200 lbs in the almost 4 years that I have been back in the game and my strength is greater than it was when I was in my early 20s.

[JOoa0ky]

No. You know how to gain weight, you hit close to 200 lbs before. T levels, IMO, are vasty tied into fat intake. Look at the people that consume lots fatty foods, they tend to have pimples all over them.

If you're not eating enough fats then that will, IMO, have an impact on your t levels.

I'm 35 and have no issues with T or gaining muscles/weight. I've gone from 165-200 lbs in the almost 4 years that I have been back in the game and my strength is greater than it was when I was in my early 20s.

You're being too humble, its not in your opinion that they are tied to fats. Cholesterol IS a precursor for T. A simple building block for the final product.



If OP like analogies then its a lego piece that is required for building a lego Testosterone.

[CookAndrewB]

OP, A couple things come to mind here...

First, the body adapts to the demands being placed on it right now. If those demands require more muscle to become efficient, then your body will adapt accordingly. If you partake in running to the degree that you mentioned, then more muscle isn't really going to make you more efficient. But there really is no permanent change in the body. It seeks to become efficient with the smallest amount of resources to accomplish the task you are demanding that it perform. This is why you will need to always work on getting stronger if you wish to continue to grow or, at some point, even maintain what you have. If you always lift the same weight, the same number of times, your body will figure out a way to skin that cat in the most effective way, with the least amount of resource expensive muscle.

That all being said, people all have different body types. Some people are built to squat heavy, some are built to bench press, some are built to run, some are built to fold themselves into a suitcase... you get the point. Considering the amount of running you have done, and the fact that you apparently competed at a high level in running, I would say you simply found the physical activity that your body was well suited for. I could run from here to the end of days and I'll never compete at a high level in running. I may get better, and may even improve quite a bit over where I am now, but I'll never make noise in running circles. The same would be true for powerlifting. I can be stronger than I am now, and when I've trained for it I'm pretty strong... but I won't be making a living off of it, ever. So *IF* you feel that you have a hard time building the amount of muscle that you think is reasonable, it could just be that your body type isn't well suited to carrying Ronnie Coleman levels of muscle (discussions of chemicals aside). As you pointed out, you can always get better and you should pursue your hobby with passion. You never know where you will end up in 5,10,20 years.