Thread: How high of CK is normal when lifting? I have rhabdo now

TL;DR- I'm 30. I've never been able to put on lean muscle mass. I hired a trainer and lifted for 3 months, developed some wicked symptoms and went to the E.D. multiple times and found out my CK is high and I have rhabdo. Is there a "high" level of CK that's acceptable when regularly lifting? My doc says don't even think about it.



Long version- I've been an extremely hard gainer my entire life. Even in the military I seemed to only be able to put on fat regardless of diet and exercise. I've lifted on and off for over 10 years with little results.

3 months ago I hired a trainer to develop a nutritional plan and routine. After 3 months of doing it all "right" I had almost zero progress. All of my measurements except for a little loss in my waist stayed the same. They suggested that maybe a cycle would help break through whatever plateau this is. So I gave myself 150mg of test p, 200mg deca, and 25 mg anavar.

Two days later I developed intense calf and thigh pain and some horrible cardiac feelings. My HCT has been a little high in the past so I was worried I gave myself a DVT that broke loose and hit my heart. I went in to the E.D. a few days later and they did a venous ultrasound and said I was good. 12 lead was normal.

I said screw the steroids and didn't do anymore. Over the next 2 weeks the symptoms persisted so I went back in and they did a contrast dye CT and said my heart was enlarged, that my creatine kinase was also over 1,000, and that I had rhabdo. They gave me 2l of NS and said come back tomorrow for more labs. My CK dipped below 1,000 but my doctor said I cannot lift for at least a week, need a blood test showing normal CK levels, and only then can I go back and do MILD lifting.


A buddy of mine said his CK is normally 1400 and that it's expected to be high when lifting.

Should I stop, not worry, or what? It seems pointless to even continue if I get almost no gains lifting hard, and I can't even do that anymore.


Advice? Can I really be that genetically ****ed to not be able to lift? Are there any genetic muscular deficiencies that anyone can think of I might want to get tested for?

Thanks.