Stress kills muscle gains and stops fat loss dead in its tracks. Read on to find out why and what we can do to reduce the damage done.
Stress is accumulated and carried with us for days, weeks, months or more, depending on our coping ability.
Some stress is good (eustress) and is required so we can adapt and improve. However, most of us take on too much stress. Our goal should always be to 'lighten the load', reducing stress for fitness progress improvement.
Stress is caused by physiological (a tough workout, fasting, injuries etc) and psychological (a tough exam, hard day at work, screaming children) factors. Psychological stressors have a hidden cognitive element that makes the same stressor better or worse, depending on individual coping mechanisms and response to adversity.
Despite this, psychological stressors still have a physiological effect on the body, just like any other stressor. Effects include adrenal fatigue from over-stimulation, chronic cortisol elevation and Central Nervous System (CNS) fatigue. These issues put the body in survival mode, so there's little chance for fitness improvement, muscle gain or fat loss. Chronic overload of unmanageable stress later leads to burnout, a state of permanent exhaustion that takes time to recover from.
By lowering the physiological symptoms of stress, we can return to a better level of balance, making fitness progress more attainable. Here are a few ideas you can use to lower stress and improve your balance:
Tip #1 - Improve social connections
This might surprise some, but maintaining healthy social connections leads to cognitive improvements that help us cope better when faced with adversity. Additionally, social interactions help release oxytocin, suppressing cortisol (the stress hormone).
"Dozens of studies have shown that people who have social support from family, friends, and their community are happier, have fewer health problems, and live longer." – Harvard Health1
Tip #2 - Reducing stress for fitness progress means reducing stimulant intake
The Western world is full-on all the time, and as such, we've learned to function by drinking copious amounts of caffeine. I know I'm guilty of drinking way too much coffee, I also used to smoke, another common stimulant.
The fact is both caffeine and nicotine are CNS stimulants and have the same impact on adrenaline, cortisol and the CNS as any other stressor. While a certain amount of caffeine is fine (400mg a day is the recommended maximum intake according to Harvard2), if you're starting to feel the symptoms of stress accumulation (permanent exhaustion, not fat loss or muscle gain), consider lowering your intake.
Tip #3 - Practice mindfulness
This may sound a bit hokey, but mindfulness practice has been proven to create tangible, physiological user improvements. Meditation, for example, has been shown to improve neuroplasticity (the ability of the brain to reorganise itself for more efficiency), improve neocortical thickness for improved brain structure, and better regulation of the amygdala. All of these lead to an improved ability to deal with stress.
Mindfulness also provides immediate benefits. It leads to an immediate reduction in cortisol and adrenal fatigue and the promotion of serotonin, thus leading to lowered stimulation of the CNS.
More tips for stress reduction and balance
We should aim for the optimal balance of stress, learning to 'lighten the load' when burnout symptoms present themselves. If you're interested in learning more, I've written a short book on how to manage stress for the goal of fitness improvement.
You can find it on Amazon here: https://amzn.eu/d/cpPXqty
Peter
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