Aspies and Bodybuilding/Poor Muscle Tone

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Two part question.

1) Read somewhere that Aspies usually have "poor" muscle tone.
What exactly is meant by this, that we have poor posture OR that we are scrawny and not strong?

2) Was curious if going to the gym/weight training is more or less common with Aspies than others. Specifically if any of you do go the gym and try to pack muscle or if this is very challenging (and why) for us Aspies.

Yes I have poor posture. I try to stand up straight, but it just makes it worse. I have always been uncoordinated and physically weaker than my peers.

I have been going to the gym, but weight-lifting is not natural for me like it is for other guys, and I have yet to actually get stronger or pack on muscle.

I have been doing pushups on and off for years, and still can't do more than 30

I've always had poor muscle tone and poor posture. Much of this has to do with being socially adjusted and being socially comfortable, and it's worth noting that as I got better with socializing, my posture got better, and I was able to get a little bit stronger because my confidence was higher.

The medical term is "hypotonia," and it is unrelated to the ability to build muscle or being bulked up (in fact there's a guy on this board whose handle I'm blanking on who is a body builder).

Limbs have muscles on (at least) 2 sides so that they can be moved both ways, with one muscle extending when the other contracts. But, there is also tension caused by by both muscles pulling a little bit at the same time. If that tension is too low (hypotonia), it tends to make you "floppy" and prone to slack posture and such (I defintely have that). It's controlled by the brain and spinal cord -- i.e. alcohol & benzos cause (temporary) hypotonia. The opposite happens in Parkinson's (hypertonia) where the muscles are fighting each other so much that the person's body becomes really rigid and they have a hard time moving at all.

I am constantly having problems with my back, at the moment i have a compressed disc from bad posture.
Its interesting cause for a girl i can have pretty good muscle tone on my arms and the start of a 6 pack from surfing.
however i can still run into problems with my core muscles being really floppy.
I ma not the uncorodinated type and have always been very physically active.
I do yoga regularly and my physio says that my joints especially around my hips and knees are hyperflexible, so i stretch too far.
Apparently that is a bad thing and can cause injury.
I am not sure if my lack of core muscles is related to aspergers, i am now trying my best to have a good posture and do my core exercises once my back heals.
I am sure that confidence also helps good posture so i am working on that as well.

I am quite strong although I could stand to lose a little weight for better muscle definition/tone. A few years back I switched from a regular gym to a 24 hr. gym, and I workout around 11-12 at night when there is little or no people there and no employees either. This is probably ideal for weightlifters with AS like me.

4 years of the military failed to put any real muscle on me, although i was quite taut [no body fat] by the end of it. my muscle tone has never been more than average, no matter how many pushups and situps and laps around the track and the pool.

I don't see how the tone of the muscles can be to do with the wiring of the brain. Suppose it's another invented feature that is chosen to associate with Autism. My muscles are normal. A little weak, but I'm sure if I went to the gym I could build my muscles up if I wanted to. I've got a very strong back. Most people hurt their back when lifting heavy boxes and stuff, but I only hurt my arms only - never my back.

I may have low muscle tone in my lower face but it might be because I've got big teeth at the top front and might be the reason why I can't close my mouth when laying on my back.

I've had problems building up muscle in the past as well. 2 years of daily cardio and tri-weekly weight room work carved my weight down to 200lbs, but my strength didn't really increase all that much. After a point, neither did my endurance. Every time I tried to step up the resistance/weights, I would just get terrible joint pain.

Muscle tone implies leanness in the body (low levels of body fat), and noticeable muscle definition and shape, but not necessarily significant muscle size ("bulk").

I am a bodybuilder. The sport of bodybuilding is more about getting lean than it is about bulking up or putting on muscle.

I was always a poor athlete by nature but years of work and practice have helped me to become an elite level athlete today. With the right nutrition and plan, we can build muscle just fine.

i am naturally muscular and quite large, and then i have lots of fat on top of that. sooo...

same here, i have terrible joints but think i have FXS and on the website i was just reading it says "Medical complications do not generally develop, however, ear infections are common and there is an increased risk of epilepsy (seizures), strabismus (squint), mitral valve prolapse, hernia and joint dislocations. Physical features may not always be present, especially in children" and it also mentions that we are supposed to have hyper-flexible joints. so is this supposed to mean we have weak joints or what, i've always thought i had abnormally weak joints but i thought maybe it was in my head.

