Stretch Marks because of lifting?

Hey guys I had a question, I’ve been lifting for about a year and 10 months and I’ve made great gains, I’m 18 and I started off at 145, now I’m 204 with about 13% body fat. I’ve always had large legs but in the past month and half I’ve discovered stretch marks or what appear to be stretch marks on my outer, and inner thighs on both sides and some on my ass. I’m scared that if I keep gaining weight and muscle this will only get worse. WOuld anyone suggest to me what is happening and if it’s going to stop. Thanks alot!

Run a search. I know there was a previous thread on this topic because I cut/pased it into a text file on my comp. Unfortunately, I’m not on my comp right now so I can’t tell you the thread title, but you should be able to find it.

Unfortunately, it happens man. Just be thankful that you only have the stretch marks on your legs. I started out a lot like you did. I was 135 before I began lifting, and was even up to 232 after a little over two years of training. Since then, over the past year, I’ve focused on “hardening” my physique and getting my body fat levels down. The stretch marks aren’t quite as prominent now, but they’ll always be there. I’m not sure whether or not anyone knows why, but your skin can apparantly only grow at a certain rate. My advice to you would be to not worry about gaining mass for a while, and instead focus on areas that you are most likely lacking in, such as strength and muscle density. The stretch marks will most likely never disappear, but at least you can slow down their growth.

Do a search on a women’s site for stretch mark info. Women often get very bad marks from pregnancy, and there are a few ‘tricks’ to avoiding them. Daily treatments with a good moisturiser (like Cetaphil) can help prevent new ones, but once you have them you’re stuck with them unless you want to try laser for removal.

Lay off the roids for a bit.

The fact that you guys put on 60 lbs. in 2 years and the other 100 lbs. in 2 years is insane. Of course you’ll get stretch marks from that.

I apprecieate responses to my question and just wanted to say that the ONLY supplements I’ve taken are creatine and protein, I have gained 60lb in two years but it’s because was a skinny litte ectomorph that didn’t train or eat right so when I started doing lifting things started growing. The stretch marks only occured in the past month, mainly when I started to do much heavier squats and when I started to powerlift.

i got stretch marks on my upper pecs right where they tie into the front delts. i noticed them when i first started training. that was about 6 years ago. they are still there but i haven’t gotten anymore. i started about like you. around 170 and put on some initial size rather quickly. i guess there’s no way around it.

I had the same problem on my legs. The stretch marks never spread to the rest of my body. Liquid vitamin E or aloe lotion helped a bit, and were fun to have the girlfriend apply, too! Of course, half of me is just sitting here going, oh, boo hoo, so sorry you gain muscle too fast… Just kidding. Keep up the hard work.

Wear your stretch marks with pride. A badge of honour, if you will. They are a sign that you are growing. Some people would kill to have stretch marks.

I can’t believe that none of you idiots said Vitamin E. Damn. Get on the Vit E and put the pure Vit E right on the scars. That will help quite a bit. The more the merrier.

There have been some studies that have indicated that stretch marks may in fact be due to cortisol levels, rather than stretching of the skin. So, incorporating something like Surge for recovery, having a midnight protein drink, keeping stress levels down, and making sure to get plenty of good sleep might keep your cortisol levels down and the stretchmarks at bay.

The ingredients in good tan extender lotions is supposed to prevent them, and I use them regularly anyways after showering to hold my tan. Minor pain in the ass in that it takes a couple minutes to apply all over then have to do other stuff for 5-10 minutes to allow some drying before getting dressed.