Aspirin And Bodybuilding - Do They Mix?

[Lokzo]

Aspirin can lower Cortisol too much, and makes me weak

I agree here. Lowering cortisol too far can make me feel horrendous.

 

[Kyle Bigman]

I don't really think it's a great idea to take it around training. It can stunt hypertrophy and adaptation:

https://www.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/japplphysiol.00044.2013

I'm interested in taking it during off weeks though, after a couple days of my body healing on its own (96hrs roughly) I'm thinking taking it after this point would just aid in decreasing any lingering inflammation that would interfere with androgen synthesis. In trying to get a concensus on this from experiences users though.

Just started aspirin. Could be a coincidence but I also got my first injury from lifting (I have lifted for the past 5-6 years) ––a minor pec tear. Could it be due to aspirins not allowing for full repair, thereby causing a repeated strain type injury?

 

[Jon]

Just started aspirin. Could be a coincidence but I also got my first injury from lifting (I have lifted for the past 5-6 years) ––a minor pec tear. Could it be due to aspirins not allowing for full repair, thereby causing a repeated strain type injury?

I don’t think it’s far off that the aspirin affected you negatively. I have training logs where I experimented with aspirin and every time I wrote down that I was weak, easily fatigued, and had to stop early because I feared injury. Aspirin hinders satellite cell activity meaning they can not fuse tears in your fibers. Unless you already have too high of inflammation and the inflammatory markers that go hand in hand with such a state, aspirin will not help you be better.

Would it be stupid to take aspirin if one has low cortisol? Sometimes I think I have low cortisol because when I take aspirin I can get really spacey and feel a little dissociated from my body. It blunts my emotions. It could be something else but it seems like a high correlation.

I had a similar experience with high dose vitamin E. I felt basically anemic, I spaced out all the time, lost my breath during long winded conversations, and yawned incessantly. Aspirin will lower your test when taken chronically. Also, too low of cortisol can actually mean you have worked yourself into a reverse cortisol circadian rhythm where cortisol is released at night instead of rising beginning at dawn(ish) and peaking when waking. This may mean that you need to take a break (1-3 weeks off of training) make sure you’re eating adequately, and sleeping plenty. When I’ve suggested this to other trainees on the forum they notice the firs 4 days off is relatively miserable as you begin to rebound from SNS dominance and your body begins repairing damage from chronic overuse injuries that have been masked by a numbed nervous system. They had trouble sleeping at first and/or get vivid dreams or nightmares as the serotonin wears off. But by the end of week two they have a high libido, better sleep, and much improved sense of well being. When I did this I raised my testosterone substantially.

 

[Kyle Bigman]

I don’t think it’s far off that the aspirin affected you negatively. I have training logs where I experimented with aspirin and every time I wrote down that I was weak, easily fatigued, and had to stop early because I feared injury. Aspirin hinders satellite cell activity meaning they can not fuse tears in your fibers. Unless you already have too high of inflammation and the inflammatory markers that go hand in hand with such a state, aspirin will not help you be better.



I had a similar experience with high dose vitamin E. I felt basically anemic, I spaced out all the time, lost my breath during long winded conversations, and yawned incessantly. Aspirin will lower your test when taken chronically. Also, too low of cortisol can actually mean you have worked yourself into a reverse cortisol circadian rhythm where cortisol is released at night instead of rising beginning at dawn(ish) and peaking when waking. This may mean that you need to take a break (1-3 weeks off of training) make sure you’re eating adequately, and sleeping plenty. When I’ve suggested this to other trainees on the forum they notice the firs 4 days off is relatively miserable as you begin to rebound from SNS dominance and your body begins repairing damage from chronic overuse injuries that have been masked by a numbed nervous system. They had trouble sleeping at first and/or get vivid dreams or nightmares as the serotonin wears off. But by the end of week two they have a high libido, better sleep, and much improved sense of well being. When I did this I raised my testosterone substantially.

Thanks, I might try this or de-load at the very least. Also, I am trying to get off aspirin but I fear that I have to take it at least 1x per week because I have heard scary stories about withdrawal, or rebound effects when stopping aspirin that causes blood clotting or heart attacks. Do you think I can just stop taking cold turkey or are my fears reasonable?

