Weight training associated with male pattern baldness?

I am 22 years old and currently show no signs of hair loss. My grandfather on my mothers side shows notable hair loss (he's in his 70s) and my other grandfather shows none. I would really like to get into weight lifting because i want to improve how i look (I have confidence issues) but with the countless number of things I have read relating the activity to male pattern baldness I am very reluctant to start. Please help!

I'm 54, been working out for 36 years, both of my grandfathers were bald. I have thinning on my crown, but I'm not bald by a long way. Needless to say, 36 years of nonstop lifting hasn't hurt my hairline any. I have two brothers who have never touched a weight in their lives and we all have the same amount of hair. We have a cousin (our father's brother's son) who is bald, but his younger brother isn't, so who can really predict this stuff?
If you were to augment your workouts with supraphysiological doses of steroids, you might increase your chances of going bald if you are already genetically prone simply because raising test levels that high also dramatically raises DHT and estrogen. So avoiding steroids will lower your chances, but at your age, you have plenty of testosterone.
Hope that helps.

DragonRider - Are your brothers involved in some form of sports activity, something they've done consistently since they were a children?
I'm kinda in the same situation, a 2 years younger than you. Both grandfathers went bald in their early thirties, my father went bald in his 40s (he was a heavy milk drinker in the family), but I still have my hair. besides genetics, heavy smoking is what they had in common. I always worked out in some form of activity or another, weightlifting, Martial Arts, Mountain Climbing, Backpacking, but I always wonder if consistent weightlifting and some form aerobic activity helped retain my hair.

The only thing I've ever done is weightlifting. No other sports activities. My brothers are just your average run of the mill couch potatoes.

Arnold Schwarzenegger started weightlifting in his teens. I'd like to see if any of his Grandfather's had MPB.

I wonder if LDL has anything to do with MPB. Body builders with with the most muscle mass also had the higher levels of LDL. The required LDL to grow the muscle may leave little that slows blood flow or causes heat disease.

LDL Cholesterol Needed to Gain More Muscle Mass

Thanks everyone for their input!I have just heard so many people blame weight lifting for their mpb (my grandfather included), which has really influenced my routine. If I hadn't heard this relation then I strive for a muscular body.

I am so confused. I read that aerobic exercise significantly increases testosterone (even moreso than weightlifting). Therefore, is exercise the enemy in regards to preserving hair? Clearly this is not the case because we are not meant to be sedentary creatures, unless baldness is a completely natural phenomenon (which i think it is). I do believe that baldness is attributed to weightlifting because of the image it conjures - one of masculinity.

paranoidbone wrote:I am so confused. I read that aerobic exercise significantly increases testosterone (even moreso than weightlifting). Therefore, is exercise the enemy in regards to preserving hair? Clearly this is not the case because we are not meant to be sedentary creatures, unless baldness is a completely natural phenomenon (which i think it is). I do believe that baldness is attributed to weightlifting because of the image it conjures - one of masculinity.

Testosterone does not cause hair loss, that is a myth.

The actual cause of hair loss in my experience and research is whatever interferes with thyroid function.

Really?My understanding was that it was caused by a derivative of the male hormone but then again I am getting this information from my gp and various family members. Sorry if I am being a nuisance but what is then the major culprit as far as irregular thyroid function is concerned?Or is it a series of influences?

paranoidbone wrote:Really? My understanding was that it was caused by a derivative of the male hormone but then again I am getting this information from my gp and various family members. Sorry if I am being a nuisance but what is then the major culprit as far as irregular thyroid function is concerned? Or is it a series of influences?

I think you asked a very important question, because at least 99% of physicians and/or lay people would assume it is the more potent variant of testosterone that's causing the problem.

In non-balding, a significant amount of DHT introduced to the scalp will have very little effect on their hair. This is because a key gene (DKK-1) is not unregulated in these people upon DHT administration.

There are other instigators of hair loss besides say DHT in those who are "hormone sensitive." These include cortisol, prolactin and various indirect causes.

Overall, thyroid function determine whether one is experiencing a systemic inflammatory state.

It's an important note that the primary diagnostic method to assess thyroid function (used since the 1970's) is not
an accurate way to measure the health of the thyroid.

The following will provide information on how the thyroid can go wrong.

http://healthyfixx.com/plan/6/fixxing-your-thyroid

Another quick point is that insulin resistance or at least a tendency to experience fluctuations in glucose levels is created or exacerbated by even a subtle thyroid problem.

Besides the thyroid, the other major factor is the tendency to produce an excess of corticotropin-releasing factor, which is a neuropeptide involved with stress response. This particular area is still being investigated however, there are a number of different approaches that can help address it.

Yes I have actually heard that hyperprolactinemia can be caused by hypothyroidism