Fit Smokers?
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I don't know if an answer can be had for those that do smoke. If they smoke, is there a way to tell the difference since there are not periods of non-smoking? Does that make sense? It's like there isn't a way to compare.
This is what I was thinking.0 -
I am a runner and a smoker (1/2-1 pack/day). I will be heading out for a long run in a few minutes, said run will be somewhere between 1 1/2 and 2 hrs - which I will immediately follow with a cigarette. So yes, it's possible.
I don't know that I'm "fit", and since I've only ever run as a smoker, I can't say whether it's hurting my fitness or not. If I get around to quitting, maybe I'll have the non-smoker side as a comparison.
Sorry-don't have much to offer to the discussion I guess.
This is sort of what I'm curious about. Do you feel that the cigarettes limit your performance? I assume if you can haul butt for 90 minutes you probably don't have shortness of breath climbing stairs, etc. I have no idea if this question seems silly or not, but have you ever stopped during a run for like a 'smoke break' and then resumed running? When is your last smoke prior to going for a run? (If you don't mind me asking - - it's just an extremely interesting concept.)
I honestly can't tell you if smoking impacts me-because of exactly what spade said-I don't have a non-smoking version for comparison. I would guess that I'd be a faster runner if I didn't smoke, but I really don't know.
I walk for a few minutes to warm up & cool down before/after a run. I usually have a smoke during the warm up & the cool down. I don't take "smoke breaks" during a run-although I've considered the idea lol. The reason I don't isn't due to the absurdity of the idea (sadly), it's because I can't start up again if I stop (same is true for tried "walk breaks" and water stops and anything other than just running).
I will say that the extra 75 lbs of lard I was dragging around made me winded going up the stairs (with or without smoking).0 -
OK DON'T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER EVERY ONE IS NOT PERFECT I am a SMOKER and i am not going be SHAME ABOUT THIS IS HONEST TALKING RIGHT HERE I HAVE BEEN SMOKING SINCE I WAS 15 IN THE SCHOOL DAYS AND I AM 28 AND STILL SMOKING I DID UP WHEN I WAS CARRYING MY BOTH CHILDREN BUT THEN STARTED AGAIN I REASON I SMOKE IS CAUSE OF STRESS SOME PEOPLE GO THOUGH OUT LOT IN THERE PAST WELL I DON'T KNOW ABOUT OTHERS BUT I HAVE BEEN TO HELL AND BACK I LOOK AT A SMOKE AS A FRIEND AND I LET IT OUT ONCE I AM DONE I SMOKE A PACK A DAY AND I STILL AM ABLE TO MAKE IT THOUGH THE DAY WITHOUT NOT ME RACKED SMOKING IS UP TO WHO WANT TO SMOKE THEY SHOULD NOT JUDGE OTHER ITS THEIR LIFE IF THEY WANNA THEN SMOKE IF NOT THEN DONT I AM GOING TO BE HONEST HERE NOW EVERY MORNING BEFORE I GO TO THE GYM I HAVE A SMOKE I WORK OUT FOR LIKE 1 HOUR AND HALF AND I AM OK I LOOK IT AS A COMFIT AND THEN I COME AFTER THE GYM I HAVE ANOTHER BUT YES I WOULD LOVE TO GIVE UP WHEN I AM READY AND NOT WHEN SOMEONE GIVES ME **** ABOUT IT I AM FIT IN A WAY I CAN CANDLE IT I WOULD SAY DON'T JUDGE OTHERS LOOK AT YOUR SELF BEFORE YOU DO
I BETTER I AM GOING TO GET A OF BAD COMMENTS ABOUT THIS0 -
I smoked when i first started working out... I was out of shape too, but i think that the smoking was'nt really helping. I thought running 1 mile was amazing... Lol. I adapted to it quickly but my breathing would get weezy and i'd cough a lot after. I Ran my first 5K when i still smoked and i think my time was about 30mins, It's not that great but considering I did'nt run much before then i think it was good. I think after awhile though, smoking did'nt effect much of my cardio... But when i would quit and then chain smoke when i went out, my lungs felt so gross the next day... yuckkk. But i might have just been choosing to ignore what it was doing to my lungs before. either way, getting healthy has made me quit
And now i don't even think about smoking. 0 -
