On episode 13 of The Ali Damron show, I dove into the topic of overtraining and overexercising and the effects it can have on your body both short term and long term.
Fatigue is the most common symptom of overexercising, but it is not uncommon to have anxiety, moodiness, decreased immunity, women’s hormonal issues and increased fat storage.
Cortisol is produced by the adrenal glands and it’s primary role is to mobilize your body’s nutritional resources in stressful situations. Chronically elevated cortisol levels may indicate a pattern of overexercising.
Chronically elevated levels of cortisol create undesirable effects on your body and may hinder your training and results.
This can cause your muscles to breakdown and fat to be stored. Low carbohydrate diets actually exacerbate this process because carbs are needed for your body to lower cortisol post-exercise and for your brain to function.
Chronic stress causes an increase in cortisol levels and a decrease in testosterone, estrogen and progesterone levels. This can lead to amenorrhea (no periods) in women and stress fractures in both men and women.
Our bodies need adequate rest from exercise to recover, rebuild and for cortisol to return to normal levels.
Make sure to reduce stress in all areas of your life, eat a whole food balanced diet, sleep enough and LAUGH!
Adaptogenic herbs are highly useful for reducing cortisol levels and improving your response to both stress and cortisol.
Right Click and Save As To Download This Episode To Your Computer.
Comments are closed.