Something that stood out to me this weekend at the CrossFit Nutrition Cert was the way that stress can quickly undo all the hard work we put in at the gym. Much of that is related to an important hormone involved in the body’s “fight or flight” response to stress – Cortisol. When secreted in small increases, cortisol has the following positive effects:
- A quick burst of energy for survival reasons
- Heightened memory functions
- A burst of increased immunity
- Lower sensitivity to pain
- Helps maintain homeostasis in the body
However, too much of a good thing can be detrimental. Elevated levels can lead to weakened immune function, decreased muscle tissue, blood sugar imbalances all while encouraging your body to store fat (especially around the abdomen)! Each of those suck on their own but all of them together is somewhere you don’t want to find yourself. So how do you avoid this recipe for disaster?
- Sleep – 8-10 hours in a dark room (no TVs or other ambient light). Today’s modern world brings with it modern stressors and sometimes things like jobs (e.g. a shift from AM to PM schedule) prohibit us from a regular sleep pattern. This is where the next step becomes even more vital.
- Nutrition – proper diet (Zone/Paleo) is probably the aspect of this puzzle over which we have the most control. If all else fails, quality of food along with some fish-oil supplementation will keep you on track when sleep and, our final step, exercise are derailed.
- Exercise – intense exercise in short bursts (CrossFit) acts as a good stress that helps our bodies adapt and become stronger as a result. This does not mean overtraining. Resist the temptation to regularly do 2 or more WODs in one day. Too much volume can cause you to release excessive amounts of cortisol which in turn eat away your muscle tissue and signal your body to store belly fat. Not quite what you have in mind by doing the extra work is it?
Ideally you want all three of these to fall in line but we don’t live in an ideal world. We have to make the best of what we can and you all are doing that by being consistent with your workouts. Unfortunately, you can’t out-train crappy nutrition. If the majority of your stress-control is out of your hands (job, long commutes in traffic, baby-mama drama, whatever…), I encourage you to give your diet extra care so that all of your hard work in the gym is not sabotaged by stress.
WOD – 7.24.09
Deadlift 5×1, 1×15-20
just as im sure jacob will thank me for today, i want to thank chip for helping me on my new deadlift pr… he gave me some good advice and it helped tremendously.
deadlift 5×1: 285-295-305-315, im missing a rep… hmm i duno where it went either way i did all 5 and me first pr was 295, and now my new one is 315!
1×16 @225#
then, c/o from yesterday 4:35. thanks to everyone, aaron, chip and jacob for that one!
also some of you may wanna start following my blog
http://www.askingforit23.wordpress.com
The first thing I want to do here is thank Stephen.
205-225-245-265-275-295PR
225# x16
Why don’t you two just kiss already?
Great blog about stress and lack of sleep.
Stressing about finding a new job is killing me right now…my times suck but strength isn’t suffering yet.
Xfit friends and the workouts help to dissipate it for a short time..
I’m worried about the workout today. I’m afraid Simon might see the massive numbers I put up, get scared, and not even show for the Crossfit Total Challenge next Friday! We all need to be very supportive of our favorite little Bruin today.
damn scott!!! the smack has started early today!
Careful Scott, you might elevate Simon’s cortisol levels with that kinda talk, thereby sabotaging him before the smackdown!
Awesome post, Al! Love it! Dessert/stressed!!
Yes, great post Al. Why you gotta set the bar so high and make my posts look bad with your fancy formatting and stuff?
255-275(PR)-305(PR)-325(PR)-335(F)
225×17
315-335-365-375-400
245 x 13
Oh Scotty, how do like them apples? Casual 400lbs, no big deal. No but really, 7 days from now…. I’m starting to get excited!
The base numbers I’m coming in with are something along the lines of
DL: 400
BS: 275 (I havn’t tested this in a while, we’ll see soon.)
SP: 125
Scott with a casual
DL: 305
BS: 315
SP: 145
But we shall see! Also for all your smack talking needs, please join the facebook event!
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=130593594553
Chur, Simon
DL 155-245-305-330-340-350 (Fx2) I’ve never done the deadlift for max weight so 340 is a PR.
200×15, re-grip and wait 1 min then 200×5.
235-245-255-260 (PR)-265
185×18
Nice job on the butterfly, avelyne!!
Fun day. Got myself a new PR. I owe it to Simon for his extreme competitiveness that seems to rub off on everyone.
325-345-355 PR -325-325 / 225×16
I heart DL!
165-175(old PR)-185-195-205(new PR!)
145 x 15
made my goal for today…next goal will be to double my body weight
thanks Ruth!
255-275-305-325-335(f) 225×18
I had sports day for Los Angeles air force base. My wing won the all around event beating John spears wing and snapping their 5 year win streak. Crossfit helped me dominate on the volleyball court to a second place finish, a first place on the soccer field (4 goals, 3 assists in 3 games) and a 3rd place finish (beating John spear for a $5 bet and bragging rights in the gym) in the swim. All this was on crossfit training. I felt strong and explosive and can attribute crossfit helping me be ready in all sufferer sports and modalities.