Dave Pulcinella Update

[Siggy]

I have to wonder why this happens so frequently in bodybuilding. Lots of people have high blood pressure through life and very few wind up on dialysis. I work in a hospital and have heard some crazy high numbers and very few are in kidney failure which leads me to believe there’s more to it . And it can’t just be PEDS cause it very rarely happens to Powerlifters . My bet would be Diuretics top on the list .

Yea. I sometimes wonder if the greatly increased blood pressure of lifting heavy weights on a consistent basis over a couple of decades is enough to harm the kidneys. I saw a figure somewhere and it can get insanely high.

Per Google Ai

"Yes, lifting extremely heavy weights can potentially harm the kidneys by causing a significant spike in blood pressure, which can damage the delicate blood vessels in the kidneys, especially if done without proper form or if you have pre-existing kidney issues; this is particularly concerning for individuals with uncontrolled high blood pressure, as the intense effort of lifting very heavy weights can further elevate their blood pressure and put them at risk of complications."

"When performing a heavy deadlift, blood pressure can significantly elevate, reaching peaks as high as 300/250 mmHg in some individuals, particularly during the concentric contraction phase of the lift, depending on factors like breathing technique and the weight being lifted; this is considered a normal response to intense exercise, but if you have concerns about your blood pressure, consult a healthcare professional"

 

[Fleezy]

Because they die of heart problems from the high blood pressure instead

this

Or stroke

 

[Fleezy]

Yea. I sometimes wonder if the greatly increased blood pressure of lifting heavy weights on a consistent basis over a couple of decades is enough to harm the kidneys. I saw a figure somewhere and it can get insanely high.

Per Google Ai

"Yes, lifting extremely heavy weights can potentially harm the kidneys by causing a significant spike in blood pressure, which can damage the delicate blood vessels in the kidneys, especially if done without proper form or if you have pre-existing kidney issues; this is particularly concerning for individuals with uncontrolled high blood pressure, as the intense effort of lifting very heavy weights can further elevate their blood pressure and put them at risk of complications."

"When performing a heavy deadlift, blood pressure can significantly elevate, reaching peaks as high as 300/250 mmHg in some individuals, particularly during the concentric contraction phase of the lift, depending on factors like breathing technique and the weight being lifted; this is considered a normal response to intense exercise, but if you have concerns about your blood pressure, consult a healthcare professional"

Guess it makes sense then to take stuff to increase blood flow like citrulline, beet root, and cialis

 

[Siggy]

Guess it makes sense then to take stuff to increase blood flow like citrulline, beet root, and cialis

Yep, Instead I been banging stimulants before working out for the last 30 years, and many times I stayed up for 3 to 5 days straight at a time on adderall. Wont be a complete surprise if I keel over soon.

 

[Big Dave Smith]

I have to wonder why this happens so frequently in bodybuilding. Lots of people have high blood pressure through life and very few wind up on dialysis. I work in a hospital and have heard some crazy high numbers and very few are in kidney failure which leads me to believe there’s more to it . And it can’t just be PEDS cause it very rarely happens to Powerlifters . My bet would be Diuretics top on the list .

Definitely not diuretics. Most don’t live on them, and the few tabs taken in the last 24 hours before a contest would likely show acute damage more than chronic.

Old people literally live on diuretics. My dad has been taking HCTZ for 15 years and his kidneys are great.

PED’s cause the blood pressure spike, but in multiple ways. Blood viscosity, electrolyte skewing, etc.

Add in the increased need to filter the polypharmacy (fat burners, stun)… high protein… temporary extreme increases in blood pressure surrounding training…

PED’s are a large portion, but the damage is compounded by the other factors.

Nattys could theoretically follow the same diet and have no kidney issues. Fat people can have high blood pressure, and have less issues.

It’s the many layers that all work towards the bad outcome.

 

[tornquad201]

Definitely not diuretics. Most don’t live on them, and the few tabs taken in the last 24 hours before a contest would likely show acute damage more than chronic.

Old people literally live on diuretics. My dad has been taking HCTZ for 15 years and his kidneys are great.

PED’s cause the blood pressure spike, but in multiple ways. Blood viscosity, electrolyte skewing, etc.

Add in the increased need to filter the polypharmacy (fat burners, stun)… high protein… temporary extreme increases in blood pressure surrounding training…

PED’s are a large portion, but the damage is compounded by the other factors.

Nattys could theoretically follow the same diet and have no kidney issues. Fat people can have high blood pressure, and have less issues.

It’s the many layers that all work towards the bad outcome.

Agreed

 

[nothuman]

Yea. I sometimes wonder if the greatly increased blood pressure of lifting heavy weights on a consistent basis over a couple of decades is enough to harm the kidneys. I saw a figure somewhere and it can get insanely high.

Per Google Ai

"Yes, lifting extremely heavy weights can potentially harm the kidneys by causing a significant spike in blood pressure, which can damage the delicate blood vessels in the kidneys, especially if done without proper form or if you have pre-existing kidney issues; this is particularly concerning for individuals with uncontrolled high blood pressure, as the intense effort of lifting very heavy weights can further elevate their blood pressure and put them at risk of complications."

