Eric Sedletzky
Contributor
Hey woah! nobody’s advocating roiding out and becoming an IFBB Pro bodybuilder.I doubt that the little bit of training it would take to get you to the point where frog kicks no longer left you feeling sore would have a measurable impact on your SAC rate, and if anything it would improve it because you'd be exerting yourself less. But in terms of larger gains, I do think having more muscle means more metabolism and more breathing. That's why women generally have better SAC rates than men. Again, we're talking about significant differences, those that put athletes in entirely separate classes, not just the small difference an individual would gain from some sensible training. I don't think any diver should take this to mean they should be a couch potato. But if you're already in OK shape and wondering if you should roid out and become a bodybuilder or if that might harm your SAC rate...
A little resistance training to firm up the muscles and make what you have stronger and more efficient is all we’re talking about, not necessarily bulking up. There are lots of ways to tailor weight resistance training.
My sac rate gets worse when I don’t train probably because I’m fatter and have to haul the fat around with weaker muscles. I’ve let myself go on occasion through the years and gained body fat and softened up. Not a good thing. I’m doing pretty good now though. The older you get the more important it is to stay on top of it.
Lean muscle mass increases your metabolism and promotes fat burning. It is also more oxygen efficient so I would think it would actually improve sac rate.
Even if more muscle mass leads to less of a sac rate, I would rather be bigger and stronger even if it means using the next tank size up, instead of being a string bean just to claim a low sac rate.