Find out why modern bodybuilders have big bellies and how to avoid this phenomenon for the common man. All bodybuilding fans have long noticed that professional athletes have big bellies. This situation was also pointed out by Arnold Schwarzenegger, who harshly criticized modern bodybuilders. One cannot but agree with him, because the figures of athletes in the "golden era" of bodybuilding differed sharply for the better.
The International Bodybuilding Federation could not ignore all these facts and in 2009 made changes to the criteria for judges. The leadership of the federation remembered the basic principles on which this sport has always been based - body balance. If there are no problems with a V-shaped figure, then many modern athletes have them with a flat inflated stomach.
According to the new IFBB regulation, a large belly negatively affects the aesthetic appearance of the builder. In addition, the leadership of the federation draws attention to the fact that a large number of modern builders have large bellies. Thus, builders should know why the pitching is pot-bellied, because it determines their rating in tournaments.
It should be admitted that the discussion on this topic has been going on for a long time and during this time various factors have been discussed. Some of them were deservedly discussed, while others were not. Muscle deformation with the appearance of bulges and lumps in the tissue structure is most often caused by drugs that can provoke local inflammatory processes, for example, synthol.
When such drugs are injected, the muscle tissue increases in size around the injection site. If the procedure was carried out correctly, then the size of the muscles increases dramatically and at the same time they retain their aesthetic appearance. If mistakes were made during the introduction, then bumps appear, similar to a tumor of a sufficiently large size.
However, this fact has nothing to do with the question of why the pitching is pot-bellied. Young athletes may not remember what the builders of the golden age of this sport looked like. It is he who can be called classic, and all modern athletes should strive to achieve exactly this appearance of their figure. Surely you have seen antique sculptures that are very similar to athletes of the 60s and 70s.
Changes in the physique of bodybuilders began to occur in the mid-eighties, and today we are witnessing the culmination of this process. The days when the bodybuilder had a wasp waist are over, and this fact should be recognized. Today, the question is relevant why the pitching is pot-bellied, because this fact greatly spoils the impression of their appearance.
Why pitching is pot-bellied: the main reasons
It is quite obvious that without strength exercises, which are part of the training program for representatives of all strength sports disciplines, it is simply impossible to build muscles. However, this cannot be the answer to the question of why the pitching is pot-bellied. We agree that most powerlifters look obese, but this is due to the presence of a large percentage of body fat in the body, little or no cardio activity, or stretched peritoneal walls (possibly due to high pressure on the peritoneum during resistance work).
The most likely factor in the growth of the abdomen is the active use of insulin and growth hormone. These drugs are used by a large number of pro-builders today. Immediately after receiving synthetic growth hormone, the drug was used to treat growth retardation in childhood. Due to the underdevelopment of technology, artificial growth hormone was produced in small quantities and its use was extremely limited.
The situation changed in the seventies, after the creation of recombinant technology. This led to the fact that after ten years, growth hormone became available to professional athletes and began to be used in various disciplines. Scientists have found that this drug is able not only to accelerate the growth of bone tissue, but also has a positive effect on the processes of muscle hypertrophy and hyperplasia, accelerates the processes of lipolysis and recovery after training.
Since all types of sports farms were originally created to solve medical problems, athletes had to determine effective and safe dosages by trial and error. Those athletes who achieved significant gains in muscle mass received lucrative sponsorship contracts and for this reason the dosage of growth hormone was increased. As a result, builders could take up to 36 units of growth hormone, which is an extremely high dose.
Along with the positive effects of using this drug, builders noticed side effects. Those athletes who had an idea of the work of the endocrine system were not surprised, as they expected their manifestation. In addition to the extreme weight gain, the growth of the nose, ears and internal organs was observed. The last fact cited and is the answer to your question, why the pitching is pot-bellied.
It should be noted here that similar problems are characteristic of people suffering from acromegaly - due to the high concentration of endogenous growth hormone, tumor neoplasms appear on the body. You must understand that GH drugs cannot selectively target muscle tissue alone. Under the influence of somatotropin, everything grows in the body.
Acromegaly resembles gigantism, which is also a disease. It begins to develop in childhood and leads to extreme human growth, and all those symptoms that we talked about just above. The only difference between these diseases is that with acromegaly, bone tissue growth is not observed, since all growth zones in adults are already closed. Even with an extreme dosage of GH, the growth of an adult can no longer change. Considering all of the above, the question arises - why not use growth hormone in smaller doses? It is now impossible to say which of the athletes first began using GH, but they certainly used the therapeutic dosages used in medicine to treat growth retardation in children. They were 0.3 milligrams per kilogram of body weight for a week. If this figure is extrapolated to the weight of an adult, then the estimated dose of the drug will be from 15 to 25 units per day.
A new recombinant technology for the production of somatotropin was quickly introduced into their production by Asian pharmacological companies. This led to a decrease in the cost of growth hormone on the market and builders began to increase the dosage of the drug, because it became more affordable. It is quite obvious that with increasing dosages, muscles grow more actively, as, indeed, all other parts of the body, and internal organs. During clinical studies, it has been proven that excessive doses of the drug can cause serious irreversible problems.
Scientists have proven that the use of more than 6 units of growth hormone throughout the day can lead to the manifestation of symptoms of acromegaly - they negatively affect the insulin sensitivity of the body, and also disfigure a person's appearance. In medicine, these side effects have been eliminated not only by using small dosages, but also by controlling the IGF-1 concentration.
You probably know that this endogenous growth factor is responsible for most of the anabolic effects of growth hormone. Thus, somatotropin can be an excellent tool for gaining mass at the right dosages, or it can cause the development of acromegaly and metabolic syndrome. It should be noted here that metabolic syndrome is extremely dangerous and can be fatal.
The peculiarities of this disease include obesity (primarily of internal organs), a dangerous increase in cholesterol concentration, insulin resistance, increased blood pressure, heart attack and diabetes. With the development of metabolic syndrome in the body, various inflammatory processes can be activated.
If an athlete uses somatotropin in high dosages, then their predisposition to metabolic syndrome increases, and also disrupts the body's reaction to insulin. As a result, the concentration of insulin and sugar increases, which negatively affects the processes of lipolysis and accelerates the growth of adipose tissues. Speaking about why the pitching is pot-bellied, one should also remember the fat-burning properties of growth hormone. No one disputes that this drug is able to quickly eliminate subcutaneous fat deposits. However, many bodybuilders forget about the existence of visceral fat, which surrounds all internal organs. If adipose tissues located under the skin are burned when using GH, then visceral ones, on the contrary, increase.
This negatively affects the functioning of all organs, including the heart muscle. In addition to all of the above, the answer to the question of why the pitching is pot-bellied is the use of insulin. Almost all athletes use insulin at the same time as growth hormone. We have already said that GH is able to reduce the sensitivity of tissues to insulin and its concentration increases. Add a synthetic drug to this to understand the dangers of this step.
Insulin is an extremely dangerous drug and, if used incorrectly, can even be fatal. It should be said here that there are known cases of the use of insulin as a murder weapon. Thanks to the use of this drug, builders receive a large amount of muscle mass, the quality of which leaves much to be desired. If it is quite easy to get rid of subcutaneous fat, then it is much more difficult to fight visceral fat.
The causes of big bellies in bodybuilders, see below:
