• Spawell Leisure Complex, Templeogue, Co Dublin.
  • 085 1374600
  • info@bodydesignfitness.ie
BodyDesignFitness
BodyDesignFitness
Personal Training Dublin, Ireland
  • Home
  • Services
  • Transformation
  • Results
  • Testimonials
  • Blog
  • Contact
MENU CLOSE back  

Is Stress Killing Your Results in the Gym??

You are here:
  1. Home
  2. Uncategorized
  3. Is Stress Killing Your Results in the Gym??
images (34)

Is Stress Making you FAT??

Are you training really hard?? Are you seeing very slow if any progress in your fat loss??

What do you do?? 

Train harder??

Eat less?? 

The answer is NO!! But why??

 

STRESS

Our lives are a constant battle between stress production and stress relief. When we undergo stress, our bodies are fully prepared to deal with this by virtue of a hormonal cascade, in which stress hormones are released by the body in situations which are perceived as being potentially dangerous.

Stress hormones such as cortisol and epinephrine act by mobilizing energy from storage, increasing heart rate and blood pressure and shutting down metabolic processes such as digestion, reproduction, immune function. For example the bodys natural fight or flight response. An event occurs to trigger a surge in epinephrine (adrenaline), the last thing we want to do is eat, as blood flow is moved away from internal organs to the brain and limbs to effectively either take on the challenge or run away.

Stress can come in many forms, some of which are controlled such as training, drinking/partying , calorie restriction and general day to day activities, others are imposed upon us such as sick kids, meeting deadlines for college, pressure in work, financial pressures and the list goes on.

As ive previously stated, the body is built to deal with stress, but, stress is meant to come to be dealt with and go, acute stresses. The problem arises when the body is constantly bombarded with stresses and is unable to keep up its recovery. Chronic stress.

Think of it like a bank account, youre working every week to make lodgement. This is general day to day living. Extra stress means money coming out of your account, but the body is still earning enough to keep your head above water. But suddenly the stresses ( money spent) begin to outweigh the bodys ability to recover ( money earned) and we dig further and further into debt. This is chronic stress and leads to excessively high levels of these stress hormones.

So how does this derail our fitness and body transformation progress??

Chronically elevated levels of these hormones can lead to the following:

  • Down regulation of thyroid function-this basically controls your metabolism and the rate at which calories are used
  • Cortisol while it helps mobilise stored energy, this more often comes from muscle tissue ( less muscle means lowered metabolic rate) as well as favouring central fat storage ( belly and hips)
  • Poor glycemic control/ increased insulin resistance meaning a lowered ability to utilise carbohydrates ( although in some circumstances extra carbs can be used to offset the negative effects of cortisol and improve thyroid efficiency
  • Digestive issues including ulcers , IBS, bloating etc
  • Lowered immune function and more susceptible to illness
  • Gonadal dysfunction meaning lowered testosterone in men and impaired prolactin and estrogen production in women meaning messed up or non-existent menstrual cycles.

 

As you can see there is some pretty negative things happening during times of elevated stress that can work against everything you are trying to achieve. Some directly and others that will actually take precedence in the bodies hierarchy. Do you really think the body wants to lose fat and build muscle if its internal environment isn’t working as it should and it feels under pressure to survive?? Of course not. Your body has no need to be lean and muscular and toned, so from the outset it is a battle to try and achieve the body we want.

So if we are training really hard and in theory eating below maintenance calories but still arent shifting bodyfat and building lean tissue, is training more and eating less gonna fix things?? Probably not. And just as this chronic elevation of stress hormones lead to our current situation over a period of months or even years, don’t think a few weeks of doing things right, with reduced stress and improved recovery is gonna fix everything and get us lean and toned. This process could take a period of months or even a year, depending on how badly the individual is affected.

So instead of your 50hour work week and hectic social life, don’t try add 4 weights sessions, 3 classes and 5 extra cardio sessions to your stress levels. You will not recover and will make no progress. Go back to basics, lift and build muscle, eat to be healthy and support your metabolism and just enjoy training for 6 months , then hopefully your body will be in a good position to really make some solid progress

If you want to learn more on how to execute the exact plan for you to get the results you deserve click HERE to book a FREE TRIAL(including consultation and x3 personal training sessions)

 

Regards

Bryan Hickey

Body Design Fitness

Posted on March 21, 2015
By adminUncategorizedLeave a comment

Related posts

FB_IMG_1468078839225
Eat Like Your Life Depends On It
July 12, 2016
Gluten-Free-Grocery-Store-Aisle
Are Gluten Free Foods Just Affecting Your Wallet?
June 6, 2016
scales blog
Are The Scales Ruining Your Progress??
May 22, 2016
coffee dates final PIC
Is Your Coffee Dates with the Girls ruining your bikini body this summer?
May 15, 2016
466063332_XS
Top 5 Breakfasts For Fat Loss
May 2, 2016
images (1)UYOFOULV
The Perfect Body,Is it form of Mental Torture?
April 23, 2015

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

clearPost Comment

Recent Posts
  • Eat Like Your Life Depends On It
  • Are Gluten Free Foods Just Affecting Your Wallet?
  • Are The Scales Ruining Your Progress??
  • Is Your Coffee Dates with the Girls ruining your bikini body this summer?
  • Top 5 Breakfasts For Fat Loss
Categories
  • Latest Articles
  • Uncategorized
Contact BodyDesignFitness today and discover the new you. Powerful Personal Training with Proven Results!

Name *

E-mail *

Telephone *

Message

Submit clear

Our Services
  • Private Personal Training
  • Semi Private Training
  • Buddy Training
Recent Blog Articles
  • FB_IMG_1468078839225
    Eat Like Your Life Depends On It
    July 12, 2016
  • Gluten-Free-Grocery-Store-Aisle
    Are Gluten Free Foods Just Affecting Your Wallet?
    June 6, 2016
  • scales blog
    Are The Scales Ruining Your Progress??
    May 22, 2016
Our Clients Say
  • Started in Jan and I am still enjoying the training,I have been in gyms,classes before but I wanted that extra push to motivate me aswell as getting the nutritional guidance. Within a few weeks I became more energetic started to feel and look better.There is a great buzz created by the trainers in the gym while you can have a very short laugh you will also be pushed to your limits!
    sarah-kirwan
    Sarah Kirwan
  • Body Design Fitness has taken me from lazy Sundays,junk food and oversleeping to eating healthy,training hard and feeling like a new person. The small group environment has helped me to change working out from being a chore to an addiction.
    Eric-Keegan
    Eric Keegan
  • I joined Body Design Fitness in Jan 13 with the intention of training for a month,its now October and its safe to say I have no intention of giving it up. Personally I love the dedication and drive from Ben and Gary while training.The support your receive in regards to training,diet,weigh ins and goals is overwhelming.
    Clare-McCarty
    Clare McCarty
  • Started training in April and its safe to say im now an addict and converted to lifting weights. Previously I did cardio everyday and some light weights for years. BodyDesignFitness training is much different, more enjoyable and tougher and everyone I know has commented on the difference in my body shape. It's great to train in a gym where you are pushed beyond your limits and reach goals consistently!
    Jean-Oleary
    Jean O’Leary
  • I started with Body Design Fitness as I lacked the commitment and focus needed to get where I wanted to be.Since I have joined it has been a complete lifestyle change in every way nutrition, training and mindset.I planned and joining for 1 month and 3 months later I'm still enjoying it as my first day.
    Lenny-Morrisey
    Lenny Morrisey
  • The guys at Body Design Fitness are excellent,their approach to your individual needs are met in every way.Gary designs a balanced food plan to suit your needs,even if like me you are a “fusy” eater,He will cater a food plan that will suit you and making sure its easy to follow. I have trained my whole life and have never trained anywhere better than Body Design Fitness. It is a complete results based gym delivering on all results promised.
    LIam-Murphy
    Liam Murphy
Send us a message

Name *

E-mail *

Telephone *

Message

Submit clear

Copyright BodyDesignFitness 2017

Website by DigitalCRO