causes the testosterone levels to raise in our body. This can lead to
increased sebum production and even water retention, the two factors
that, according to the Wai-theory, must be present for acne to form.
Conclusion: elevated testosterone can cause acne by itself, even if
one eats no munch foods and stay within your own 'safe' amount of
raw protein.
All this in mind, one can assume that heavy weight lifting is not
a good idea for most acne sufferers. For me, and I am sure I am
not the only one, it is rather painful to sit around and feel my muscle
mass decreasing, day after day.
So, I asked RRM how he works out, without causing a testosterone
mayhem in his body. This discussion can be found in this thread:
viewtopic.php?t=1821
To be very short, RRM does isolating exercises, one specific
muscle each day, 1-2 sets to failure. About 25-50 reps.
That means not very heavy weights/resistance.
I tried this for a while, but not long enough to see if it does the trick,
because I got repetitive strain injury in my wrist (because of
working with a computer all day) and had to stop weight lifting
until my wrist gets better (I am currently doing shock wave treatment
at a physiotherapist.
While not working out because of my wrist injury (except some sit ups,
walking and some cross country skiing) I have had even more time
to think about working out
I have a question, or rather a hypothesis, about how to combat
the workout>testosterone>acne issue.
First, can someone tell me which of the following is true (or is both?)
1. Heavy workouts causes a temporary increase in serum testosterone.
2. A person who has a lot of muscle mass has constantly higher
serum testosterone levels.
If only the first statement is true, then RRM's method makes sense.
It engages only one muscle at the time and does not put the body
under massive stress for an extended period of time, like conventional
weight lifting does. On the other hand, it does probably cause some,
even if very minor, increase in testosterone levels.
My theory is that it might be better to do a really heavy, full blown,
full body hardcore power building session, but only once a week.
I am talking about a real macho workout, bench press, squats,
dead lifts, chins, dips, leg press and so on. All the works, all the
muscle groups. This will indeed cause a much higher temporary
increase in testosterone levels than RRM's workouts does.
My point is, while RRM's method requires you to work out every day
(leading to some raise in testosterone levels on a daily basis), this
allows you to work out only once a week. Some precautions can be
taken to counteract the temporary increase in testosterone levels
and the increase in sebum production and the possible water retention
caused by it, such as taking sauna/steam bath the same day as working
out and the day after, drinking more water than usual etc. Keep in mind
that this increase in testosterone levels will only take place once a week.
The rest of the week, one can practise 'active rest', like walking, yoga,
stretching or slow paced biking etc. These are not testosterone boosting
activities, and helps the body to heal the muscle tissue broken down
by the heavy workout.
I know such a training program can effectively build muscle and strength,
as I have done a similar training regimen before. The problem is, I was
not then on the Wai diet (had lots of/some acne all the time) and
therefore I do not know if this causes a bigger testosterone issue,
over all, than doing RRM's workout plan.
I would have loved to test this on myself, and probably will, but
right now I have the wrist injury, plus I am not 100% clear yet.
I still get blackheads on my back/shoulders, and some in my face
and the odd pimple here and there.
Right now I am just throwing this out there, to see if anyone has
an opinion or even better, someone wants to put my theory
to the test
)