Bodybuilding is a sport that inspires many people to get healthy, but the issue of health has gained significant traction over the past five years due to the issues faced by competitors. Part of the reason why these problems appear initially is that personal health inside the body is not the focus and not just the appearance of the body.
A fundamental part of health is getting blood tests done regularly. Cameron Chapman is a Senior Wellness Specialist at Transcend HRT and spoke to Whitney Jones and Alina Popa about the importance of the blood test on a recent episode of Femme Flex Friday. Chapman believes that if competitors, athletes, and people in general make a commitment to learning more about their blood counts, many potential problems later in life could be curbed.
"We strongly believe that many of these problems can be alleviated by getting a blood test sooner rather than later," Chapman said. "We can find that out very quickly and easily with blood tests," he said. "I mean, that's a very cheap, easy thing to do."
When asked about the age range at which people should start paying more attention to their blood work, Chapman acknowledged that earlier is better, even if it is in early adulthood.
"I tell them it's important to see where your baseline is, being younger, so if we do that in the years to come and something comes up, you can go back to, 'Oh, well, that's how it was, when I was 20 years old.'”
Some athletes do get blood work once a year, but Chapman said that while it's a good start, it's not optimal for competitive athletes like bodybuilders.
"We recommend doing blood tests at least three or four times a year," he explained. He offered an olive branch, which he hopes will encourage others to go through the process more often. The more you know, the easier it will be to engage.
"Until you somehow help them understand the blood work and they explain it to them, they're almost a little bit more excited about what's next."
This important episode covers many important topics that will enlighten competitors and athletes of all skill levels. You can watch this and all episodes of Femme Flex Friday each week at www.wingsofstrength.net.