When I was in my late 20s and early 30s I used to do an incredible amount of cycling, which included time trials and a couple of triathlons. I ran a 10k in 41m19s. But I was quite a heavy smoker. Later in life, I gave up the exercise but not the cigarettes and my health suffered badly for it. I haven't smoked for a number of years and I can clearly tell that not smoking has a significant impact on the way I feel, which is obviously in a more positive way. It is a major regret I have in life to have been a smoker. If I could do 10ks in around 40 mins as a smoker, I certainly feel that doing them in 35mins would have been achieveable if I had never smoked.0
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Smoking is always bad, no matter what....0
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I smoke about 10-20 cigs per week. Some days I don't smoke at all. Other days I smoke most of my allotment for the week. I did notice ill effects from smoking on my workouts when I smoked a pack a day and worked in a bar with tons of second-hand smoke. At that time I didn't see the benefits of quitting because I would still be smoking everyone else's cigs via their second-hand smoke.
Now I don't really notice much of anything. Even when I mention it to doctors, they tell me I probably should quit but often say "oh that's not so bad" and prioritize it below some of the other things they think I should do for my health. I also run, although I just started again. Like the other poster, I did C25K for a couple of weeks and quit when I realized I could already run most of it straight. If I ever got out of working in bars, I would quit. It's not legal to smoke inside now in my state, but I do keep smoking because I don't get any other breaks and it's the only way I can get away from customers for a minute and avoid committing homicide against a customer. I am not allowed to leave for any other reason except to use the restroom. So I smoke for a way to get away!
On the days I don't work, I don't smoke.0 -
I believe that people who smoke CAN be fitter than people who do not smoke.
On an individual basis, common sense and studies suggest people will have better lung capacity, endurance etc as a non-smoker. Similarly, if the same person has 20kg of excess weight, you would assume they would be fitter/healthier if they dropped the 20kg.
Over the last decade or more I have gone from smoking a pack a day every day for years to not smoking for 6 months to smoking on the weekends and everything in between.
In that same decade I've been 20kg heavier and 7kg lighter but I certainly feel that the last 3 years or so I have been the healthiest and fittest I have ever been, and have unconsciously diminished the amount I smoke down to nothing over the last couple of weeks. (Not because I feel it diminishes my performance but because it is just not doing anything enjoyable for me anymore.)
So yes, I think you can have fit smokers. But they will probably be even fitter as non-smokers.
And smoking 1/2 a pack on a night out probably won't do much other than to make your hangover that bit more unpleasant.0 -
My partner smokes a fair bit, and never exercises. I have never smoked and exercise daily. When he decides to exercise with me (rare), he has way more energy and stamina. It's very possible to be fit and a smoker 0
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I run 25-35 miles per week in addition to once-a-week spinning, yoga, and zumba.
12% body fat, cholesterol, blood pressure, all well within the "healthy" range for a nearly 40-year-old man.
Completed my second marathon several weeks ago with a 3:48:00 finish time.
I have smoked for 17 years. I am down to about 4 packs a week now, gradually decreasing because that is the only way it is going to work for me.
Preaching and scolding does not work, friends. If you really want to help someone quit smoking, encourage them without nagging and understand that there will be times that we REALLY feel we "need" a cigarette. Try one time to talk us out of it by suggesting a different activity, and if it doesn't work, then LET IT GO. The more you nag and throw the "what an idiotic thing to do to your body" type lines at us, the LESS helpful that is. All that serves is to make you feel better about YOURSELF, actually.
