Stress... what it does to your body and training!!
These blogs have turned into discussions about topical subjects and slowly moving away from my prep for competition… but don’t worry I will update my personal diet / training and general progress during my “off season” in the next one
So, Stress, a word that is overlooked I feel in the fitness industry especially with women. Most of my clientele are women and I mention the words Stress at least 2/3 times per week.. but why?
Stress is our so called fight or flight response to certain situations, makes us jump higher, run faster and react to certain situations. Stress is produced in the Sympathict Nervous System and releases cortisol and other hormones into the body elevating heart rate and blood pressure.
Now how this relates to training is important, Stress can be great in times of resistance training, the hormones secreted will push us and allow further training intensity, stress on the metabolic system when resistance training can have huge effects for muscle tissue growth and fat loss but lets look at how it can be detrimental.
Cortisol when released is a muscle feeder. too much cortisol will literally eat away at the muscle and rely on fat as its fuel… for most of us the complete opposite effect we strive for in the gym.. So how do we control and reduced secretion of cortisol..
REST!!!!!!!!! - Jeeeeeeeez how many times have I told clients REST GOD DAM IT, You continue to train do your cardio daily and your body fat or body composition isn’t shifting the way you want it.. Take a minute to listen to your body, the strains and injuries that are appearing, the appetite going through the roof and sleep reduced to a couple winks and a lot of rolling around.. LISTEN
Reduce training Volume - Volume of exercise is Sets x Reps x Weight - take a look at your training volume as a whole, are you hitting 20-25 sets per session, not had any deloads in a while? hitting cardio post workout? not seen much progression in lifts? you’re probably overtraining and body is stressed to hell. For one week try reducing training session volume by half whilst mainting a high level of intensity 10-15 sets if you’re hitting 20-25 .. reduce cardio and add in one extra rest day between large muscle groups. A cheat meal something that sets the appetite will really help psychological patterns of enjoyment, taste and the benefits that rely with additional short term kcals.
Sleep - Sleep is key for hormonal release especially melatonin, this regulates our wakefulness, not enough and our bodies won’t switch off, the hormone is reduced massively when cortisol is constantly secreted. We all know the importance of proper sleep but do we ll consider it when overlooking our progress. In proper sleep will cause fat gain, depressive states, tiredness a hug effect on our gym progress and wellbeing. I use sleep potions made from lavender, usually a carb rich meal before bed to help my body and mind relax (increase seretonin levels) no blue light (phones) and environment to be quiet and low light
Supplementation wise The addition of 5 HTP is great! used to release serotonin our made to feel good hormone and offers support in reducing overall Stress reduction from the day.., a product I strongly suggest taking.
The take home of this post is Listen!! listen to your body, listen to your training journal and Listen to the signs.. 1 step back will help you jump 2 steps forwards