"When performing a heavy deadlift, blood pressure can significantly elevate, reaching peaks as high as 300/250 mmHg in some individuals, particularly during the concentric contraction phase of the lift, depending on factors like breathing technique and the weight being lifted; this is considered a normal response to intense exercise, but if you have concerns about your blood pressure, consult a healthcare professional"

Proper breathing when lifting is really important. Holding your breath and doing a valsalva is very bad.

 

[aDw32]

Proper breathing when lifting is really important. Holding your breath and doing a valsalva is very bad.

What do you mean by proper breathing?

I can't imagine this while doing heavy compound sets.

For me it's rather several short sequences breathe in's and breathe out's.

Especially when load is heavy and you control negative.

 

[Fleezy]

What do you mean by proper breathing?

I can't imagine this while doing heavy compound sets.

For me it's rather several short sequences breathe in's and breathe out's.

Especially when load is heavy and you control negative.

idk what @nothuman is referring to, but when i am doing say.. hack squats, i inhale on the way down, and exhale on the way up

seems like lots of guys will inhale before the eccentric, and hold it during the eccentric, exhaling as they go up

i can see how this could definitely make BP skyrocket

 

[aDw32]

idk what @nothuman is referring to, but when i am doing say.. hack squats, i inhale on the way down, and exhale on the way up

Yes, I know what textbook breathing should look like, but it's impossible for me and I wonder if it's just me or if everyone does sequences of inhales and exhales during heavy sets.

 

[luki7788]

you always do the repetition on breathlessness (inhale before negative exhale after positive) otherwise you will have much less strength and it will be very dangerous with heavy movements like deads or sq or legpress because you will not have a stable core

 

[nothuman]

Yes, I know what textbook breathing should look like, but it's impossible for me and I wonder if it's just me or if everyone does sequences of inhales and exhales during heavy sets.

@Fleezy explained exactly what I was referring to.

It’s true that it’s almost impossible to really breathe properly when you really push it to the max. I personally take it to the limit in which I can still just get a proper breath in. I used to do the valsalva stuff but I’d prefer not to these days out of caution. Two reps shy of failure is how I try to do all my sets.

 

[kadafi2]

i was always wondering how guys from that era didn't develop serious health issues.. especially with all the diuretic use, untreated HTN, and likely untreated OSA




i guess the guys who develop these issues dropped out of the public eye, and thus, these things were never directly brought to light

I think genetics play the most important role, some people have only slightly elevated blood pressure even on high doses of aas. Markus Ruhl always comes to mind, he is the perfect genetics for using high doses for a long time.

 

[traininsane11]

I think genetics play the most important role, some people have only slightly elevated blood pressure even on high doses of aas. Markus Ruhl always comes to mind, he is the perfect genetics for using high doses for a long time.

How do you know this? How much did he run and how long for? Did he have to do anything to help keep his health in check during? What’s his health like now?

 

[kadafi2]

How do you know this? How much did he run and how long for? Did he have to do anything to help keep his health in check during? What’s his health like now?

He is still big, he managed to father a child some time ago, from what you can see on the internet he lives well and is happy. Few bodybuilders maintain such a large mass after ending their career. Rather, those with health problems simply lose weight. And he himself said a lot about him taking drugs, even his book in which he described his alleged cycles appeared here. I will not post videos because everyone knows what he looked like in the early 2000s.

 

[danieltx]

He is still big, he managed to father a child some time ago, from what you can see on the internet he lives well and is happy. Few bodybuilders maintain such a large mass after ending their career. Rather, those with health problems simply lose weight. And he himself said a lot about him taking drugs, even his book in which he described his alleged cycles appeared here. I will not post videos because everyone knows what he looked like in the early 2000s.

Ruhl is legitimately the biggest of any retired, older age pro except maybe Victor Martinez. His health can't be too bad for him to still be that size in his 50s.

 

[KillerStack]

It's impossible to powerlift and achieve your max without valsalva. I remember some powerlifting article that called for doing 3 reps on the bench on one breath of air lol. But I'm sure the bp spikes are bad, just hard to know how bad, but I remember the word valsalva in connection to steroids and LVH in some study paper, the combo being bad.

 

[KillerStack]

Ruhl is legitimately the biggest of any retired, older age pro except maybe Victor Martinez. His health can't be too bad for him to still be that size in his 50s.

I recall someone asking about his heart and Ruhl saying his heart was as big as an elephants lol. Perhaps he said it jokingly but no way is his heart normal sized but I guess some handle such changes better than others. Maybe he's a low stress individual, the type you might imagine living long.

 

[npcout]

Sad to hear.. I met him at a show once, nice guy. Use to watch his dvds.

On a side note to the rest of the conversation. I met art atwood at a show, he couldn’t say more than a few words without having to catch his breath while sitting. I was new, young, and dumb, I thought it was cool and use to brag that I can’t wait until I get that big and can’t breathe.

 

[KillerStack]

Sad to hear.. I met him at a show once, nice guy. Use to watch his dvds.

On a side note to the rest of the conversation. I met art atwood at a show, he couldn’t say more than a few words without having to catch his breath while sitting. I was new, young, and dumb, I thought it was cool and use to brag that I can’t wait until I get that big and can’t breathe.

One powerlifting guru said if you sat in a room full of powerlifters you could tell who was the strongest by who breathed the heaviest. Hey, might be true to an extent, but the dude might die the earliest too.