The problem here is that people are talking about two different kinds of "tone." Most people are referring to the laymen's use of muscle tone, meaning muscle strength, definition, etc. But there is a neurological tone, as Apple_in_my_Eye described, which has to do with the state of "readiness" of a muscle, or how the muscle is partially contracted at a rest state. Many neurological conditions are associated with problems of tone. Someone abnormally high tone ("hypertonia") will be described as having spastic muscles, and someone with abnormally low tone ("hypotonia") will be described as having flaccid muscles. For example, someone with spastic cerebral palsy will have spasticity of the muscles- they will be abnormally tight. Untreated spasticity, for example in a head trauma victim in a coma who is not receiving physical therapy to stretched the spastic limbs, will actually lead to a shortening of the muscles (muscle contractures) because of their constantly contracted state. For a good example of flaccidity, or hypotonia, think of a stroke victim who has limited ability to move one side of their body. The muscles on that side of their body are hypotonic, or flaccid. You may notice a facial droop, and they may seem to drag their arm and leg on that side of the body. Spasticity is also common after a stroke. Populations who can be expected to have some difficulties with muscle tone include individuals with brain damage (e.g. stroke, head injury, cerebral palsy), developmental disorders (e.g. autism, Down syndrome), or degenerative neurological conditions (e.g. Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, ALS).

tl;dr: Muscle tone in body building != muscle tone in neurology.

Last edited by LostInSpace on 25 Aug 2011, 10:30 am, edited 1 time in total.

That's because you don't understand the medical definition of muscle tone. It is not something "invented" for autism, and disorders of muscle tone are present in many neurological disorders such as cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis. Read my post and Apple_in_my_Eye's post if you want to understand.

A similar thread was posted here recently, but I can't find it.

I think there could be a relationship between AS/H.F.A. and lack of testosterone or other hormone imbalances. That's the case with me, at least. I have aldosteronism, which is a "cousin of diabetes" in a way, and it throws hormones all off into orbit. I got mine under control, and I'm in good shape with excellent muscle tone and strength. If there is a common problem with hormone imbalances among other Aspies, then this would explain the theory of poor muscle tone among us. But I can't find any evidence supporting my theory.

I understand that this thread is also inquiring as to the medical definition (no pun intended), but based on my own studies of fitness and muscle development and chemistry, the partially contracted or "at the ready" tone is directly associated with what we all see aesthetically.

Charles

Like someone else said, muscle tone can mean two different things. The first, most common definition, which is more of a slang definition, means firm muscles with a low percentage of body fat. The second, more technical definition is how finely a muscle is able to contract. Someone with fine muscle tone is more coordinated, and can do things like have nice hand writing, drawing skills, can catch etc. Someone with poor muscle tone moves in cruder, grosser movements, knocks things over, might be "clumsy" etc.

As far as putting on muscle, believe it or not, the weight/rep ratio (1-4 reps ) that produces the greatest strength gains actually produces minimal size gains. The best range to increase size is 8-12 reps, and it produces less strength gains. This would explain why some people are stronger than they look.

The reason being is that the nervous system affects a muscles strength and endurance more than most people realize. It could perhaps be the most important "body part" for any athlete to exercise. It controls the percentage of muscle fiber utilized in any given motion. People claim that a chimpanzee is like 6 times stronger than a human. It's actually more like 3 times. One reason is bone structure. The main reason is coordination and muscle tone. Their nervous system isn't as coordinated and they use most of their muscle fiber for everyday movements like picking something up, etc. For a human to utilize all of their muscle fiber, we usually need a fight or flight adrenaline rush. Which is why mothers can lift cars off of their children and stuff. Basically, as the percent of muscle fiber used increases, coordination decreases.

OK. Hope my two cents is insightful.