So in answer to the OP, yes. You can be fit and still be a smoker. I am. I am working very hard on eliminating the "smoker" part so I can improve to the next level of fitness I want to attain, and that is to get faster and run longer.0 -
My husband is former Army, and had a drill instructor that would chain smoke, including while on 10 mile runs. I suppose it's possible to condition yourself to be fit and be a smoker, but that doesn't make it healthy.0
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I think there's a YMMV element to this. I've seen smokers with amazing fitness. Would they have been able to achieve even more had they never smoked, or quit early on? No one knows -- it's not evident from looking at them.
Other people, it's quite evident. The last time I had to be admitted to the hospital for severe status asthmaticus (a several days long asthma attack that my regular medication couldn't stop,) I was asked whether I smoked. Being a smart*ss, I gasped out,
"I guess if I did, I'd be dead." Whereupon the doctor taking care of me looked up and, deadly serious, said
"Yep."
The point of the anecdote is that smoking doesn't affect everyone the same. I do, however, believe that, as a general rule, it's immeasurably better to quit.0 -
I don't know of any smoker who has ever claimed that it is a healthy habit. I am fully aware of the health problems caused by smoking, which is why I have worked as hard as I have to decrease my dependence on it and then quit. None of us who smoke think we are doing a good thing for our body--the question was by the original poster whether you can be "fit" and still smoke. The answer is YES. However, I can be a LOT more fit by quitting smoking while continuing my fitness routine. So that's what I'm working on.My husband is former Army, and had a drill instructor that would chain smoke, including while on 10 mile runs. I suppose it's possible to condition yourself to be fit and be a smoker, but that doesn't make it healthy.0 -
My view is that you may well have a high fitness functionality as a smoker and feel you can get away with it while you can perform - in some cases - better than those who are non smoking.
However, smoking sometimes has a way of seeming fine and then suddenly turning around and biting you in the *kitten*. You may get away with smoking and fitness for years but once you are diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pullmonary Disorder there is no coming back to full health; no return from Lung Cancer or Heart Disease.
I was a commuting cyclist, runner and dancer into my thirties and used smoking to control my weight. I didn't think it affected my performance.
So to answer the original post, and I believe with respect to the original poster's wishes, I feel you can perform well and appear to be fit and smoke - until your lottery numbers come up and then you get very unfit very quickly.
(Non-self righteous ex-smoker)0 -
I smoked for 10 years, and during those 10 years I pushed through gym classes and countless workouts. Then when I quit smoking for 2 months I didn't really notice any difference in my workouts, but when I started smoking again I was breathless within 10 minutes (I'm a pack a day smoker keep in mind) so I quit the exercise instead of the cigarettes lol. A year later I decided to quit smoking again, this was 2 months ago. After 1 month of eating a ton I realized I gained 15 lbs in a month so here I am working out again lol.
If you aren't experiencing any shortness of breath or chest pain during exercise I would say that its very possible to be a fit smoker, being a fit smoker is much better then being a smoker who does no physical activity!0 -
I've yet to quit and can't offer any comparisons, but I was just reading Allen Carr's 'Easy Way To Quit Smoking and came across this...
'It is a fallacy that smokers are weak-willed and physically weak specimens. You have to be physically strong in order to cope with the poison.'
I thought it seemed relevant to the discussion.0 -
My father was a moderately successful college athlete and then rigorous weekend athlete, all while smoking. He quit around 30 years ago, when he was in his 50s. Six weeks ago, he had a lobe of his lung removed because of lung cancer, which probably was caused by smoking. He's still in the hospital and is struggling with breathing. It's not pretty.
(Non-self-righteous never smoker. Both my parents smoked and if we'd started they would have kicked our a$$es. I'm grateful because i wouldn't want to struggle with an addiction. Both my parents quit decades ago, but both are suffering from illnesses that probably were caused by the previous smoking. The only safe period for which to smoke is NEVER. In 30 years, it will be too late to do anything.)0 -
My father was a moderately successful college athlete and then rigorous weekend athlete, all while smoking. He quit around 30 years ago, when he was in his 50s. Six weeks ago, he had a lobe of his lung removed because of lung cancer, which probably was caused by smoking. He's still in the hospital and is struggling with breathing. It's not pretty.
