Korean Job Discussion Forums

[wylies99]

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200705/200705080012.html


Beware of Quick-Fix Muscle Building

Every year around this time, people rush to the gym to sweat away at the weights so they can build up some muscle and tone for the beach. But this year's weight training fever seems of a different order again.
It�s apparently inspired by the cartoonish heroes of the movie "300.� Apparently, the film�s �stars� built up their bulk within just eight weeks to look like a child�s idea of Spartan soldiers. On the Internet, forums debate how to develop such big muscles in such a short time. Another cultural phenomenon feeding into the frenzy is the newly acquired stardom of swimmer Park Tae-hwan. But the craze is by no means confined to men.

Kim Chung-soo, a 32-year-old office worker, started weight training two months ago to be ready to shows off his body when the summer comes. He works out intensively, including 100 push-ups and sit-ups for two hours. He is prepared to suffer: while he has built up some bulk, he has also got diarrhea from the protein supplements he takes. Kang Young-soo (30) works out in a gym during lunchtime. He started to work out by himself to save on the gym fees, but after 15 days, he got severe pains in his shoulder and was diagnosed with overuse syndrome. Now he has to have surgery because of inflammation of shoulder muscles and bone.

Experts warn that building up muscles too fast can cause serious side effects. People who want to shape their body in a hurry tend to stuff themselves with high-protein foods. Thinking that a high protein intake will help build muscles, they get 30 percent of their daily calories from protein, consuming lots of chicken, eggs and adding protein supplements to boot. But too much protein can increase low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, which is linked to circulation problems, heart disease and arteriosclerosis. It also harms the kidneys.

"The nitrogen produced when protein is dissolved can harm the kidneys,� says Prof. Jin Young-Soo of Asan Medical Center. �Too much protein is bad for you unless you are a professional athlete who works out more than five hours a day." Lifting weights without warm-up exercises can also be a problem. Sudden muscle exercise causes small tears to the tissue, and those can become inflamed. Weight training can also cause shoulder joint problems. Before weight training, warm up by riding an exercise bike for at least 10 minutes. Don�t start weight training until your pulse reaches 120.

After weight training, stretching is indispensable. People tend to neglect aerobic exercises and only focus on weight training when they are in a hurry to build up muscle. But heavy weight training without aerobic exercise can cause hear trouble because the heart cannot catch up with muscle development and become exhausted pumping blood to the muscles.

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[wylies99]

[Alyallen]

[mashuu]

I hope there are Korean versions of this article in all the major newspapers and even the free subway ones. The less people clogging up the gyms, the better. If people are hurting themselves its because they don't know what they're doing and won't be in the gym trying to tell me what to do. Oh, and I've never heard of heart damage "because the heart cannot catch up with muscle development and become exhausted pumping blood to the muscles" in anyone other than steroid abusers. Keep the pseudo-science coming! Did you know exercise is bad??????

[indytrucks]

[jinju]

Indy,

you know they are all medical experts here, dont you?

[Alyallen]

[jinju]

[wylies99]

[Alyallen]

[Chillin' Villain]

In some ways this article is annoying. My girlfriend and a number of my students are familiar with my nearly-religious gym schedule, and that I use protein and BCAA supplements PROPERLY and in MODERATION. This article must've been on the main page of Naver or something, because in the space of the last twelve hours I've had people (including my gf) giving me grave warnings about how the stuff will kill me. ANNOYING. I've been reading about, keeping informed about, and safely practicing supplementation/training/diet for years now, and after reading one (slightly alarmist) article, everyone suddenly knows that supps and training like a horse are akin to swallowing golf balls whole.

How-eh-vah!

It is also a necessary article. In the space of the last few months I have seen innumerable dumbasses in the gym pouring random powders down their maws at random moments, using lifting straps for presses (haha), and dumping plates all over the floor after trying to bench a weight they can't handle without spotters. This is like, DAILY.

So hopefully a few of them do get a wake-up call from the article, realize that they're not gonna look like Leonidas (sic?) after a month of gym-primping, and go back home to Starcraft.

[wylies99]

Telling people to be smart while exercising is one thing. This article makes it sound like exercise and increased protein WILL harm you.

[Chillin' Villain]

[Ilsanman]

Is this just yet another example for Koreans being typical Koreans?

[Paji eh Wong]