 

[Jon]

Thanks, I might try this or de-load at the very least. Also, I am trying to get off aspirin but I fear that I have to take it at least 1x per week because I have heard scary stories about withdrawal, or rebound effects when stopping aspirin that causes blood clotting or heart attacks. Do you think I can just stop taking cold turkey or are my fears reasonable?

If you do have sns dominance, a deload won’t really help. TBH I think deloads aren’t a great idea for someone interested in hypertrophy because they keep the cns ramped up and make a body resistant to training. A week off is superior imo.

Anyway, yeah I think you’d be smart to ween off. Just cut your original dose down by a 1/4 every week until you’re down to 1/4 of a tablet (80mg for adult aspirin, 20mg for a baby aspirin) and then once you’ve taken the 1/4 tablet for a week you could probably cease usage without any clotting issues.

 

[GorillaHead]

I have been using 650mg of aspirin,500mg of b3 and 200mg of b1 pre-workout for 3 months now.
My results have been 4lbs of muscle gain and 10% increase in strength...
I am not a beginner either btw,I have 375lb 1 rep max.

Why b3 and b1?

Also guys aspirin is not good for bodybuilding. This was discovered in the 1970s. They dropped aspirin. What aspirin does help with is boost stamina. It’s mainly beneficial for runners rather than bodybuilders.

Like cyprophetadine aspirin through different mechanisms lowers serotonin. Which lowers NOs. This process is necessary for muscle building. Don’t take aspirin 36-48 hours after you workout. Larger muscles require more time to heal so dose appropriately.

 

[BigChad]

If you do have sns dominance, a deload won’t really help. TBH I think deloads aren’t a great idea for someone interested in hypertrophy because they keep the cns ramped up and make a body resistant to training. A week off is superior imo.

Anyway, yeah I think you’d be smart to ween off. Just cut your original dose down by a 1/4 every week until you’re down to 1/4 of a tablet (80mg for adult aspirin, 20mg for a baby aspirin) and then once you’ve taken the 1/4 tablet for a week you could probably cease usage without any clotting issues.

How much vitamin e were you using?
Are A, d, e, k safe for bodybuilding?
5500iu d3 a day, 1000iu e once a week, 100iu e 3x a week, 3000iu a 4x a week, 1mg k1/1.5mg mk2/300mcg mk7 four times a week?

 

[Jon]

How much vitamin e were you using?
Are A, d, e, k safe for bodybuilding?
5500iu d3 a day, 1000iu e once a week, 100iu e 3x a week, 3000iu a 4x a week, 1mg k1/1.5mg mk2/300mcg mk7 four times a week?

I was taking only 80iu a day of E. I keep my pufa pretty low, and also train, and get lots of uvb exposure so that may be why I got a bad reaction.

I personally think they’re only good if diet and lifestyle aren’t providing them in adequate quantities. Your doses seem pretty conservative though, so that’s smart. K2 is maybe the only one I think everyone could stand to supplement, and perhaps D if they can’t get sun exposure or can’t/are afraid of a low level tanning bed. I think supplementing micronutrients is risky anyway you slice it but antioxidants have an interference specific to anabolic signaling for muscle gain. Pretty much interferes with inflammation signaling to POSSIBLY lower MPS. I just choose to get it all through diet and drinking water sardines from the k2.

 

[BigChad]

I was taking only 80iu a day of E. I keep my pufa pretty low, and also train, and get lots of uvb exposure so that may be why I got a bad reaction.

I personally think they’re only good if diet and lifestyle aren’t providing them in adequate quantities. Your doses seem pretty conservative though, so that’s smart. K2 is maybe the only one I think everyone could stand to supplement, and perhaps D if they can’t get sun exposure or can’t/are afraid of a low level tanning bed. I think supplementing micronutrients is risky anyway you slice it but antioxidants have an interference specific to anabolic signaling for muscle gain. Pretty much interferes with inflammation signaling to POSSIBLY lower MPS. I just choose to get it all through diet and drinking water sardines from the k2.

By antioxidants interfering with muscle gain do you mean vitamin a, e, d and k or only vitamin c.
Also the vitamin e once a week would be thornes, which is 335mg alpha tocopherol, 360mg gamma toco, and the rest beta and delta. Its 1000mg total tocopherols.
Nutrigolds product which i was gonna use 3x a week has 40mg mixed tocopherols, 40mg mixed tocotrienols and 30mg alpha tocopherol. Idk if the thornes one is too high but i was gonna use that on cheatdays for any pufa.