I'm very sorry to hear of what your father is going through. That must be very difficult for him... and for you.0 -
My father was a moderately successful college athlete and then rigorous weekend athlete, all while smoking. He quit around 30 years ago, when he was in his 50s. Six weeks ago, he had a lobe of his lung removed because of lung cancer, which probably was caused by smoking. He's still in the hospital and is struggling with breathing. It's not pretty.
I'm very sorry to hear of what your father is going through. That must be very difficult for him... and for you.
Thank you. I appreciate it. Imagine every breath taken being a struggle. I thought that people who quit years ago were in the clear. Not true.0 -
I don smoke traditional cigarettes, I switched to electronic 2 yrs ago, it gives me my nicotiene fix without the tar etc. I hav noticed a huge difference in my capacity to exercise, and I Can "smoke" wherever I want, at work, bars etc. I would never judg a smoker but the electronic cigarettes have worked for me.0
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I'm not sure I'm fit yet although I am more so than ever before and a smoker. I smoke around 1/2 to a pack a day and try to workout everyday for 30min to an hour. I typically feel weak when pushing my limits especially when lifting but can out run and out lift my non-smoker gym buddy. We joined the gym at the same time at similar weights and I can now run 30 min, dead lift 150 lbs, where she walks and still has yet to attempt a dead lift. Does this make me more fit even though I smoke and she doesn't? I honestly think I just push harder.
Perhaps there is an extra barrier to being a fit person and a smoker but I have seen people finish a marathon and light up so yeah I believe those people are fit smokers.
I do wish to quit smoking but after multiple attempts must admitt I can't do it alone and I am saving up for Chantix or something to help me out due to insurance not covering those quit drugs.0 -
As a smoker of 30+ years, I do agree that you can be fitter than alot of non-smokers, especially if you train more than them. I do, however, believe that over the years the smoking does catch up on you. I have returned to weight training after an absence of 15yrs, and find my chest / lungs burn like hell when seriously stressed on those last couple of reps. Something that never used to happen when I was younger. This may just be an age thing anyway ... but in my mind I'm convinced its the smokes. Of course I would prefer to be a non-smoker, but after so many attempts over the years, I've given up giving up! lol. So I will continue to smoke and pump (not at same time, you understand) and just have to work that bit harder to overcome the poison I'm inhaling. One day I will stub out my last ciggie ... who knows ... I might even still be alive afterwards! ;o)0
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I am a couple of years older than you and I can say it is the smokes. When I started back up running while still smoking it hurt and was nearly impossible. The discomfort went away quickly when I quit smoking.As a smoker of 30+ years, I do agree that you can be fitter than alot of non-smokers, especially if you train more than them. I do, however, believe that over the years the smoking does catch up on you. I have returned to weight training after an absence of 15yrs, and find my chest / lungs burn like hell when seriously stressed on those last couple of reps. Something that never used to happen when I was younger. This may just be an age thing anyway ... but in my mind I'm convinced its the smokes. Of course I would prefer to be a non-smoker, but after so many attempts over the years, I've given up giving up! lol. So I will continue to smoke and pump (not at same time, you understand) and just have to work that bit harder to overcome the poison I'm inhaling. One day I will stub out my last ciggie ... who knows ... I might even still be alive afterwards! ;o)
I smoked on and off from 14 to 51. I quit a few times, several for a year or more, but always restarted. This time I quit using an ecig and was able to stop immediately and have stayed quit for over 2 years. You still get the nicotine without all the other bad stuff. Google "Volcano ecig" if interested.0 -
My husband is a smoker and he can outrun me, speed and endurance. And I run more frequently than he does too.0
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I smoked for 33 years (was a pack a day smoker at least 20 of those years), and managed to BE fit for a long time. I smoked all through my military life and did five years of martial arts with being a smoker.
