Does weight training cause hairloss

Oknow

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I have currently started a weight training routine, however I am finding it hard to be consistent because I am worried that I might aggrevate my hairloss.

Does weight training cause hairloss?
 

gh05

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Oknow said:
I have currently started a weight training routine, however I am finding it hard to be consistent because I am worried that I might aggrevate my hairloss.

Does weight training cause hairloss?

No idea, but I feel the same fear and difficulties...since being anxious about my hair loss i struggle to train as hard if at all.

When I first noticed recession at my temples I was doing a lot of weight training and i know it can elevate testosterone levels which would usually be a good thing. Thing is, testosterone and DHT aren't a bad thing if you're a man...it just sucks that this also causes hair loss if you have the gene.
 

TheGrayMan2001

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Not really. A lot of guys just start to work out in the gym ages 18-25...usually the same years that hair loss starts. It's just a correlation that isn't really supported by evidence. Lots of skinny or fat guys that never go to the gym also lose hair.
 

sergiotahini

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From what I have read weight training has no bearing on male pattern baldness. I started weight training in my teens (30 years old now) but stopped when I was 26. Shortly after I started up again at the age of 28 I started losing my hair.

Who knows if there was any causation between the weight training and my hair loss, or if it was just coincidence. Certainly spooked me in any case.

PS: check out peapoddy's thread. he has had great results with his regimen and physically is a beast.
 

Oknow

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sergiotahini said:
From what I have read weight training has no bearing on male pattern baldness. I started weight training in my teens (30 years old now) but stopped when I was 26. Shortly after I started up again at the age of 28 I started losing my hair.

Who knows if there was any causation between the weight training and my hair loss, or if it was just coincidence. Certainly spooked me in any case.

PS: check out peapoddy's thread. he has had great results with his regimen and physically is a beast.

That means it did not cause your hairloss, your hairloss started with age, as you were weight training before 28.
 

sergiotahini

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I obviously have genetic male pattern baldness, but my point was that I don't know for certain whether the weight training made me begin the balding process earlier as my androgen receptors became more sensitive with age. Who knows, maybe if I hadn't started lifting weights again my balding wouldn't have started until some time in my thirties. I assume it was coincidence, but you know how it is when you first notice that you're losing your hair - you look at your diet, sleep, stress, etc. hoping to find some explanation other than predetermined genetic processes.

For what it's worth I think you shouldn't let male pattern baldness deter you from weight training. It will probably not exacerbate your hairloss and will only make you healthier and more confident.

good luck.
 

bigentries

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I was reading a bodybuilding forum a couple of days ago and they were talking about steroids

A guy tried to prove that steroids are not necessary and you only need to do heavy squats because they increase testosterone and growth hormone

Basically everyone laughed at him because while it is true that they increase the level of these hormones the increase is minimum and barely makes any difference and other mechanisms play a bigger role in performance when you are a natural weightlifter

And I believe that is mostly true when it comes to balding. Weights or no weights, it barely makes any difference to worry about
 

s.a.f

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If its going to go, it will go whatever you do or dont do.
 

Aedan

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I have a twin brother, we are both 21

I train hard in gym and lift heavy weights for years, he doesnt train at all hardly, especially not weight train.

Our hairloss is basically the same.
 

Rawtashk

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TheGrayMan2001 said:
Not really. A lot of guys just start to work out in the gym ages 18-25...usually the same years that hair loss starts. It's just a correlation that isn't really supported by evidence. Lots of skinny or fat guys that never go to the gym also lose hair.

QUOTED FOR TRUTH!

Same thing goes for "I took finasteride, and now I'm 20lbs heavier!!!" Really? It was the finasteride that did that? The fact that your metabolism is slowing down and you probably have a desk job has nothing to do with that?
 

abcdefg

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I always thought or heard that heavy weight training raises testosterone levels which if that were true even if they just stayed higher for a short amount of time would mean more hair loss at least for a short period of time if your of course is susceptible to it.
 

TheGrayMan2001

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abcdefg said:
I always thought or heard that heavy weight training raises testosterone levels which if that were true even if they just stayed higher for a short amount of time would mean more hair loss at least for a short period of time if your of course is susceptible to it.

Higher testosterone does not necessarily mean higher DHT, which is the cause of hair loss.
 

slurms mackenzie

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TheGrayMan2001 said:
abcdefg said:
I always thought or heard that heavy weight training raises testosterone levels which if that were true even if they just stayed higher for a short amount of time would mean more hair loss at least for a short period of time if your of course is susceptible to it.

Higher testosterone does not necessarily mean higher DHT, which is the cause of hair loss.

And on top of that it does not necessarily mean higher scalp DHT.
 

Danik0226

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I always felt that heavy leg days with squats would aggravate my scalp and cause it to itch. Most of the research I have seen suggests that the testosterone elevation is minimal, and there is an increase in DHT following a workout. Either way it is a small portion of a 24 hour day. I suppose if someone is extremely prone to baldness that it could cause a problem, but I have never noticed a difference when lifting and not lifting with the exception of the occasional squat and dead lift days.
 

ripple-effect

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No, weight training does not cause hair loss. I do believe it can speed up the process, though, if you are genetically predisposed for hair loss because increased testosterone = increased levels of DHT. If you inhibit DHT locally on the scalp by using a topical DHT inhibitor then you wouldn't need to worry about losing your hair faster when you weight train.
 
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