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MSR9889 wrote:

matter2003 wrote:
I'd be willing it's that way for a lot of people, Rob...

good night sleep=lower amounts of cortisol, the stress hormone and anti-anabolic...when you don't sleep well, your body interprets it as a stress and releases large amounts of cortisol, which will negatively impact any muscle building you might want to do. It also releases less testosterone, so it in effect becomes a double whammy.

Since cortisol cancels out testosterone, releasing more cortisol and less testosterone is like an anabolic nightmare....

never thought about it from a cortisol stand point, but that would make sense given how my body has been developing. only have significant fat left on my stomach and inner thighs, less horny than in the past, etc. and i certainly cant build muscle which is miserable.

I have seen studies that for each hour under 8 that you sleep, the body releases 12% less testosterone...can't recall where it was, but I was stunned to be reading it...

When you think about it, we really are controlled by hormones. Insulin, Leptin, Ghrelin, Cortisol, Testosterone, Estrogen, etc...

Positively manipulating your hormonal profile, is as important or even more important to muscle growth than anything you do at the gym, eat or drink in the form of shakes, etc...

The "anabolic ratio" is what determines muscle building capabilities of your body. This is the ratio of Testosterone to Cortisol. If it is not tilted in testosterone's favor, you will build little or no muscle, even if doing the exact same workout, eating the exact same foods at the exact same times, etc as someone whose ratio is positive...

BTW, meditation can reduce cortisol levels by up to 50%, I have been doing it for about 3 weeks now and have noticed some of the benefits already...also, the list of things that the body interprets as stress and increases its cortisol levels in response to are sometimes pretty off the beaten path...ie, not drinking water while doing cardio or working out WILL increase cortisol levels significantly when you finish...

breakfast is 1 egg, 3 egg whites, 1 scoop trutein, 3 servings cinnabon cereal, 1 cup mixed berries, 1 scoop focus xt -- 11.5g fat, 106g carbs, 58g protein
lunch is 1 scoop whey, 1 cup greek yogurt, 2 servings blueberry granola -- 11g fat, 114g carbs, 53g protein
dinner was 2 chicken burgers, 1 serving shredded cheese, hot sauce, 2 servings mini wheats, 1/2 cup almond milk -- 18g fat, 91g carbs, 53g protein

total -- 40.5g fat, 311g carbs, 164g protein

Matt is spot on about positively modulating your testosterone/cortisol ratio.

Now training, diet etc. are ALL obviously important, but this testosterone issue in particular is VERY important - especially as you age.

Every effort needs to be expended as I tried to convey in 3.0. Some folks think otherwise, but an OPTIMAL hormonal profile is necessary, to grow big time muscle.

Those of you in your prime hormonal years (16 - 25), take advantage of it by bulking yourself into oblivion. That's just my $.02, but think about it: Trying to do that at 40+ is a WHOLE 'nother ball game, insofar as risk/reward ratio.

breakfast is 4 eggs, 2 servings steel cut oats, 2 tbsp brown sugar, 1 scoop trutein, 1/4 cup mixed berries, 1 scoop focus xt, 1 scoop pure synergy superfoods -- 19g fat, 102g carbs, 62g protein
lunch is 2 servings granola, 1 scoop whey -- 7g fat, 81g carbs, 35g protein
took xfactor, reduction pm, 4g citrulline malate preworkout
intra drank 18g bcaas, 2g citrulline malate, and some B6
pwo drank 1 scoop whey, 8oz 100% grape juice -- 2g fat, 43g carbs, 23g protein

total -- 28g fat, 226g carbs, 120g protein

another 430 wake up, exhausted and out of it all day. headed into my workout feeling sick from being so tired, but somehow turned things into a good workout. my first couple sets of squats i felt awful but on my 3rd set i decided to hold the weight up until i couldnt anymore.

squats- 95x5, 135x5, 185x2, 185x5, 185x15, 190x10, 195x7
last 3 sets i just held the weight up until my legs were twitching and i couldnt do anymore reps. felt like a cross between famine and 20 rep squatting. held good form for almost all the reps and went slow all the way to the bottom of my reps.

leg curls- 130x10, 130x12, 130x13
skipped leg extensions because of the squats

seated calf press- 90x15, 180x12, 180x15, 180x22

ab extentions- 10, 1
stopped on the second set because my abs felt off again. they felt like they were going to pop again.

hanging leg raises- 10

last workout before going to school, so ill have 5-6 days off from lifting and hopefully i can start sleeping better again.

Awesome work, Matt!

Way to pull another productive workout off! Good luck going back to school. Must be getting close to graduating?

If not, don't worry. Real world, ain't too fun...

Nice work battling against a real tough foe...
Whatever you have to do to get your sleep in, I would do...naps, going to bed earlier, etc...

You can only burn the candle at both ends for so long...

I learned this one the hard way... take care, and tend to rest!