gemmaleigh’s BodyBlog

Hormones…what are they? They are the chemical messengers that impact every system and organ in your body. Since their effects are so far reaching, it only makes sense that you want to use them to your advantage to maximize your training efforts. Because the number of hormones is vast, I will concentrate on the five major ones that impact training and muscle growth:  testosterone, growth hormone(GH), insulin, glucagon and cortisol.

Testosterone is one of the most talked about and well known hormones in bodybuilding. This is because testo has a prime influence on muscle growth as well as promoting low bodyfat. Both men and women produce testosterone. Women only produce 1/10th the amount that men do - which explains why women won’t get ‘too big’ from lifting weights. What type of things effect testosterone production and what can you do to increase it? Sleep has a huge effect on testosterone levels. Your normal testo level can plummet by 40% without enough sleep. Avoid alcohol…alcohol reduces testo levels; therefore fat burning and muscle building are also slowed.  How do you know if you are low or normal? Symptoms of low testo are excessive fatigue, slowed muscle gains,depression, low sex drive and easier fat storage.  What can you do to raise it? Get enough sleep. If you have a hard time sleeping, try supplementing with ZMA. This is a combination of the natural ingredients of zinc, B6 and magnesium aspartate. It is both a natural testo booster and induces deeper sleep. Other things you can do are avoid alcohol…and for men, make sure you are having sex at least once a week:) Get your partners’ help in boosting your testo its more fun that way!

Next up is Growth Hormone (GH) which is, as its name implies, responsible for growth. Every year after age 20, GH decreases. By the time you reach age 40, your GH production is half of what it was at age 20. GH is responsible for tissue repair and muscle growth as well as determining the speed that amino acids move across the muscle cell membranes. To help your body produce as much as possible, get plenty of deep sleep as well as workout with both weights and aerobically. In addition, the release of this powerful muscle stimulator has been shown to increase when carbohydrate and protein sources are taken in prior to training as well as immediately after. But make sure it is a complex carb pre workout and a simple carb post workout. Why a simple carb? Shouldn’t we avoid those? Not always…

And here is why. Insulin. this hormone has the job of regulating blood sugar levels. Post workout, insulin has an anabolic (growth inducing) effect on the body. To take advantage of this , immediately after training is the exact time when you need to injest a simple carb source plus protein. By causing an insulin spike, you increase protein synthesis and aminos are rushing into your muscles. Many trainers know and use this theory, including stevep78, the trainer I first heard of this technique from. I did not understand at the time why gummy bears were recommended after lifting, but now I get it! And i still do it too! Post workout is really the only time you want to create this type of insulin spike. The reason is because insulin is also very efficient at storing fat. So when you are at rest, it is not beneficial to pop gummy bears into your mouth.

Glucagon is a hormone with the opposing action of insulin. This is released when blood sugar is low and increases blood glucose levels.  Just where does it find this glucose to cause this rise? It finds it in your muscle cells and breaks down muscle to fuel your body and raise your blood sugar to normal. This is not a good thing for the bodybuilder. And now you see why it is recommended to eat every few hours. You dont want your brain to signal glucagon to go break down some muscle tissue for energy.

And lastly there is cortisol. This hormone is released during times of mental or physical stress. The main function of cortisol is to halt muscle tissue growth and reduce protein synthesis. Cortisol levels must be controlled if you want to maximize your time in the gym. Under normal conditions, cortisol’s job is to regulate inflammatory responses in the body and assist balancing blood sugar in times of stress. Excessive cortisol should be your concern because this causes a reduction in GH and testosterone (mentioned above). This is why too much cortisol can make your body store abdominal fat more easily. Therefore avoid overtraining, avoid stressing out too much, get adequate sleep and supplement with glutamine. Then cortisol will not have to destroy muscle to obtain it.

So now you have a bit of information on how all these hormones work together. And you have the power to make them work for or against you. Train hard, train smart.

I hear this question a lot. So I am going to attempt to explain why aerobic activity will NOT cause muscle loss IF adequate calories are consumed.  Cardiovascular activity forces oxygen thru your body, increasing the number and size of your blood vessels.  Blood vessels transport oxygen and nutrients(proteins) to your muscles and carry waste products away for muscular growth, repair and recovery.  Without aerobic activity in your program your body cannot create any new supply routes for your newly developing muscle tissue.

There are also metabolic changes that take place during aerobic training.  At the cellular level, there is an increase in the size and amount of mitochondria, (each cells powerhouse,where fat is burned), as well as an increase in myoglobin content. Myoglobin is a protein that transports oxygen from the bloodstream into the muscle fibers.  Finally, aerobic adaptation increases the level and activity of the enzymes involved in the metabolism of glucose. Lower insulin levels (blood glucose or sugar) means a lower percent of bodyfat storage.

All of these factors combined equals a boost in fat burning and muscle building capacity for the bodybuilder.

Now, that being said, just because some cardio is beneficial does not mean MORE is better. Over doing cardio can have the opposite effect - muscle loss or slowed growth. When the body senses it is under a lot of stress, as it does when cardio is of a long duration, the adrenal hormone cortisol is released in greater amounts. Cortisol causes a breakdown of protein in the muscles…which is the opposite goal of a bodybuilder or anyone trying to add muscle.  This is why 3 days per week HIIT (high intensity interval training) sessions are so prevalent among those wanting to build muscle, yet burn fat. Yes its true, sometimes less is more!

Welcome to the Bodybuilding.com BodyBlogs. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!