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Lifting Weights, Working Out.

My question is simple, and i'd appreciate any help.

I'm not sure if this question is asked often but, I'm going to ask it anyways.

Is it easier for MC patients to gain muscle?

Now let me elaborate, I've recently started working out and I'm just curious if ill gain more muscle mass and look more defined then the average person.

And do we gain muscle from workouts quicker?

- 19 Years Old
- Male
- Sammy

Type of Myotonia: Becker's MC

Country: United States

Re: Lifting Weights, Working Out.

Sammy,

The quick answer is yes, we do gain muscle faster. However in our case the muscle mass is not necessarily associated with strength. I've known many people who were very bulked but weak. This is mainly because we don't maintain the adaptive Type IIB fibers that a normal person would have in response to strength training. It looks like in most people the fibers begin to form, the atrophy.

It is important to work into strength training slowly so you don't cause too much damage to the muscles. When you "feel the burn" and rip muscles you are spilling contents of the damaged cells into the bloodstream and surrounding tissues and this is not beneficial. This happens much sooner for us than normal because of the muscle stiffness.

If you follow a low glycemic diet and get plenty of protein it will help. I have found that it also helps to take a low dose of Ibuprofen before a workout to minimize inflammation. Our glycogen stores are often not normal, so you may have earlier muscle fatigue. It's probably best to do lower weights and fewer reps and let your body gradually adapt. Otherwise you'll be so sore and stiff you'll just give up.

Jan

Type of Myotonia: Thomsen's

Country: USA

Re: Lifting Weights, Working Out.

As Jan said, a lot of it is just enlargement which doesn't necessarily correlate with increased strength.

Sometimes it can though. When I was younger I had huge legs. I remember sitting in an assembly at school when I was about nine and noticing that my thighs were twice as big as all of the other kids', and my legs were pretty strong I guess but I don't know that I necessarily gained that any quicker than any 9 year old who was forced to do isometric exercises all day.

That's something to keep in mind so you don't overwork your muscles. With MC is kind of like you're always at the gym. So I would heed Jan's advice and start with lighter weights otherwise you might just see diminishing returns.

The myotonia is probably going to be really bad after workouts and will probably worsen before it lessens, so don't let it deter you....it probably will eventually lessen but give it about a year.

I think it always helps to maintain a moderate level of activity and be in shape. But I would ask yourself, do you really want more muscle? When I was initially going to the gym my goal was to lose weight, but I also burned off a lot of that muscle in my legs and I think losing the weight along with some of that muscle and improving my overall shape did help reduce the myotonia. I did lose a lot of the super human strength in my legs but I'd be afraid to gain that muscle back for the strength because I worry it will worsen the myotonia again.

Type of Myotonia: Becker

Country: USA

Re: Lifting Weights, Working Out.

One nice compliment to your weight workouts, I would suggest, would be stretching or yoga type workouts.

I found that during stretching classes I become more "in tune" with my MC and better understand how my muscles respond. Additionally, the toning process related to stretching helps strengthen the joints, which benefits muscle response in general.
Hope this helps

Type of Myotonia: Thomsen's

Country: USA

Re: Lifting Weights, Working Out.

Bulk--yes.

Strength--well, maybe. My arms topped out in terms of strength pretty quickly, and no amount of working out could get them stronger. No idea why. I was still stronger than most other women but not as strong as people who lifted weights as much as I did. With my legs, though, I kept getting stronger and stronger. I could squat over 300lbs on a machine, with 20 reps. I have no idea what the difference is.

Type of Myotonia: Thomsen's

Country: USA