If you have psoriasis and you enjoy bodybuilding or weightlifting, you have probably discovered that this combination comes with a certain set of challenges. Learning how to build a diet that will allow you to both build muscle and keep your skin clear or trying to avoid any inflammation that may lead to symptoms of psoriatic arthritis are not things that the typical weightlifter has to consider. With that said, you can certainly overcome these  This post will serve as a brief guide for how to go about body building and weight lifting if you have psoriasis.

So, how do you go about bodybuilding or weight lifting with psoriasis? While bodybuilding with psoriasis certainly comes with its own set of obstacles, strength training is ultimately an important part of human health and can be a great addition to your life if you have psoriasis. The key to successfully building muscle with autoimmune disease and avoiding the potential side effects, is to build a diet and a lifestyle that will allow for optimal digestive/immune health. Accompanied by weight training, this will ultimately result in improved nutrient absorption, increased hormone production, and will promote the development of lean muscle gains. 

Gaining muscle on your psoriasis diet

Is it possible to gain muscle on your psoriasis healing diet? Although it may be challenging for some people to formulate a dietary approach that will not only heal their skin but also allow them to gain muscle in the process, it is certainly possible. With that said, this must be done with caution as you don’t want to do or consume anything that will put stress on your digestive health and interfere with the healing process.

Although this is not something that people with bodybuilding aspirations want to hear, the truth is, you may want to temporarily take a step back from your muscle gaining goals in the beginning stages of your skin healing process. What I have found in my experience, is that I always have an easier time gaining muscle after I have gone through some sort of fast or detox protocol. I assume that this can be contributed to the benefits of focusing on gut performance first and muscle building second. By taking the necessary steps to get your gut health in check before transition into your long term muscle building diet, you are setting your body up for optimal nutrient retention which is exactly what you need if you’re looking to build muscle. 

If you click here and download my free skin healing formula, this document can serve as a great example of how to go through three phases of healing and ultimately build a diet that will not only allow you to live a life free of skin disease, but also supply you with all of the nutrition you need in order to gain solid muscle. 

Enough of this detox talk. What is the best way to go about gaining muscle on a psoriasis healing diet? In my experience, I have found that following some variation of a high fat/low carb animal based diet is the best muscle building option for people suffering with skin disease. Although the typical bodybuilding diet consists of both high amounts of animal proteins and high amounts of carbs, this is the epitome of a diet that is going to cause digestive issues for people with poor gut health. 

Possible complications

If you have symptoms of psoriatic arthritis, intense heavy weightlifting may trigger an inflammatory response that could worsen these symptoms. In the past, I have felt this to some degree. I never had real problems with arthritis but I would occasionally start to feel a stiff pain in my hands if I was having an intense lifting day. 

Ultimately, I believe that strength training can be great for helping to reduce inflammation but you don’t want to overdo it. It is also worth noting that you can greatly reduce the amount of inflammation in your body by adhering to an intelligent nutrition plan. If you create an environment within your body that will allow your gut/immune system to heal, the symptoms associated with your autoimmunity will improve. 

Another complication that can occur when you are trying to build muscle with psoriasis is you may make the mistake of overeating and/or eating a diet that will further damage your gut health. This is a mistake that I made time and time again in the past. I would clear my skin and then I would start focusing on building muscle and start eating a typical bodybuilding diet with lots of animal proteins  and lots of carbs. It’s not that anything that I was eating was that bad, but the combination of high amount of both animal proteins/fats with carbs is not going to promote healthy digestion for someone with compromised gut/skin health. 

What you have to realize is that if you want to have clear skin and build muscle at the same time, you can’t follow the same old bodybuilding diet that most people are following. You need to not only seek muscle gains, but also optimal gut health. Find a diet that can do both. Like I said, I think that some variation of a high fat low carb diet is what will work best for most people. 

Is sweating bad for psoriasis? 

You may have noticed that your skin becomes red, itch, and inflamed whenever you engage in intense exercise or start sweating. This leads many people to avoid sweating at all costs as they believe that it is worsening their psoriasis symptoms. While this fear of sweating is certainly understandable, it is unwarranted. 

The truth is, sweating and exercise in general is a crucial part of the detoxification process. In order to heal, you need to eliminate toxins from your body. One of the main avenues that toxins have for leaving the body is through the skin. The reason why your symptoms seem to get worse when you sweat is because your blood is rushing to the surface of your skin as your body attempts to push out toxins. With that said, this is usually short lived and the skin eventually calms back down.

Something that people need to keep in mind when going through the skin healing process is that the symptoms are likely going to get worse before they get better. So if you are eating right and exercising and you feel like your skin is getting worse, this may not necessarily mean that your disease is progressing. In fact, it can mean quite the opposite. As I said, the skin is one of our major detox organs and if you are going through a heavy detox, your skin is going to reflect this process.  

So is sweating bad for psoriasis? Of course not. Although sweating may seem to temporarily trigger a symptom flare up, this is all a part of the detoxification process that is ultimately going to allow you to eliminate toxins and rejuvenate your gut/immune health. Don’t fear intense exercise and sweating. Physical activity is an essential component of the healing process. 

Weight lifting supplements

Is taking muscle building supplements such as protein powders, pre workout, or creatine bad for psoriasis? Although some things are worse than others, I have had nothing but bad experiences with weight lifting powders. They simply just aren’t a necessary to your health and are ultimately going to do more harm than good. 

If there is one supplement that I think is the safest bet out of all of the typical weight lifting supplements, it is creatine monohydrate. This is the only supplement that has been extensively researched and has proven its performance benefits over the span of a few decades or so. With that said, I wouldn’t necessarily suggest taking creatine to anyone trying to heal their skin. As I said, it is simply not essential and it may prove to worsen your symptoms. 

My views on muscle building with psoriasis are simple. Make the necessary diet/lifestyle changes in order to greatly improve or eliminate the symptoms associated with your autoimmunity and then train hard and eat the foods that will supply you with the nutrition you need in order to grow. Click here to head over to my Instagram page where I post skin healing information several times per week. Dealing with psoriasis is tough, but you can turn this negative into a positive by letting your disease teach you how to care for yourself and improve your life circumstances.