Working Out Without Stretch Marks

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I find that some of you may have stopped working out because you developed stretch marks. This happens for guys around the shoulders and armpits but they also appear on the biceps and thighs. 
Firstly, what causes stretch marks? As the name implies, “stretch marks” because the skin got stretched beyond its elastic limit. Anything that could stretch the skin beyond its elastic limit causes stretch marks. Examples are increase in body mass due to fat, pregnancy or bodybuilding. Unfortunately, stretch marks are almost permanent. Almost, because there are several claims on how this could be fixed but the most show little or no results. 

The best way to tackle stretch marks is preventing them. Some will find that they already had stretch marks in certain areas even before working out regularly. This is due to mass gain or loss as a result of your daily routine or diet habits. 
For those on the bigger side, working out to lose weight will not result in stretch marks. Rather, you may develop flabby/excess skin if you've used extreme diet solutions like supplements or drugs. This is because the skin was extremely stretched beyond its elastic limit and there have been massive weight loss after rapid mass gain. Now, that's a problem only surgery can fix. 
The skin is elastic therefore it can stretch to accommodate mass and also relax when there is less mass and it does this gradually. The skin is bound to grow with your body but rapid mass gain may stretch the skin beyond its elastic limit, therefore the only way to prevent stretch mark is to follow a “gradual growth program”.

What's a gradual growth program? It doesn't mean anything essentially, I have only used this to describe a program I had instinctively followed. There are no guarantees that this would work for you but I followed a few rules when working out and I don't have stretch marks on my upper body except for my thighs. If you are urgently seeking mass gain, then this program is not for you. 
  1. Don't start out taking protein shakes which may stimulate rapid gains in the first three months. You want to do this naturally as you go. 
  2. Introduce the body to weights firstly by using only your body weight. I started my workout journey doing abdominal workout and a few body weight programs. Do only body weight programs in the first three months. 
  3. Progress to light weights. I have always been a fan of light weights because they blow you up gradually. Using light weights for curls would burn fat and at the same time build muscles. Hence, the problem of excess skin due to mass loss is fixed. There's no aesthetics better than that provided by light weights. Use light weights only for the next three months while you continue with your body weight programs. 
  4. Gradually include heavy weights into your programs if you are so invested in them and continue with a mixture of light weights and bodyweight programs. You can begin with protein shakes if needed for gains. 
  5. Using preventive lotions at problem areas could be helpful. From observation you should find in others who have stretch marks that the shoulders, biceps and thighs are problem areas. Use preventive lotions like shea butter, cocoa butter,bio-oil,olive oil and so on. 

The idea is to avoid rapid mass gain in a short period of time. Your workout should be more spread out while you observe the changes that occur in terms of gains. You should skip if you find that you are gaining quite rapidly. 
 while you observe the changes that occur in terms of gains. You should skip if you find that you are gaining quite rapidly. 

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