Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Curse of the stretch mark!

What's the first thing you think of when you hear the words "stretch marks"? A big, fat pregnant lady who looks like she's about to explode.

Pregnant women are the queens of stretch marks! Not! Seriously, they're not! Men and boys also have them. Take a look at about every bodybuilder on the planet - you'll find stretch marks.

Some bodybuilders see stretch marks as a right of passage, a badge of honour...until they wake up and realise stretch marks are dang ugly and mar the beauty of a bodybuilders body.

Stretch marks aren't cool and they can really effect a guys confidence. After all, no guy wants to go to the beach looking like a bear clawed him across his massive pecs, arms, legs and back.

Unfortunately, there's no way to get rid of stretch marks once you get them. So what do you do? First, how did you got them to begin with. Weightlifting! Yea, yea, yea, but how about a little more detail.

Do this. Get a rubber band and stretch it just as far as it will go without snapping. Watch the band as it stretches. Note the changes in the colour. See any striation in the bands? You may not notice them as much with a regular band, but if you use a coloured one, you'll really see it.

That's what happened to your skin when you were weightlifting. As your muscle mass grew, it stretched the elasticity in your skin to the breaking point. The skin has only so much elasticity to it. Once you go past it, you're just like the rubber band - you stretch, you snap. In this case, the snap becomes a stretch mark - a reddish or purple mark on your skin that eventually becomes a glossy streak in silver or white. They vary in appearance.

So, now we know how you got them. We know you can't get rid of them. Now what? Welp, there is hope! You might not be able to get rid of them, but you can definitely reduce their appearance so they don't stand out like a sore thumb.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the answer!


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