Strength Training: Could It Have Saved MJ?
As I type this, not even 24 hours has passed since the legendary artist succumbed to cardiac arrest. In the wake of this tragedy, I can't help but think about Michael Jackson in his recent years. And, while I can't comment on the extent of his medical conditions - his prescription drug and supplement use, and the all-too-obvious psychological "not-rightness" - I remain shaken by his frailty.
Jackson's emaciated frame - absent of any noticeable muscle, could very well have been culpable in his early demise.
Of all the thoughts that swirled through my head upon hearing the news, I recalled a piece I read not 2 weeks ago about Jackson hiring legendary bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno to train him. Lou had this to say regarding his client:
Michael refuses to lift weights. He doesn't want to bulk up."
In a case of cruel irony, it had been reported that Jackson was terrified that gaining weight would negatively impact his chances of survival (from skin cancer).
Jackson weighed in at 126lbs, and reportedly ate only once per day.
Why Resistance Training Prolongs Life
As people age and/or become inactive they lose muscle. When this happens, their immunities weaken and because of this they are more likely to die of cancer and infectious diseases. Our inability to kill germs and ward off disease is often the result of low levels of muscle tissue. Larger muscles have readily available antibodies to fight off infections.
Again, I'm not here to speculate that if Michael only hit the iron a few times a week he would live a long and healthy life. It does however, underscore the importance of striving for strength - especially as we age.
It should also be emphasized that eating to support that muscle is also important i.e. more than once a day.
Researchers have shown that after 30, most people lose roughly 5 to 10 pounds of lean body mass during each decade of life. This is the very muscle people need to help keep them leaner (there is a corresponding drop in metabolism with less muscle), keep them out of nursing homes longer, and ultimately help them live longer.
Rest in peace, Michael.
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What! He supposedly had skin cancer?? I guess that's what happens when you use Crest Whitening Strips on your entire body for 20 years. It was some other kinda bleach anyway!
ReplyYou're terrible Yum Yucky! :)
Lack of strength training was just one of Michael Jacksons problems! The poor man was sick physically and mentally. It seems his sickness meant he was destined to die young and be an eternal legend like Marilyn M, Elvis P, James D etc.
ReplyMichael Jackson's death is not about you.
ReplyI've definitely heard of people that are anorexic suffering from cardiac arrest because they don't have enough muscle tone, so their bodies start digesting their heart muscles. I kind of wonder if that's what happened to MJ. He never really looked healthy to me, either. Didn't he want to be cryogenically frozen after he died? I wonder if they're going to take him up on that.
ReplyI am definitely on board with strength training. Hard to hear how hard he worked at staying thin which is really emaciated in the term described above.
I think this is also just a horrible statement on what fame does to stars & how crazy people can get just over another human being just because they are "famous". Yes, he was a very talented performer but people take this stuff to the extreme. He apparently had a ton of mental issues surrounding this fame.
People need to get their own life to be blunt about it but I know that just ain't gonna happen. I think it is quite tragic.
While I am here, sympathy to the loss of Farrah Fawcett too which has been lost in all this craziness. Maybe we could have been talking about how to prevent cancer or help with cancer funding rather than why doctors prescribe Michael Jackson al this crap. It is sounding like an Anna Nicole Smith thing more & more.
ReplyGood comment post Jodi. Yours is the most intelligent and poinant I've read so far. Linda
Replywith all the problems MJ had I don't think strength training could have played THAT much of a role in saving his life. I think EATING NORMALLY would have.
126lbs?!! How tall was he 5'11? Gives a whole new meaning to stick-man.
FJ out...
ReplyMichael Jackson was afflicted with vitiligo, an autoimmune disease that results in lightening of the skin.
ReplyAt 5'11 and 126 pounds, MJ's was 17.6, which technically makes him anorexic. I don't know that strength training has anything to do with it, but anorexics (ie: Carole Carpenter) certainly die from cardiac arrest fairly frequently.
ReplyIf you're going to be speaking in technical terms, a BMI of 17.6 makes him severely underweight. The cut-off for anorexia is a BMI of 17.5. If you don't fit that but still display eating disorder symptoms, you get a diagnosis of ED-NOS (Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified), assuming you are not bulimic. Not that it makes you healthier or less miserable, but a BMI of 17.6 is not anorexic according the DSM-IV, which has plenty of problems of its own.
ReplyWell... if we're really getting technical, there's no mention of the BMI scale in the DSM at all. The body weight criteria is a refusal to maintain a body weight which is at least 85% of the normal body weight. So, for 5'11, the lowest that one can be on the bmi scale is 133 pounds. 85% of that is 121.7. So technically, the bmi he would have had to have to classify him to be at an anorexic weight would have been 17. Though, we don't know about the other criterion or whether or not he fit them.
ReplyThe point is still that, whatever classification you're using, if you are saying "technically," you should be correct according to the definition. I apologize for jumping on the statement, but I'm so tired of hearing the term used and abused, which I understand is not what you were trying to do. So often, people use the term to reflect a state of mind exclusively, rather than both the mind and the body.
ReplyDon't know if strength training could have saved him, but fame certainly has something to do with it.
50 years, 5'11 and 126 lbs , not surprising he died from cardiac arrest.
ReplyIt will take some time to have the real story of the cause of death, but I think an overdose of depressant medications is the most likely cause at this juncture. Demerol, as a narcotic will stop a person from breathing, and without proper support, will lead to the heart stopping.
ReplyI've been subscribing to this blog for well over a year and a half. I am unsubscribing because of this post. Shame on you for jumping on this bandwagon. If you want to write about strength training, then do so, but there is no need to bring Michael Jackson into the discussion. There's enough speculation about his physical well-being before his death without this.
ReplyI agree, when I saw the heading of this I thought how completely lame to even go there. To me, it undermines the credibility of this site.
ReplyVery silly. Michaels weight had nothing to do with this. Weight is only ONE crtiera for anorexia, otherwise having a low BMI on its own means nothing in particular. It could be just that he ate a healthy diet and avoiding junk food. No one really knows except those close to him.
The reason for his death is very likely to be the medications he was on. He also had Lupus, Vitiligo and injuries such as vertebra problem and leg pain which he had for a very long time.
Michael looks like he wasn't in the best health, if it wasn't for the money sitaution, the concerts, he might still be alive today.
Apparently he was training hard 3 hours a day, and looked good in the rehersals
ReplyThis post is really low. For Shame !
ReplyAlthough the complexities of Michael Jackson's physical and psychological issues are far-reaching, and extend beyond just the issue of nutrition and exercise, I totally believe that strength training would have benefited him greatly.
Michael Jackson was 50 and well past the age where our bones naturally tend to lose calcium and make us more susceptible to osteoporosis and other complications. Along with a balanced diet and cardio regimen, weight training is highly beneficial in helping reverse the effects of bone loss in men and women.
ReplyDid you really post about this? Its pretty low and lacks of support. Shame on you.
Reply