Are You Overtraining? | The Effects of Overtraining on Hormones- Thomas DeLauer
Are You Overtraining? | The Effects of Overtraining on Hormones- Thomas DeLauer:
Balancing Workouts, Diet, Career, and Family is all a balancing act, and that's why I specialize in it at http://www.thomasdelauer.com
So you found the inner fire inside of yourself and it is go time - time to eat healthy and workout hard! But you have heard that it is good to start slowly and work your way up. It may surprise you that this is not only for the purpose of not injuring your body. Working out is one of the quickest ways to affect your hormone production. Working out is a stress on your body. When you have healthy amounts of stress your body has time to heal and recover, leaving it stronger than it was before. When you do not give yourself that time to recover from stress, this can lead to a whole bunch of issues.
We all know that too much stress is a bad thing; chronic stress has been linked to headaches, overeating and obesity, restlessness, illness, and digestive problems. Our body’s stress response is similar when we exercise as when we experience a life stress, such as traffic or losing a job. Signals are sent that queue the release of stress hormones, such as cortisol and adrenaline, into our blood from our adrenal glands. Elevated cortisol levels can signal that your body is undergoing chronic stress, which could be caused by life situations or by over exertion during workouts.
One study from the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that cortisol levels in saliva were higher for those who underwent long duration, high intensity exercise (over 59 minutes of high intensity cardio.) Studies have also found that a similar increase in cortisol is experienced during heavy weight training workouts.
Another study looked at cortisol levels in those performing the same workout under two conditions: no additional emotional stress and additional emotional stress. Those that were exposed to emotional stress at the same time as working out had higher cortisol levels. This signifies the importance of both our wellbeing and our workout load on our hormone levels.
Alright, so we see that high intensity exercise can lead to raised cortisol levels. How does this impact us?
Overtraining Syndrome:
If you work out too hard and do not allow adequate recovery time, you may suffer from OTS.
Symptoms include:
-Problems sleeping
-Disrupted mood and behavior
-Fatigue
-Hindered athletic performance
-Sexual dysfunction - reduced sexual desire, even infertility
-Bone loss
-Weakened immune system
-Difficulty losing weight
-Amenorrhea (absence of menstrual bleeding)
-Physical injuries
What causes these symptoms? One of the large factors is an imbalance in your hormones.
Hormones:
Chronically high cortisol levels can lead to your body being in a catabolic state, where your body is not breaking down fat but rather muscle for fuel. It can also lead to a weakened immune system. If you have one hormone that is out of whack, it is likely to impact your other hormones. Chronically elevated cortisol levels lead to a decrease in the level of testosterone, estrogen and progesterone. These are the sex hormones, and are very important to our daily wellbeing. These changes reflect a change in the balance of catabolic hormones and anabolic hormones. This danger is particularly of concern for women. When your sex hormones are imbalanced you can experience amenorrhea, when your body enters a state where it no longer is able to menstruate. Eventually the adrenal glands go into a state of exhaustion, known as adrenal fatigue, where hormone production overall is slowed. In this state your body is not as capable of dealing with stress. At this state even your cortisol levels are low, leading to many of the down feelings associated.
Tips:
If you think you may be experiencing OTS, it may be time to take a step back and do what is best for your body. Give yourself time to recover.
If you are experiencing high stress at home or work, do a more relaxing exercise, such as yoga. This can help to reduce your cortisol rather than raise it, which will happen if you run hard for a long time or lift heavy weights.
References:
1. Effect of Exercise at Three Exercise Intensities on Salivary Cortisol
http://www.gfe-ev.de/onnews/2011/d2011_04_t01_01_02.pdf
2. Overtraining, exercise and adrenal insufficiency
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3648788/
3. The overtraining syndrome
https://philmaffetone.com/the-overtraining-syndrome/
4. Cortisol and overtraining syndrome
http://firstendurance.com/cortisol-and-overtraining-syndrome-why-an-athlete-should-care/
5. Overtraining syndrome
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3435910/
6. Fatigue and Underperformance in Athletes
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1756078/pdf/v032p00107.pdf
7. Overtraining, exercise and adrenal insufficiency
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3648788/
Are You Overtraining? | The Effects of Overtraining on Hormones- Thomas DeLauer:
Balancing Workouts, Diet, Career, and Family is all a balancing act, and that’s why I specialize in it at http://www.thomasdelauer.com
So you found the inner fire inside of yourself and it is go time – time to eat healthy and workout hard! But you have heard that it is good to start slowly and work your way up. It may surprise you that this is not only for the purpose of not injuring your body. Working out is one of the quickest ways to affect your hormone production. Working out is a stress on your body. When you have healthy amounts of stress your body has time to heal and recover, leaving it stronger than it was before. When you do not give yourself that time to recover from stress, this can lead to a whole bunch of issues.
We all know that too much stress is a bad thing; chronic stress has been linked to headaches, overeating and obesity, restlessness, illness, and digestive problems. Our body’s stress response is similar when we exercise as when we experience a life stress, such as traffic or losing a job. Signals are sent that queue the release of stress hormones, such as cortisol and adrenaline, into our blood from our adrenal glands. Elevated cortisol levels can signal that your body is undergoing chronic stress, which could be caused by life situations or by over exertion during workouts.
One study from the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that cortisol levels in saliva were higher for those who underwent long duration, high intensity exercise (over 59 minutes of high intensity cardio.) Studies have also found that a similar increase in cortisol is experienced during heavy weight training workouts.
Another study looked at cortisol levels in those performing the same workout under two conditions: no additional emotional stress and additional emotional stress. Those that were exposed to emotional stress at the same time as working out had higher cortisol levels. This signifies the importance of both our wellbeing and our workout load on our hormone levels.
