Women lifting weights and the pill

MrsT99

I posted yesterday on my wall (after doing 45 mins lifting weights) that I had read that for those lifting weights the contraceptive pill means that they only develop 60% of the muscle developed by those not on the pill.

I have been on it for 9 years and having read this I can’t help but feel if I’d known I would have come off it before I started Chalean Extreme lifting – I am in week 2 of Lean so actually not far from the end! Now thinking about it in hindsight my strength has developed and I’m working to failure but I haven’t progressed as much in terms of increasing the weights lifted week on week as I had expected. I seem to have mostly stayed the same.

Plus it has killed my sex drive quite considerably and all things considered I’m definitely ready to move on. However most alternatives seem to also involve hormones which I can only presume would have the same effects as the pill. So taking out anything hormone related and anything that I would have to use just prior to sex (ie condom, diaphragm etc) it looks like the option is the coil type implant which looks a bit scary.

So I wondered what everyone is using out there, if others have found the pill to inhibit strength training, if other people have had more luck with alternative hormone treatments etc etc?

Thanks in advance!

rv40

Dont receive that! I've never heard of that and I do not believe it's true. I've been lifting and I'm gettig every bit of muscle that I'm trying to put on. I've been on the pill or 10 years and it has nothing to do with muscle. Unless it varies from person to person. Adding cardio to reduce body fat can help you to achieve the toned look. I try not to believe everything that's written. Most are just theories.

TavistockToad

I have never heard that... where did you read it?

natika33

I've never heard that. Furthermore, there are many different varieties of pill with many different hormone combinations and levels available. Talk to you doctor about your options for the pill. If you find your sex drive has decreased, they can probably help you find one that won't affect that as much.

grobbygru

I have heard that men that are serious about weights won't touch beer as it ups their oestrogen (ingredient of pill) and therefore makes them 'softer' rather than the hard cut look they are trying to obtain. So might be something in it eh?

MrsT99

I read it in a magazine yesterday but I cannot seem to re find the article online so on a Google search I’ve not read all these in much depth just a scan:

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/archive/ldn/2009/apr/09042308

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/43210/title/Science_+_the_Public__Birth_control_pills_can_limit_muscle-training_gains

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/43210/title/Science_+_the_Public__Birth_control_pills_can_limit_muscle-training_gains

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090417084014.htm

dad106

I take the pill and have been lifting since January with the help of a trainer and on my own, and I've increased my strength a lot.
I can also see my muscles more now that the layer of fat is gone.

Also to point out, you've been lifting for two weeks.. you can't expect to increase weights that quickly. It takes time before you can increase weights.. rush that process and your going to injure yourself. You know it's time to increase when you can't lift to failure anymore.. and are doing 20 reps of an exercise. You want to keep your reps between the 8-12 range.

Stick with it.. and you'll be seeing more strength soon.

PinkAndSparkle

I've been on the pill for 6 years and lifted weights the whole time. I have muscle definition and a lot of strength. I wouldn't read too much into that...
As for the sex drive, have you considered switching pills? That can be a side effect, but it does not have to be! I've been on every pill under the sun, and tried each one until I found one with minimal side effects (including a normal libido).

MrsRipdizzle

I take the pill and have been lifting since January with the help of a trainer and on my own, and I've increased my strength a lot.
I can also see my muscles more now that the layer of fat is gone.

Also to point out, you've been lifting for two weeks.. you can't expect to increase weights that quickly. It takes time before you can increase weights.. rush that process and your going to injure yourself. You know it's time to increase when you can't lift to failure anymore.. and are doing 20 reps of an exercise. You want to keep your reps between the 8-12 range.

Stick with it.. and you'll be seeing more strength soon.

She's in week 2 of LEAN - that's the last phase...meaning she's already completed at least 10 weeks of lifting (each phase lasts 30 days). Chalean Extreme starts you doing 10-12 reps in the first phase...then 6-8 reps in Push Phase (lifting as heavy as you can, to failure), and in the lean phase you scale back your weights just a wee bit and do the 10-12 reps again but in compound movements/sets. (Just wanted to clarify that for her as she is working at it and she's concerned because she isn't seeing strength increases, as is common at this point in a strength training routine.)

MrsRipdizzle

I've been on the pill for 6 years and lifted weights the whole time. I have muscle definition and a lot of strength. I wouldn't read too much into that...
As for the sex drive, have you considered switching pills? That can be a side effect, but it does not have to be! I've been on every pill under the sun, and tried each one until I found one with minimal side effects (including a normal libido).

Which one would that be?
I've been on BC for ten years...tried many forms as well...and not a single one has left me with my libido in tact. / I finally said to hell with it and got off BC (this latest try was ortho-tricyclin lo) in August. My husband couldn't be happier! Actually, *I* couldn't be happier. It's nice to feel like I'm 18 again with regards to the sex drive! haha! I told him to watch out...I've got ten years to make up for. ;o)

MrsT99

Thanks jade999a you stopped me needing to explain that!

dad106

I take the pill and have been lifting since January with the help of a trainer and on my own, and I've increased my strength a lot.
I can also see my muscles more now that the layer of fat is gone.

