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A consistent weightlifting routine can be fruitful, but we cannot ignore the effects of that. One of the significant effects of packing on pounds of muscle is stretch marks. These come from the abrupt stretch of the skin to accommodate the extra pounds your muscles gain.
Stretch marks are not painful or detrimental to your health, but they can be undesirable, especially if they appear on easily visible parts of the body. The good thing is that you can reduce their development and appearance by practicing a few things throughout your weightlifting program.
Below are ways to reduce or prevent stretch marks.
Use Lotions and Creams
Stretch marks occur when the middle layer of the skin, the dermis, stretches. This leads to the breakdown of connective tissue, leading to inflammation and scar formation as the injury heals.
Some lotions and creams are formulated to assist in the healing of this injury, reducing the appearance of stretch marks. However, no cream or lotion is designed to prevent or remove stretch marks.
But, these lotions can help keep your skin moisturized, contributing to the skin’s elasticity. Even though the skin will stretch, it will not be as extreme as if it was dry. Look for creams and lotions with cocoa butter and Vitamin E, ingredients known for their high moisturizing ability.
Reduce the Intensity of the Workouts
Stretch marks from weightlifting result from the abrupt stretch of the skin to accommodate the extra muscle built. The faster this happens, the more extreme the stretch marks will be. The only way to reduce this is by reducing the intensity of your workouts.
Cutting the intensity can delay stretch marks’ formation and significantly reduce their appearance. You give the muscles time to grow gradually, reducing pressure on the skin.
There is no guarantee that this will work, but it is worth trying, especially for arm muscles such as triceps and biceps.
Laser Treatment
If you already have stretch marks, you might want to try laser treatment to reduce their appearance. These treatments include carbon dioxide, which reduces the inflammation of the skin, healing and improving the appearance of stretch marks.
You may need a series of these treatments to see a change in the appearance of stretch marks. Like other treatments, there is no guarantee that all the stretch marks will be eliminated, but there have been reports showing the efficiency of such treatment.
Ultherapy
Ultherapy is a skin tightening procedure that helps bring the connective tissues together, slowing the gaps that present as stretch marks. This procedure can help improve the appearance of stretch marks; however, it does not clear them completely, and the effects may reverse with continued exposure to the cause of stretch marks.
You cannot eliminate stretch marks, but you can reduce their appearance. These ways above are worth trying, even though they do not offer a 100% guarantee to show desirable results.