Alright, so we see that high intensity exercise can lead to raised cortisol levels. How does this impact us?
Overtraining Syndrome:
If you work out too hard and do not allow adequate recovery time, you may suffer from OTS.
Symptoms include:
-Problems sleeping
-Disrupted mood and behavior
-Fatigue
-Hindered athletic performance
-Sexual dysfunction – reduced sexual desire, even infertility
-Bone loss
-Weakened immune system
-Difficulty losing weight
-Amenorrhea (absence of menstrual bleeding)
-Physical injuries
What causes these symptoms? One of the large factors is an imbalance in your hormones.
Hormones:
Chronically high cortisol levels can lead to your body being in a catabolic state, where your body is not breaking down fat but rather muscle for fuel. It can also lead to a weakened immune system. If you have one hormone that is out of whack, it is likely to impact your other hormones. Chronically elevated cortisol levels lead to a decrease in the level of testosterone, estrogen and progesterone. These are the sex hormones, and are very important to our daily wellbeing. These changes reflect a change in the balance of catabolic hormones and anabolic hormones. This danger is particularly of concern for women. When your sex hormones are imbalanced you can experience amenorrhea, when your body enters a state where it no longer is able to menstruate. Eventually the adrenal glands go into a state of exhaustion, known as adrenal fatigue, where hormone production overall is slowed. In this state your body is not as capable of dealing with stress. At this state even your cortisol levels are low, leading to many of the down feelings associated.
Tips:
If you think you may be experiencing OTS, it may be time to take a step back and do what is best for your body. Give yourself time to recover.
If you are experiencing high stress at home or work, do a more relaxing exercise, such as yoga. This can help to reduce your cortisol rather than raise it, which will happen if you run hard for a long time or lift heavy weights.
References:
1. Effect of Exercise at Three Exercise Intensities on Salivary Cortisol
http://www.gfe-ev.de/onnews/2011/d2011_04_t01_01_02.pdf
2. Overtraining, exercise and adrenal insufficiency
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3648788/
3. The overtraining syndrome
https://philmaffetone.com/the-overtraining-syndrome/
4. Cortisol and overtraining syndrome
http://firstendurance.com/cortisol-and-overtraining-syndrome-why-an-athlete-should-care/
5. Overtraining syndrome
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3435910/
6. Fatigue and Underperformance in Athletes
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1756078/pdf/v032p00107.pdf
7. Overtraining, exercise and adrenal insufficiency
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3648788/
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Never overtrain find a work around
I love working out to the point I now need to workout every day , if I don’t exercise everyday I feel frustrated bored and irritable , yet I know I’m over training and it’s killing my gains. Resting seems hell on the days I force myself not to go to the gym or a bike ride or even a walk . The irony is I know when I take a week off I enjoy much better more productive workouts .
Thanx… I guess I'll clean the house and play COD today. I'm sore af. From 🇨🇦 plus 40 😊
Just got this. Full time work; full time college; difficult subjects too, Cybersecurity + Programming; 4 cups of coffee a day; fighting with my girlfriend on my off days (i.e., no real off days), for about 2 months hit a threshold that sent me into CNS Fatigue or something similar where my cortisol levels and blood pressure have gone through the roof. I'm <10 g net carb strict healthy keto, too.
Literally had to take a week off of work to recover, man. Stuff is serious.
Gym reminder. Hit the gym..
I had a nicotine gum addiction along with a coffee addiction and brought on by an injured ankle that eventually needed surgery. My cortisol was JACKED. Horrible couple years. I’m good now. Take it slow.
Top vid mate! 👌
It’s hard to look your best when you’re freaking dead
Sometimes I'm overdressed . I'm going to start wearing tank top.and shorts . This should cure me from my overdressed problem .
Im suddenly not getting that "high" during workouts anymore. Has anyone else experienced this?
Thank you, really helpful!
Nooo!! Don’t tell people to slack off in the gym wtf? Most dudes look like the guy in the video not like you. We can slack because we got thru it lol
Oh no wonder I’m so soft 🌝and skinny fat
I definitely had a problem training too much until recently. I worked out 3-4 days a week, and would see results for about 3 weeks then slowly my lifts would just slowly drop. I only train once every 4-7 days now and I'm seeing the same results that I used to, but sustained.
Sheesh, I imagine that this is what soldiers go through in extreme training.
Overtraining and adrenal fatigue
Could it actually be that the subject is under rested under recovered?
It's actually just poor recovery. If you stick to a good whole foods diet and sleep routine you can train much more than you think. The problem comes when your training starts to affect your sleep like when you've worked out too intensely or too close to your usual bed time. Working out too intensely can also make you feel hungrier and make you feel like you've 'earned' that pizza or doughnut! Then you'll get stuck in a cycle of eating too much then working out too intensely to try and burn it off! Also don't think of it as bad to workout beyond an hour because of increasing cortisol, that only happens if the intensity is too high. My advice is to do any training with a heart rate monitor and only spend UPTO an hour a day with your heart rate above 75% of max. You can workout almost as long as you like providing your HR is below that figure. Avoid doing full body lifting longer than an hour with 60 seconds or less between sets, do fewer sets with more rest between instead. Avoid cardio longer than an hour with your HR above 75% max.
Im 54 2 years overtraining and chonic insomnia pleas need advise i am gaining waith
Wish I’d seen this video 5 years ago 😂 could’ve saved a lot Pain, Weight Gain and injury. Makes me realize I over compensated for wanting the results and hurt the opportunity to get there by making my body feel beaten to death. 😂