10 Reasons to go veggie 849On Sun, 17 Sep 2006 16:57:34 +0100, Nebulous I used to represent GB in powerlifting so I know about intensive training...
On Thu, 14 Sep 2006 23:59:44 +0100, Prometheus
Actually there are formulae for calculating strength performance based on physiological measurements. Dr Mike O' Carroll's formula is one of the most used. This buttumes that the skeletal component is a fixed constant which is OK in the mid-range. I refined it with second order and third order mathematical components to get a better fit at the extremes.
Muscle in general is not a strain on the heart since the exercise that builds the muscle also builds the heart which is itself a muscle. In the absence of drug abuse, the body will naturally match the development of the heart to the development of the muscle and I know of no evidence that heart disease is more prevalent in people that train with weights compared with the general population. Drug abuse is the most likely reason that compebreastive strength athletes die young from heart attacks.
Fat on the other hand narrows arteries and make it more likely they get blocked by blood clots which is what causes heart attacks, strokes and thrombosis. A symptom is high blood pressure, presumably because the space in the blood vessels gets reduced. Therefore 3 stone of fat is much more likely to cause you a heart problem than 3 stone of muscle if drugs are not involved.
-- Ian Lynch www.theINGOTs.org www.opendocumentfellowship.org www.schoolforge.org.uk
