# Why do people who lift weights shave their bodies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 15, 2003, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-who-lift-weights-shave-their-bodies/155218 "2003-02-15T04:23:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RM\_Mentock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@RM\_Mentock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RM_Mentock)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2003, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-who-lift-weights-shave-their-bodies/155218/21 "2003-02-16T04:09:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by x-ray vision \* > **because hair it is made up mostly of carbohydrates** Hair it is keratin mostly, idnit? Protein. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2003, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-who-lift-weights-shave-their-bodies/155218/22 "2003-02-16T05:02:57Z")
There is so much whooshing in this thread that I have been using it to dry my hair šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![RM\_Mentock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@RM\_Mentock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RM_Mentock)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2003, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-who-lift-weights-shave-their-bodies/155218/23 "2003-02-16T05:40:48Z")
You mean you havenā€™t shaved yet? ---
**Author:** ![FranticMad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c68b51/32.png) [@FranticMad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FranticMad)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2003, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-who-lift-weights-shave-their-bodies/155218/24 "2003-02-16T05:52:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by x-ray vision \* > \*\*Thatā€™s ridiculous! Bodybuilders shave thier body hair because hair it is made up mostly of carbohydrates; losing these needed carbs will cause muscles to atrophy due to low glycogen levels. \*\* Your all idoits. Hair production is increased by testosterone, which is stimulated by dihydrophasphatone. Shaving hair reduces DHPT synthesis, which increased conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, which decreases the anti-follicular hormone which suppresses production of anti-androgenic precursors, which stimulates insulin uptake inhibition and disaccharide glutamate resistance. Jeex, how many times do I hafta explain this. ---
**Author:** ![Marduk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Marduk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marduk)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2003, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-who-lift-weights-shave-their-bodies/155218/25 "2003-02-16T06:25:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by FranticMad \* > \*\*Your all idoits. Hair production is increased by testosterone, which is stimulated by dihydrophasphatone. Shaving hair reduces DHPT synthesis, which increased conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, which decreases the anti-follicular hormone which suppresses production of anti-androgenic precursors, which stimulates insulin uptake inhibition and disaccharide glutamate resistance. Jeex, how many times do I hafta explain this. \*\* What? And I thought that the weasels in my blood stream did all that and not those silly protiens/enzymes/whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2003, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-who-lift-weights-shave-their-bodies/155218/26 "2003-02-16T07:18:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Epimetheus \* > \*\*Jthunder has it right, it looks better. It makes them look bigger and most bodybuilders have dysmorphia and will do anything to look or feel bigger. Kind of the opposite of anorexia. \*\* Cite? Sorry, but I tend to disbelieve this one, outside of freaks and obviously ill people like the good gentleman at Bicepmania. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2003, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-who-lift-weights-shave-their-bodies/155218/27 "2003-02-16T08:54:08Z")
Thereā€™s only one way to settle this. POSEDOWN! ---
**Author:** ![pervertatoid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@pervertatoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pervertatoid)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2003, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-who-lift-weights-shave-their-bodies/155218/28 "2003-02-16T09:08:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mangeorge \* > \*\*Hair is mostly protein, they want all the protein to go to muscle. > Peace, > mangeorge \*\* Soā€¦youā€™re saying that after shaving, they eat the clippings? ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2003, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-who-lift-weights-shave-their-bodies/155218/29 "2003-02-16T16:27:10Z")
[http://boards.elitefitness.com/forum/index.php](http://boards.elitefitness.com/forum/index.php) Just peruse this forum for a bit. You will see what I mean. There are several guys on there that are like 6ā€™0 ~250lbs at 6-8% BF and they think they are small. ā€œBigā€ to them is monsterous to most people. Some articles on muscle dismorphia: [http://www.findarticles.com/m2379/n1\_v38/20136389/p1/article.jhtml](http://www.findarticles.com/m2379/n1_v38/20136389/p1/article.jhtml) > **[Strength Training, Bodybuilding & Online Supplement Store](https://www.t-nation.com)** > > T NATION - The Best Strength Training and Bodybuilding Articles, Workouts, and Supplements to Help You Get Bigger, Stronger, and Leaner! [http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/living/muscles1121/](http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/living/muscles1121/) [http://www.aahperd.org/aahperd/pdf\_files/ajhe/sept-oct\_2001.pdf](http://www.aahperd.org/aahperd/pdf_files/ajhe/sept-oct_2001.pdf) I like [this](http://boards.elitefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=153611&highlight=dysmorphia) article somebody posted on elite fitness. Some of the signs of muscle dysmorphia- > [@](#): > > According to the proposal by the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, ED, BT is characterized by ā€œrigid adherence to a high-calorie, high-protein, low-fat diet that is consumed in the form of pre-prepared meals and supplements eaten at regularly scheduled intervals. Women with this disorder frequently refused to eat out at restaurants or at friendsā€™ houses because of their need to be certain that they were ingesting the precise amounts of calories, protein, fat and carbohydrates that they believed necessary to maintain their physique.ā€ > [@](#): > > Refusal to maintain body fat at a healthy level (defined in women as the level necessary for normal menstrual cycles to take place) accompanied by a desire to maximize muscle mass. > [@](#): > > Intense fear of gaining fat or losing muscle, even though body fat is below normal, as defined above, and degree of muscularity is far above average. > (a) At least 5 meals per day, consumed on a regular schedule, for example every 3 hours. > > (b) Meals all consist of high-calorie, high-protein, low-fat foods or food supplements. > > (c) A significant amount of time and money is spent acquiring, preparing and eating these specialized meals. > [@](#): > > Social and occupational opportunities are frequently given up because they interfere with the composition or timing of meals Now of course the writer of the particular article sort of downplayed the symptoms, being a bodybuilder he was trying to make the researchers look bad. Still though, most of the bodybuilders I know personally, as well as myself fall into every single one of these categories. I have given up job opportunities in the past because it didnā€™t allow me to eat at regularly scheduled intervals. LOL. I only have 15" arms and personally feel they are puny, the weights I lift are never good enough and I constantly have feelings of shame at the itty bitty weights I am lifting. I feel fat at 15% bodyfat (been bulking) and canā€™t wait to get back down to ~10%. I feel nothing short of weight 200lbs at 10% Bf is too small for me. I currently only weigh 182 and every day at the gym I weigh myself and get angry that my weight has not increased or my fat has not decreased. (depending on if I am gaining or losing at the time, I donā€™t expect both at the same time) And I must admitā€¦SOB that I too eat my hair clippings so I donā€™t waste my protein and carbs. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2003, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-who-lift-weights-shave-their-bodies/155218/30 "2003-02-16T16:54:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pervertatoid \* > \*\*Soā€¦youā€™re saying that after shaving, they eat the clippings? \*\* Of course. How else do you explain the popularity of flavored shaving gels? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-who-lift-weights-shave-their-bodies/155218.md?page=1)