I quit a year ago and am working on getting fit again. When I was a younger smoker trying to stay fit, I had no issues. As I got older, it became more challenging in that I would get winded easier.
It is possible to do both, but not forever.0 -
I am a couple of years older than you and I can say it is the smokes. When I started back up running while still smoking it hurt and was nearly impossible. The discomfort went away quickly when I quit smoking.As a smoker of 30+ years, I do agree that you can be fitter than alot of non-smokers, especially if you train more than them. I do, however, believe that over the years the smoking does catch up on you. I have returned to weight training after an absence of 15yrs, and find my chest / lungs burn like hell when seriously stressed on those last couple of reps. Something that never used to happen when I was younger. This may just be an age thing anyway ... but in my mind I'm convinced its the smokes. Of course I would prefer to be a non-smoker, but after so many attempts over the years, I've given up giving up! lol. So I will continue to smoke and pump (not at same time, you understand) and just have to work that bit harder to overcome the poison I'm inhaling. One day I will stub out my last ciggie ... who knows ... I might even still be alive afterwards! ;o)
I smoked on and off from 14 to 51. I quit a few times, several for a year or more, but always restarted. This time I quit using an ecig and was able to stop immediately and have stayed quit for over 2 years. You still get the nicotine without all the other bad stuff. Google "Volcano ecig" if interested.
Thanks for the link Scott ... and well done on the quitting ... and the running!0 -
I enjoy a smoke now and then I don't worry to much only live a short life everyone has different goals do what it take to get to yours if you can fit smoking into it and still reach your goal then great then reach for another goal simple but bottom line is
You know smoking is stupid. You know you're gambling with cancer, stroke, and other health issues. But did you know you're also sabotaging your strength training?
"Smoking places carbon monoxide in your system, which prevents your muscles from getting as much oxygen to use for energy," says Scott Swartzwelder, Ph.D., a clinical professor of medical psychology at Duke University. "The less oxygen your muscles have to draw from, the less efficient they are at contracting, which can limit their capacity for work."
As for alcohol, it can cover your abs with a layer of lard and interfere with hormones that help build them. "Drinking alcohol on a regular basis can also keep your testosterone levels lower than usual and decrease muscle mass," says Swartzwelder.
Fix it: Quit smoking, and don't worry about becoming a cold-turkey butterball. "Getting in at least 30 minutes of exercise three or four times a week not only helps control body weight, but can also produce positive psychological effects that might diminish the need to smoke," says Swartzwelder. Drinking moderately (two drinks or less per day) won't harm testosterone levels and can actually improve your cardiovascular health, he says.0 -
I smoke 1 1/2 packs of marlboro menthol 100's a day. I lift, do occasional cardio, and smoking hasn't caused me any noticeable problems. That being said, I'd love to quit because I know it's not good for me long term, but it hasn't affected my fitness.0
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Sorry but a 'fit smoker' is an oxymoron! I know you don't want to hear it, but quitting is really the biggest, most important decision you can make for your health over and above healthy eating and exercising. You've made a step by trying to quit. Go the whole hog and kick the sickarette entirely to the kerb. I quit 6 months ago and I'd struggled for years quitting half heardely. A quit smoking forum like this one offers great support http://www.quitsmokingmessageboard.com/. It has no hold on me now. Not meaning to sound smug just some tough love, you've lost weight and look great you can do this!
So OP sends me this message
(... snip...)
Nice guy. Only trying to help. Can't edit my post now time has lapsed. Plus, last time I checked, the internet is a place where people ask for opinions and people give them. You can't dictate to people to edit their posts. Chill! Think you need a smoke!
I have reported your post. It is against the community guidelines to publicly post a private conversation.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/welcome/guidelines
Do you not realize your OP was against the rules? You can't specify who replies to your thread. #15 in the link you posted above.0 -
I smoke hookah about once every 2 months or so. Sometimes I feel winded the next day, sometimes not. My friend said hookah is equivalent to 50 cigarettes. I dunno, I should probably not do it anymore.0
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