Bench Press enlarges your heart

[Tim Zane]

I got an EKG due to blood pressure, and when I saw the doc he asked if I bench press. He said my heart was just slightly enlarged. I told him yes, I've been lifting for decades and incorporate bench. He proceeded to tell me that doing bench press expands the rib cage thus enlarging the heart.

Now I know some doctors say some really dumb things, and I think this is one of them, but has anyone else ever heard this from a doctor after an EKG?

 

[Creation]

time to find a new doc

 

[SouthernMuscle]

Jesus christ. Get a new doctor

and no, that’s a new one on me

graduate at the bottom of the class, still get that MD

 

[nothuman]

Let's see him cite sources on that one. smh

 

[BLang]

Damn, wait until he finds out about Dumbbell Pullovers.

 

[MrWhisper]

Hahahaha…really…? Wtf! I’ve had prolly 10 EKGs and never heard anything like that.

That MF is high AF.

 

[Tim Zane]

And to add to that after he told me that, I asked well what does cardio do then since it directly works your heart, is that bad too? He just told me it's different. Haha

 

[buck]

Next time ask him how the rib cage expands after the bones have sealed. You can add more muscle but the cage itself really isn't going any where. As long as he does what you want keep him. But i wouldn't go to him for a knowledge base.

 

[Gunsmith]

Definitely find a new Dr , that one is retarded

 

[Thor65]

That might be the best shit I’ve heard in a long time…….

 

[pesty4077]

Lots of athletes have enlarged hearts. The heart becomes larger and more efficient than average as a natural response to intensive exercise.

 

[OuchThatHurts]

Your rib cage expands but the same way it does when you breath. This is because your lungs are taking frequent and much deeper breaths. And your heart muscle will become stronger and as a result as Pesty said, slightly bigger. But that’s just a healthy cardio-pulmonary system. He seriously misread some of his course material (if he read it at all).

As to the OP. Um, yikes.

 

[Pheedno]

The pectoral muscle is a constrictor of rib cage expansion(just as the lat is).

 

[TheRoid]

Playing basketball makes you taller.
I have plenty of proof, look at the NBA players.

 

[OuchThatHurts]

The pectoral muscle is a constrictor of rib cage expansion(just as the lat is).

True but there’s a lot to unpack there. This is part myth and part true. Athletes with increased muscle size have increased flexibility, stand more erect, stronger and more flexible intercostals, diaphragm, increased VO2 vs atmospheric pressure, et al.

There probably is a tipping point but I don’t know at what muscle size as with bodybuilders that would be. The lungs expand to keep O2 sats normal (>95%) even with the increased size and blood volume vs muscle restriction in normal athletes — athletes who have even lower (better) resting heart rates than less fit people with smaller musculatures.

 

[Pheedno]

True but there’s a lot to unpack there. This is part myth and part true. Athletes with increased muscle size have increased flexibility, stand more erect, stronger and more flexible intercostals, diaphragm, increased VO2 vs atmospheric pressure, et al.

There probably is a tipping point but I don’t know at what muscle size as with bodybuilders that would be. The lungs expand to keep O2 sats normal (>95%) even with the increased size and blood volume vs muscle restriction in normal athletes — athletes who have even lower (better) resting heart rates than less fit people with smaller musculatures.

I'm not sure it's muscle size that dictates this. I would think it's linear movement patterns that ultimately restrict rib cage/pelvis relative motion.
In this example, using the bench press. If one were to focus on this one movement(without other movement patterns with the same muscle groups) you would gradually get a compressive situation in the posterior rib cage from an arched back/close scapula(this would also promote excessive anterior pelvic tilt). If the movement pattern continued to the point of restricted shoulder mechanics than the anterior rib cage would start to be restricted and ultimately the breathing pattern would transition more into the stomach since its the path of least resistance(may be a contributor to "GH gut").
Just take a look at world class powerlifters. Most are moving around in orientation vs relative motion as their sport has dictated these outcomes to be able to "safely" lift the big 3.

 

[OuchThatHurts]

I'm not sure it's muscle size that dictates this. I would think it's linear movement patterns that ultimately restrict rib cage/pelvis relative motion.
In this example, using the bench press. If one were to focus on this one movement(without other movement patterns with the same muscle groups) you would gradually get a compressive situation in the posterior rib cage from an arched back/close scapula(this would also promote excessive anterior pelvic tilt). If the movement pattern continued to the point of restricted shoulder mechanics than the anterior rib cage would start to be restricted and ultimately the breathing pattern would transition more into the stomach since its the path of least resistance(may be a contributor to "GH gut").
Just take a look at world class powerlifters. Most are moving around in orientation vs relative motion as their sport has dictated these outcomes to be able to "safely" lift the big 3.

Sure. I understood exactly what you meant. As pertains to bodybuilders, all bets are off because we’re not studied at all. Which is strange because almost every health program in use originated in the bodybuilding community first — CrossFit, Beachbody, Atkins, Paleo, carb cycling, intermittent fasting. But anyway, the distended bellies are a rather new issue in the bodybuilding community. Mentzer, Zane, Arnold, Oliva, those guys didn’t have distended bellies. Perhaps in the last 10-20 years we’ve reached that tipping point I mentioned in terms of size/bulk. I have no idea on that one.

 

[bananas007]

I got an EKG due to blood pressure, and when I saw the doc he asked if I bench press. He said my heart was just slightly enlarged. I told him yes, I've been lifting for decades and incorporate bench. He proceeded to tell me that doing bench press expands the rib cage thus enlarging the heart.

Now I know some doctors say some really dumb things, and I think this is one of them, but has anyone else ever heard this from a doctor after an EKG?

Lmao

 

[bananas007]

I got an EKG due to blood pressure, and when I saw the doc he asked if I bench press. He said my heart was just slightly enlarged. I told him yes, I've been lifting for decades and incorporate bench. He proceeded to tell me that doing bench press expands the rib cage thus enlarging the heart.

Now I know some doctors say some really dumb things, and I think this is one of them, but has anyone else ever heard this from a doctor after an EKG?

Can u pm me the name of this doctor. I want to look up his credentials

 

[Ruhlfreak55]

This leads to a good question I'm currently struggling with.....How do you find a non-retarded doctor that can support your bodybuilding from a place of intelligence and not complete ignorance? I've stumbled upon what I had in the past, and I know longer have access to that person AND no longer go to any sort of commercial gym where I can pick people's brains.