Vapor Shop Direct is here with yet another answer to a question that has been plaguing the minds of many – Can vaping affect your gains?
The idea of vaping holding back your gains after all that blood, sweat and tears you put in the gym sounds daunting. Rightfully so, you are concerned about it. In this blog, Vapor Shop Direct will take a closer look at the impact of vaping on your gains and your overall fitness journey.
The Link Between Vaping And Fitness
Even though vaping is a far safer alternative to smoking, it still doesn’t go hand in hand with your fitness journey. It becomes very clear because the simple act of inhaling anything other than oxygen can have an impact on your lung capacity. But that’s not all, the biggest culprit to blame for impacting your fitness goals is nicotine.
Can Vaping Affect Muscle Growth?
The short answer is yes. As it turns out, nicotine in vapes can make you less likely to achieve your fitness goals. Here are a few of the factors that can be affected by nicotine when it comes to your gains:
The ability to grow muscles
As you may already know, by working out, you are simply putting tiny, microscopic tears in your muscles. When these torn muscles are healed, a new layer of cells forms on top of them making your muscles bigger and stronger. This process is called Apoptosis. The thing is that the nicotine in vapes can interfere with Apoptosis. As a result, your muscles won’t grow as much as they are potentially able to.
Your Cortisol and Myostatin levels
Nicotine tends to force your body to produce more cortisol, aka the stress hormone. On top of that, nicotine can raise your myostatin levels. High levels of myostatin can prevent muscle growth, making it tough to see the fruits of all the hard work you put in the gym.
Your testosterone levels
Your muscles and the testosterone level of your body are directly linked. Therefore, to gain muscle, your body’s testosterone level should be in an optimal state. Testosterone and androgen receptors in your muscle cells work together and allow the muscle cells to keep on growing. Here as well, nicotine can reduce the amount of testosterone production and interrupt the process.
How to Mitigate the Effects of Vaping
Now that you know how vaping can affect your gains, you might be wondering what you can do to mitigate its effects. Here are a few tips to consider:
Switch to nicotine-free e-liquids
If you want to minimize the effect of vaping on your gains, consider switching to nicotine-free e-liquids. While the other chemicals in e-liquids can still have negative health effects, eliminating nicotine can help mitigate most of the negative impacts vaping has on your fitness goals.
Vape only on cheat days
Vaping is far better than smoking, but it is not advisible to develop a habit if you are a bodybuilder. We understand your urge to take a puff out of that delicious Elf Bar 600, but limit your vaping habits to cheat days to maximize your gains.
Final Thoughts
The thing is that almost all of the negative impacts that vaping has on your gains are from nicotine, not specifically by vaping. And all these negative impacts apply to cigarettes and everything else that includes nicotine in them. The best advice we have for you is to use your disposable vape wisely. If you wish to maximize your gains, limit your disposable vape use to cheat days.