Also to point out, you've been lifting for two weeks.. you can't expect to increase weights that quickly. It takes time before you can increase weights.. rush that process and your going to injure yourself. You know it's time to increase when you can't lift to failure anymore.. and are doing 20 reps of an exercise. You want to keep your reps between the 8-12 range.

Stick with it.. and you'll be seeing more strength soon.

She's in week 2 of LEAN - that's the last phase...meaning she's already completed at least 10 weeks of lifting (each phase lasts 30 days). Chalean Extreme starts you doing 10-12 reps in the first phase...then 6-8 reps in Push Phase (lifting as heavy as you can, to failure), and in the lean phase you scale back your weights just a wee bit and do the 10-12 reps again but in compound movements/sets. (Just wanted to clarify that for her as she is working at it and she's concerned because she isn't seeing strength increases, as is common at this point in a strength training routine.)

You have it backwards.. She's seeing strength increase, but the weight she's lifting is not increasing like she thinks it should.

As I stated earlier, it takes time for weight to increase.. and if she hasn't seen these weights in a bit, it's going to take her body sometime to get re-adjusted to them.

MrsRipdizzle

I take the pill and have been lifting since January with the help of a trainer and on my own, and I've increased my strength a lot.
I can also see my muscles more now that the layer of fat is gone.

Also to point out, you've been lifting for two weeks.. you can't expect to increase weights that quickly. It takes time before you can increase weights.. rush that process and your going to injure yourself. You know it's time to increase when you can't lift to failure anymore.. and are doing 20 reps of an exercise. You want to keep your reps between the 8-12 range.

Stick with it.. and you'll be seeing more strength soon.

She's in week 2 of LEAN - that's the last phase...meaning she's already completed at least 10 weeks of lifting (each phase lasts 30 days). Chalean Extreme starts you doing 10-12 reps in the first phase...then 6-8 reps in Push Phase (lifting as heavy as you can, to failure), and in the lean phase you scale back your weights just a wee bit and do the 10-12 reps again but in compound movements/sets. (Just wanted to clarify that for her as she is working at it and she's concerned because she isn't seeing strength increases, as is common at this point in a strength training routine.)

You have it backwards.. She's seeing strength increase, but the weight she's lifting is not increasing like she thinks it should.

As I stated earlier, it takes time for weight to increase.. and if she hasn't seen these weights in a bit, it's going to take her body sometime to get re-adjusted to them.

No - she said her strength has developed...that doesn't imply increased. If her strength increased, her weights would have increased as well. I'm also doing CLX and in the PUSH phase - she's beyond me about 2.5-3 weeks at this point. I've seen my strength increase greatly since starting the program and every week or two weeks I'm able to add a bit more weight than I was able to do before. I think if your strength is increasing this is what should be happening - every couple of weeks (or maybe even in less time depending on many factors) you should be able to increase the weight you are lifting as you are getting stronger.
I think 2.5 months is plenty of time to see some strength increases (increased weights that you can lift). Perhaps this has nothing to do with BC...as there are other factors involved in building muscle (for instance, is she getting enough protein, is she eating in deficit versus surprlus, etc)...but her point is simply to ask if people are aware of this "news" about the pill as she's questioning if this could be affecting her progress.

HeidiMightyRawr

This is the main reason why I stopped taking the pill in April. I did a little research into the effects of the pill on strength and read that it can increase cortisol levels, which can in turn lower natural testosterone levels and hinder muscle gains.This can also makes it harder to lower body fat past a certain level, I think 15/16%.

There was a study done on women who were all starting a strength training program. They both did the same exercises and got a decent amount of protein. The ones that were on the pill had significantly less muscle gains than the ones not taking the pill. Strength gains didn't differ much but but I'm assuming that was because they were new to it. After a while, when you get to a certain level, having less muscle would likely be impacting on your strength.

Note: You CAN still gain muscle on the pill. It doesn't stop it or make it impossible, I was on the pill for years and gained muscle while on it and I'm sure many others did too. It likely just makes it harder to get as much as others.
I'd love to compete in power-lifting competitions in the future so even if it's only a slight bit I don't want anything holding me back.

I chose not to take other hormonal contraceptives as I just assumed they'd have similar problems, and was ready to move away from adding extra hormones in my body anyway. Just sticking to non hormonal stuff at the moment (ie condoms)

MrsT99

I'm thinking I may just give them a break for a few months just using condoms too then re-evaluate.

Edited to add I don't feel that strength training has not worked for me I feel great but as said I feel that I may not have progressed as quickly and it looks like this may *potentially* contribute. I think I may start the program again once finished once I am off them and compare.........

jess_blonde

Plus it has killed my sex drive quite considerably and all things considered I’m definitely ready to move on. However most alternatives seem to also involve hormones which I can only presume would have the same effects as the pill. So taking out anything hormone related and anything that I would have to use just prior to sex (ie condom, diaphragm etc) it looks like the option is the coil type implant which looks a bit scary.

Thanks in advance!

While I'll admit that getting an IUD inserted can be a daunting sort of thing to go through, it is absolutely worth it in the long run in my opinion. I've had mine for six months and it is the best decision I've made! My sex drive came back with a vengeance once I got off hormones (I was using the NuvaRing) and I've found it a thousand times easier to lose weight than when I was on hormonal birth control. I never did a lot of strength training on HBC so I can't really speak to that.