Question
Can I do body-building if I have HIV?
12 August 2010. Related: All topics, Supplements and herbs, Support.
Hello there,
First of all thank you all very for the wonderful work you are doing.
I was a bodybuilder before I got diagnosed HIV positive. It took me some time but somehow with the right amount of support and help I managed to come to terms with the fact.
I noticed life hasn’t changed much, I just am a little bit more concerned about my health, I’m not on treatment yet and was told that it would still take a couple of years before I needed to start.
So I just wanted to know if it would be possible for me to keep on with my weight lifting? Will I be able to gain muscle mass like before or is the fact of being HIV positive limit me in any way in that particular field? I was told it was great to exercise and all that but still, will it be just the same as before or will my body react differently now that I am positive?
Thank you very much for your help and keep the good work going.
Answer
Thank you for your question.
It is good to hear that you have come to terms with your diagnosis.
There is no reason why you shouldn’t continue bodybuilding. Your body should be able to gain muscle in the same way as it has before. Being HIV positive should not limit you at all. Exercising and keeping healthy is very good for your body’s immune system.
If you take any supplements to build muscles such as steroids then you should mention this to your HIV doctor when you begin medication because some HIV treatments interact with steroids and other supplements.
Hello Bianca,
I’m sorry, it sounds like things are very tough at the moment. But it’s good that you’ve been given ARVs. Guidelines say that everyone who tests positive should be taking ARVs. And this is at any CD4 count. Here’s a link to a question about starting HIV treatment (ART) at any CD4 count. What ARVs did they give you Bianca?
hello to all people, I go for HIV test last week Tuesday and i found my self positive and they gave me A RVs on that day but am afraid to start eating them, i still have question for myself because my boyfriend left me because of this disease. I feel like am going to die soon and i also loose my best friend thats the worse thing eating me alot can anyone help me to feel the same again.
Hi Hendrick, unless a doctor prescribes steroid, it is better to build muscle naturally with a good diet and exercise plan. Protein shake drinks can help build muscle but tell your doctor if your combination includes tenofovir DF.
It is good to use anabolic steroids to grow faster if you are on ARVs?
Hi Glain,
What meds are you on? How much weight have you put on? What is your diet like? Do you exercise?
Thanks guy’s ,but I have a problem am on ARVs n the problem is am gaining more waight.what must I do to lose weight please help am from south Africa
Hi guys am from South Africa…. this is a good thing…its hard to get this kind of information anywhere. ..like for us we building our bodies. …we can’t leave our dreams because we r hiv… may GOD bless you all..
Hi Rapha, it sounds like you are having a rough time, but it is good that your brother is standing by you and helping you to get through this. You didn’t say which country you are living in now and which country you call home. I ask this mainly to see whether there are local HIV organisations. Nearly every city has an HIV support group, and you might also get strength from meeting others who have gone through similar experiences. You are not the only person from your community who will be HIV positive, so it is upsetting that your circle of friends still have such backwards views.
If you want to take a few days or weeks holiday to get stronger, this might also be good. By the time you come back your HIV status will hopefully be old news again. I can’t recommend a counsellor in California, but there are lots of HIV support groups – and these are likely to have evenings where you can meet others and also ask about counselling if you still want this.
You could try contacting Project Inform in San Francisco (http://www.projectinform.org) who run a national helpline and who will have contact details.
It is fine to travel to the US with HIV medicines for your personal use. There is no longer and HIV travel ban and customs should not be interested in you meds if they are labelled correctly and you are only visiting for a short stay.
Thank you Simon for your message, words of ecouragements and advice. It’s not really easy for me at this moment, the news has gone round the entire black community here and many people in my home country that has friends over here in europe have heard about my status, just within one week because of the interference of my friends. Given my little social status and little popularity, the news is escalating and i became an enemy to most all the people around me here. The majority of them don’t talk to me any longer, i lost all most all friends, the little one that may greet me will be doing it under duress and displaying a very obvious negative body language.
This is not really what i planned in life, and its giving me a worst moment, i can’t challenge my friends with the truth now because my brothers in my home country are not even yet aware of this even my wife.
I only told it to my immediate elder brother who is helping me to move on irrespective of the stigma. Finally i decided to travel out and take fresh air and come back after few weeks. I will be travelling to USA, but my fear now is based on the drugs that i will be travelling with. Please could you advice me on how to go with the drugs so that it will not be controlled or noticed at the border, also could you please help me with contact of any good councelor in California that i might visit who will help me with physical know how on how to battle this stigma, for now i don’t want to voice out to my friends that its true, i’m only hiding at home and avoiding them from seeing me, to see if the speculation could stop. Please am hoping on you for the answers of these two questions of mine. Thank you so much for your support.
Hi Rapha, I am sorry that you are going through this stressful time. One option might be to deal with this directly by challenging your friends with the truth. Even though it is none of their business, you will put them on the spot and you might become stronger by standing up to them. So what if you are HIV positive. You have just been unlucky. You an bet your friends have been at risk and worry about this. You might lose some friends but it sounds like some of these people are not your friends anyway. The people who support you – and there are likely to be some – will be much better friends. Some might even apologise when they realise how damaging their behaviour has been. If you decide to do this, then you can’t really go back afterwards, but you won;t be living in fear that someone will find out about HIV. You are likely to also become a model for other people who can’t do this. This might not be ideal – or what you planned – but it might have benefit in challenging the stigma. If you do this then getting support from a few friends first. Or talk through this with a health advisor or counselling as some of this might also be more stressful in the short term. Afterwards though, you might gain a certain freedom.