If there's one subject that comes up repeatedly in sports circles, it's whether bodybuilding is a complete sport or a...

Tobacco and bodybuilding
Posted on: 10/13/2020The aim of this practice is to build muscle. But smoking reduces the body's ability to build muscle, accelerating the destruction of muscle fibers and slowing your progress.
Find out how and why
Smoking reduces protein synthesis and muscle gain
To grow stronger, muscles need amino acids, generally provided by protein in the diet. But according to recent studies, a smoker's body has a lower capacity to use these amino acids. Logically, recovery will be poorer and muscle gain reduced compared to a non-smoker. This is simply because smoking increases the protein myostatin.
Myostatin is a natural protein that regulates skeletal muscle development. It prevents the build-up of mass and also increases the level of the enzyme MAFbx, which acts on the breakdown of muscle proteins.
Tobacco absorbs a lot of vitamin C
Its benefits for the immune system are numerous, but vitamin C is a genuine vitamin for muscle tone, resistance to fatigue and recovery after exercise. Along with the B vitamins, it is a fundamental vitamin. To avoid deficiencies, remember to eat foods rich in vitamin C, such as oranges and kiwis.
Smoking reduces your breath
As you know, smoking is harmful to lung capacity. For some bodybuilders, respiratory capacity may seem pointless because you don't do much cardio. You should know that many big exercises targeting large muscles require breath, and shortness of breath can hinder your ability to lift "heavy", and therefore slow your progress.
To sum up: smoking is not your best ally when it comes to building muscle, as it makes it difficult to bind proteins, reduces the body's ability to build and grow muscle, and increases the natural destruction of muscle. If you want to gain muscle mass more quickly, all the more reason to quit smoking. A muscular body is good, a healthy muscular body is better.
Above all, don't smoke after a sports session. After exercise, some of the alveoli in your lungs have opened up, and since they are rarely used, they are free of tar and easily irritated. Wait until your breathing and heart rate have returned to normal before smoking.