I’ve heard various IFBB pro bodybuilders talk about how after they retired from competition they deliberately lost a bunch of weight for health reasons. I came away with the impression that past a certain point, being too heavy comes with cardiovascular risks/increased mortality - even if the weight is primarily lean muscle and the person has a low bodyfat percentage. But, all the people I’ve heard talk about this in terms of deliberately losing muscle to get healthier were also prodigious users of anabolic steroids.
First, I’m wondering if the basic premise is true - that basically, being too heavy puts more stress on your heart and is therefore unhealthy, regardless of whether the excess weight is fat or muscle. Or is the risk for these guys just from the side effects of their PED usage, not actually from having too much muscle?
Secondly, if that is true, can a natural lifter (provided they keep their BF% and waist circumference in check) become so jacked that they are unhealthy simply because of the amount of muscle they are carrying around?