Legendary metal guitarist George Lynch opens up about 'kind of scary' health issue caused by bodybuilding

Lynch, who will celebrate his milestone 70th birthday on Saturday (September 28), spoke about how he pushed his limits with the guitar and his fitness regime.

The star, who is best known for his work with the hard rock/heavy metal band Dokken and his post-Dokken solo band Lynch Mob, is considered one of the most influential guitarists of the 1980s.

But it was back at the height of his fame, which also continued in to the 1990s, which Lynch encountered his health issue as he worked hard to maintain his fitness levels. He got into bodybuilding to maintain his toned physique, but his dedication to it meant he then struggled to play his instrument.

While promoting is new project called Casandra's Crossing and a collaborative album with Casandra Carson called Garden Of Earthly Delights, the guitar icon revealed how body building affected his skills over handling the instrument.

When asked about it, he said: "Oh, it definitely did, yeah. I mean, in some small ways, I think it obviously made me stronger. So, I think that was beneficial to a certain extent,” he began.

“But also, I was starting to get these really massive cramps in my forearms. Static cramps that wouldn't go away. And I would get them when I'd try to play anything extended. And I had to try to do different things to try to alleviate that.”

He went on: "But, yeah, it was a byproduct of that. All that lifting, it really made it impossible for me sometimes to play. Any kind of extended solo, my left arm would just cramp up. And my hand would be like a claw. It was frozen. It was really actually kind of scary. And, yeah, not good.”

He concluded with a confession that he was “definitely overdoing it” and confirmed that he had long since given up bodybuilding.