Cigarette Smoking & The Effects On Your Fitness Goals!

In this article you are going to learn the dirty details on what cigarette smoking does to your body. It’s much more than lung capacity that is affected here. Your vascular system is under attack and you’re going to skyrocket your risk for cancer as well!

We have passed the era of smoking being “cool”. In fact, it has been over for a very long time. I’m not sure why people choose to smoke, but I hope that the information below can help you or someone you know stop or stay away if you are thinking about starting now.

The Vascular System

Smoking cigarettes has an adverse effect on the vascular system (blood vessels in the body) due to the fact that nicotine and carbon monoxide once introduced to the body raise your fibrinogen levels. Fibrinogen is a blood clotting factor which helps to regulate the density of the blood for proper clotting capabilities, while lowering the HDL (good cholesterol).

Your HDL is responsible for preventing the LDL, (harmful cholesterol) from building up in the arteries. When the levels of fibrinogen becomes high, this causes the blood to become sticky” thus allowing for accumulation of lipids to build up plaque in the vessels, restricting and constricting (narrowing the arteries) the flow of blood, limiting the amount of oxygenation and blood to the organs of the body (including heart and muscles). Issues relating to the damage to arteries include arteriolosclerosis, risk of strokes, abdominal aortic aneurism, and heart attacks.

Lung Capacity

In order to receive the full benefits of oxygenation to the muscles through healthy vessels where it is used for metabolic processing of energy, the lungs require the capacity to function properly. The lungs of a person who smokes become limited in terms of lung capacity due to the phlegm (mucous) that is produced as the cilia in the lungs is destroyed. The cilia sweep the mucous produced in the “goblet cells” as well as the particulate matter (foreign substances or pollutants) trapped in the mucous.

The cilia are required to keep the lungs clear and prevent them from a buildup of the mucous and toxins that cause issues such as emphysema, chronic bronchitis, asthma, COPD (chronic obstructed pulmonary disease) and an increased risk of getting colds and flu’s, as well as pneumonia. When the cilia are destroyed this buildup of mucous and toxins, including the tar associated with smoke, reduce the lungs ability to fully expand and contract. Thus, the function of transport of the oxygen into the blood stream in the vessels is restricted.

This restriction is caused when the carbon monoxide binds to the hemoglobin within your red blood cells as does the oxygen. However, carbon monoxide has a 300% more affinity to the hemoglobin than oxygen, making it harder for the blood to release oxygen to the muscles and organs of the body which is especially necessary when the demand for oxygen is high during exercise. The interference of the oxygen to these cells decreases your muscles ability to produce energy, therefore hampering your workout performance.

Cancer

Even though most of us are aware of the increased risk of cancer when someone smokes cigarettes, it is worth mentioning the ability of the lungs to be “repaired” after a person quits smoking.

If a person quits smoking cigarettes before the effects of smoke cause cancerous squamous cells to develop in the basement membrane walls, and before these cells permeate the underlying lung tissue, their chances of surviving increases dramatically. Cancerous cells can be “sloughed off” by the cilia and eliminated over time if a person abstains from smoking.

Additionally to lung cancer, there is an increased risk of acquiring cancers of the mouth, lip, tongue, throat, larynx, pancreas, esophagus, pharynx and urinary bladder.

But it should also be noted that never smoking in the first place is the best way to ensure that your lungs always remain healthy and clear!

Fitness

The displacement of oxygen in the blood due to the presence of carbon monoxide can lead to shortness of breath, poor circulation and increased heart rate. When the muscles are deprived of the proper amount of oxygen, performance is limited and muscle fatigue is more prevalent in a shorter time frame. Exercise puts a high demand on the muscles and without energy producing oxygen; the muscles are limited in terms of stamina and growth.

I hope this article really helped open your eyes to how bad cigarette smoking is. If you’re serious about your results, and your life for that matter, don’t even start.

Just look in the mirror and say to yourself, “There is a very good chance this will restrict my gains, hurt the people around me and even eventually KILL ME.”

I believe in the ability for each and everyone one of you to reach your goals and you know you can always count on the community and I for help in the @forums! #HTH