The idea that destruction of something will then lead to it organically replenishing itself sounds like something from a science fiction movie right?
On a daily basis those of you that weight train and nutritionally feed the body intelligently are doing exactly that!
Not only that but also adapting to the specific nature of the destruction and in an attempt to prevent it happening again adapt accordingly. Pretty incredible huh. Its like tiny little controlled pockets of evolution. This is one of the things that excites me the most about what I do, the ability of the human body to change and adapt to it’s environment.
If we look at the basics of the human body it is constantly trying to live in a state of equilibrium (homeostasis). On one side of homeostasis we have a state of cellular destruction (catabolism, catabolic) on the other, a state of cellular regeneration (Anabolism, Anabolic). A catabolic state signifies a state of survival, a state in which the endocrine system senses danger. An anabolic state represents a state of regeneration and recovery.
This is the stage at which we come across a paradigm. Stress hormones are part of the catabolic state and something we rely on heavily if we’re to controllably destroy or break the body down through training. Uncontrolled this will lead to widespread destruction of tissue, muscle loss, bone degeneration, immune suppression and even neural destruction.
I like to analogize that ‘exercise’ as we know it is like taking an unskilled individual and asking them to do a complex task without any suitable training or guidance. To which I see exercise in the VAST majority of cases as more detrimental than good due to uncontrolled stress. Activity is fine however as it’s none stressful. Therefore of my clients are either being active or training NEVER exercising. I assure you that most ‘exercise’ teachers over the years will gain weight negatively and suffer the same ailments as many of the participants they teach.
So how exactly does stress affect us?
Stress can be extrinsic or intrinsic, the origins of it can stem from many areas, personal stress, physical stress, mental stress, toxic or chemical stress, anxiety , guilt and many more. The interesting thing is the physiological reactions are VERY similar for all of them.
The Response.
Under any type of traumatic event the body is driven into a fight or flight mechanism. This prompts a series of physiological responses. The hypothalamus in the brain receives the information and recruits both the sympathetic nervous system and adrenal cortical system.
These mechanisms signal the adrenal glands to release hormones, Cortisol, growth hormone and norepinephrine mainly.
The way cortisol acts is that it diverts glucose for use by the brain whilst allowing amino and fatty acids for an energy supply.
Norepinephrine works part and parcel with Cortisol, it is a catecholamine
that will impact heart rate, assist in the release of glucose, increase muscular blood flow and oxygen supply to the brain.
Now consider uncontrolled stress. When we step in the weights room, this stress is controlled and regulated for the most part. We target physical stress to prompt specific responses whilst pre and post workout providing the body with the nutrients it requires to illicit this response safely and efficiently.
The problem we have is that modern life puts us in a position where the spikes in cortisol and other stress hormones are frequent with no counteracting bout of physical exertion. Compounded with general day to day life these necessary hormones are generally spiraling out of control.
The chronic elevation of these stress hormones will disrupt sugar metabolism, cholesterol levels, management of cardiovascular systems. They will cause premature aging and are the onset to numerous physical conditions including depression.
Going back to ‘Exercise’ and the non-structured nature of it. Tie this in with the typical human thoughts on what should go before such an event we end up in the position that we are already in a catabolic (degenerative/survival state) even before we begin to drive these hormones even higher. There is purpose behind them but much like anything if we push them too high they negate their purpose.
I’ve witnessed elite athletes sustain serious injuries shortly after blood markers showing up stress where ignored.
The body is quite simple really, stress must be counterbalanced by recovery and restoration or the bout of physical exertion it pre empts. The more stress the body is put under the more recovery and restoration must be emphasized.
When we consider training one of the biggest problems I witness is the mentality that more is generally considered better.
More stress, less recovery. One of the major quandaries we have right at that stage is that some of the primary symptoms of stress, overtraining and adrenal fatigue are the same and overlap. Unfortunately failing to self regulate and making for the most part the problem worse.
- Tiredness and a sense of sleepiness during the day.
- Food cravings. Comfort and physiological requirements
- Needing stimulants or high doses of caffeine in coffee, energy drinks or sodas.
- Poor immune responses.
- Physical soreness.
- Difficulty waking up and regulating energy levels.
- Abrupt weight loss or weight gain
There are the obvious way in which to deal with this equation but if I go by my experience and a cross section of the population. We can assume that almost ALL of the populations we deal with as trainers are overstressed, many undernourished and many chasing a tail that will NEVER get caught, this even stands true of even ourselves. The number of trainers I have had to pull the reins in on with training and up their dietary intake is unbelievable. It stands true that if you hear something enough eventually you start to believe it. At this point I feel like ranting about pharmaceutical advertising in the USA but I will hold off for now.
A short tale.
One of my very good clients, an individual who trains frequently and hard. He follows a diet will be 90%+ on the money all of the time.
He works in banking therefore travels and is generally under a lot of stress mentally. Earlier this year he took a full 3 weeks from work to take a holiday. He travelled abroad and at which point diet quality dropped probably15-20%, his training probably the same. He consumed alcohol on several occasions over those three weeks. Upon returning guess what, he came back with probably a 3-4% drop in bodyfat, much leaner visually (infact the leanest I have ever seen him). Only difference in parameters was the stress that is only partly controllable.
Lowering Cortisol
1. Focus more of your ‘training’ attention on recovery and restoration. If you have the means, get soft tissue work done regularly, if not foam rolling and trigger point work. This will keep training in a nicer ratio of work and recovery.
2. Prioritise sleep! Get to bed in good time and make sure that all audio/electrical equipment is turned off. Any frequencies from these devices can disrupt sleep cycles. Using a topical Magnesium is a great way to assist in deeper sleep.
3. Make sure that training is focused and short in duration. For most individuals anything in excess of 60mins is WAY too long and negates goals, infact compromises them. Training helps to build lean tissue and increase dopamine and serotonin production, reducing stress and anxiety (and also making you look good naked)
4. Avoid chemicals in foods and stimulants. Lowering caffeine intake is a major one in today society. The market on energy drinks and coffee is huge and with just cause. Sugar and Caffeine in any combination is highly addictive. It will also create the symptomatic drops in various neural and physiological systems to sufficiently to create an addiction. The reduction of additives, preservatives and E numbers etc allow toxic stress to be lowered.
5. Improve your diet! Stabilizing hormones is over laid with the adjacent control of insulin and blood sugar. Avoiding sugars and refined foods, increasing protein and essential fat intake will help with regulation, alongside frequent eating and hydration.
6. Use adaptogens. These herbs help to create the equilibrium we are looking for by lowering and raising levels when needed (hence adaptogen), Holy Basil, Ginsend, Rhodiola and Ashwaganda are all worth considering.
7. Consider using supplements such as B vitamins , and antioxidants to alleviate oxidative stress.
8. Relax……focus on things in life that help you do that. Reading, meditating, activity (not training), whatever it may be do it MORE!!
“If you can improve recovery by 10% through restoration strategies and an improvement in nutrition we can increase training stress by 10%. This gives us a performance improvement of 20%. The difference between a full time professional athlete and a talented amateur is often far less than 20%. Ask yourself what you’re prepared to give?”
