Fitness Vices Series #3: How Does Smoking Affect Weight Training?

In the third article of our fitness series on vices, we will look at thea vice that's been seen more and more often lately. Although exercise should represent a healthy lifestyle, at least to some extent, it rarelyI can walk to the gym without being forced to inhale cigarette smoke from teenage boys.

As in past installments of our series, we will try to explain this issue as comprehensively and even-handedly as possible.

What are the benefits of regular cigarette smoking?

Although the negative effects of regular smoking clearly outweigh the positive ones, there are some. Among the more important positives are the increase in digestive activitydigestive tract, blocking the production of estrogen and stimulating effects, which you will appreciate especially before training. So let's break down each factor below.

1. Increases digestive tract activity

The fact that nicotine can increase digestive tract activity, stimulating the production of saliva and digestive juices, will come as a surprise to many of you. This is due to the fact that nicotine is able to bind to the autonomic nervous system, which influences the production of the aforementioned juices.

Essentially, this means that smokers are able to digest food better. But as we'll explain below, they have an increased caloric intake, so it's not really much of a win.

2. It blocks estrogen production

Another not very well-known "positive" of long-term cigarette smoking is blocking estrogen production. This is very well noted by the authors of the book UXL Encyclopedia of Drugs and Addictive Substanceswhich I will refer to a few more times throughout this article.

Well, since estrogen is a catabolic hormone for men (that is, a hormone that causes muscle fibers to break down), this may seem like an advantage in terms of gaining muscle mass. On the other hand, it should be noted that estrogen is responsible for many other important reactions taking placein our body, and therefore the limited production of this female sex hormone is definitely not just an advantage.

3. It has a stimulating effect

You have probably noticed that quite a few exercisers smoke before exercising. This is due to the fact that nicotine has a mildly stimulating effect when weighede to nicotinic-acetylcholine receptors in the nervous system, causing increased brain activity and stimulating attention.

Unfortunately, the stimulatory effect of cigarettes is not so rosy either, as after a whileafter a while, the stimulatory effects are interrupted and then slightly diminished.

What are the negatives of regular cigarette smoking?

Now we should look at the negatives, which would probably be enough for one whole article. Therefore, we will mention only the worst ones or those that we consider interesting and harmful also from the point of view of strengthening. These categories include the frequently mentioned carcinogenic effect of cigarettes, the content of several thousand shharmful substances, vasoconstriction and others, which we will mention in the following paragraphs.

1. Causes cancer

The fact that cigarettes cause cancer has probably never been doubted. After all, you can read it on almost every pack of cigarettes. In addition to the well-known cancers of the lungs, larynx, kidneys and pancreas, there are also metastasesthat have pointed to an increased likelihood of colon or liver cancer. And that's quite a list.

2. Cigarettes contain up to 4,000 harmful substances

This number was not made up by us, but comes from Prof. RNDr. Jiří Patočka, DrSc. Of the most harmful substances, it is definitely worth mentioning polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbonswhich are carcinogenic, carbon monoxide, which reduces the ability to reproduce, and formaldehyde, which causes irritation of the mucous membranes and causes allergies.

3. It constricts blood vessels

As confirmed by many expert articlesregular cigarette smoking constricts blood vessels. In practice, this means that the blood flows through the body less easily, and you therefore cannot get as good a pump and nutrients to the muscles are only very limited. This is a problem that even those the best pre-workoutsand therefore, in the long run, you're making it very difficult for yourself to gain muscle.

4. It impairs protein synthesis

While this may come as a surprise to some, according to the following findings smoking does indeed have a direct effect on protein synthesis and also increases the production of certain proteins such as myostatin. The differences are indeed considerable, with myostatin levels up to 33% higher in smokers.

In practice, this means that regular use of tobacco products makes gaining muscle mass very uncomfortable.

5. Reduces endurance

Most of you have probably heard of hemoglobin at some point. If by chance you haven't, I'll just explain very briefly that it is a red blood pigment that is responsible for carrying oxygen throughout the body - including, for example, to working muscles.

But as it turns out some of the scientific findingsthat's not the case for smokers. The well-known carbon monoxide that is released when cigarettes burn binds preferentially to haemoglobin than oxygen, and therefore heavy smokers can have up to 10% more CO in their haemoglobin than a normal person.

So basically, the smoke released from cigarettes severely restricts the nutrient supply to the muscles, and therefore causes worse pumping and makes muscle growth more difficult.

6. Increases caloric intake requirements

To end the negatives of smoking with something unexpected, we'll look at the effect of cigarettes on increasing fat loss (and unfortunately, muscle mass).

This is due to the increased production of the stress catabolic hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline. Z the study conducted shows that smokers smoking 24 cigarettes a day had an increase in energy expenditure of up to 10%.

Do exercise and cigarettes even belong together?

While I absolutely do not want to put myself in the role of some sort of anthropologist, I simply cannot forgive myself for this paragraph. Whatever vice we mentioned in our series of articles had some acceptable positives. In the case of alcohol, it was improved insulin sensitivity; in the case of marijuana, it was improved sleep quality, and therefore better recovery.

Cigarettes, however, have no such positives and yet, somewhat paradoxically, are the most prevalent vice. So why is it worth smoking? Isn't it better to invest the money saved in a season ticket or supplements?

What is the conclusion of the article?

It doesn't matter how many expert studies we mention here, because there will always be someone who argues that they smoke a pack of cigarettes a day and still get good results. Personally, I know a lot of people for whom smoking is what helps them maintain a strict diet. And it's hard to say whether smoking or overeating sweets and junk food is better.

So the aim of this article was neither to demonize cigarettes nor to recommend them, but to objectively evaluate them and toto give you an idea of their effect on your health and on your weight gain. The decision whether to smoke or not is then yours and yours alone.

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If you have any questions about smoking, feel free to ask in the comments.

More episodes in the Fitness Vices series:

• Fitness Vices Series #1: How Does Alcohol Affect Exercise?
• Fitness Vices Series #2: What Effect Does Marijuana Have on Exercise?
• Fitness Vices Series #3: What effect does smoking have on working out?
• Fitness Vices Series #4: What are the pros and cons of anabolic steroids?
• Fitness series on vices #5: To what extent is drinking coffee beneficial?
• Fitness series on vices #6: Why is an uncontrolled cheat day a fast track to the bottom?
• Fitness series on vices #7: What is the effect of energy drinks on health?
• Fitness series on vices #8: Can fat burners really help with weight loss?