But I do think HIT could be a good thing for us type 3’s because CT recommends 3 days a week at most, I think, for type 3’s because we over produce cortisol and working out raises cortisol. Keep carbs high. Especially around the workout and the last meal of the day. My macro breakdown as a type 3 is 60% carbs, and then 20% protein and fats.
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Not enough “spark” them…haha ,nowere nobody said in debate in This forum,brother
@entsminger, I’m guessing you found CT’s Thibarmy forum like I originally said, as it’s not on T-Nation. It’s recommended someone other than yourself take the test on your behalf since they’ll give what they know about you (how you really are) rather than you answering how you would like to be.
Yes I found it, thanks! Probably a good idea to have someone else to take the test for me. I don’t know if they’d believe I have 21 inch arms and 55 inch chest and 31 inch waist and can do 30 chins , ha ha!
Scott
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This Neuro stuff for # 3 people seems like a catch 22 . So many things they do cause to much cortisol release . You work to hard or too much and your cortisol levels go to high and prevent you from recovering. I’m used to either pushing to failure , can’t do another strict rep and sometimes going past that and suppose I back off some and have a great workout but something else gets my cortisol level up and stops me from recovering anyway . Sounds like a no win situation? Those number one and Two guys don’t sound much better. Spock! Beam me up!! Ha ha!!
Scott
I’m probably wrong but it seems that elevated cortisol levels which hinder muscle development is the result of one thing or another in all three Neuro stages. I read of several possible ways to mitigate raising cortisol such as dark chocolate , pears and yogurt and I’m wondering if those or anything else like that really helps with the cortisol issue or if it’s much more complicated than a simple remedy like that?
Scott
Glycine works, but I only use it on workout days. 9-10 grams in a shake I sip thoughout the workout.
Scott,
Re our previous comments in another thread. Sleep is most important in order to manage cortisol (stress).
In keeping with this notion that cortisol is elevated with exercise I have this observation. It was said that stress for those # 3 people increases cortisol. I am starting to look at how my body reacts when stressed. I do wildlife photography as a hobby. I use very big lenses you might see at a football game. The other night I was out trying to photograph flying squirrels. I noticed that as I tried to focus and follow these squirrels in action my pulse and blood pressure seemed to accelerate. Trying to capture that special moment can be very stressful. You really can get on edge! I’m wondering if that was raising my cortisol levels? I don’t get that feeling at all when I go to workout. It seems to be stress relieving? It doesn’t seem to be stressful at all but it’s hard to tell ? Just something to think about.
Scott
@entsminger the stress response is only a fraction of cortisol’s physiological responses; there’s much more to it.
Did you get the shot?
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Yes I got the shot and many more. The interesting thing is that I’ve literally shot thousands of flying squirrels pictures and yet when doing so I still can feel my heartbeat raise and pulse go up every time I do it. One would think by this time I could calmly sit there and take those pictures without raising my stress level but no, more than not it always happens. Maybe it’s something about me being a perfectionist or the fear of failure? It probably happens when I fail to do as many reps on an exercise as the last time. Then the cortisol increases and causes even more trouble? Yea I know , learn to relax !
Scott
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After this:
It’s good to know about stuff, but you’re paralyzing yourself here, dude. You’ve been around the block more than a few times, don’t let something you’ve survived without knowing about weigh your mind down.
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Yea you’re right, I have no clue to this neuro stuff or cortisol and at this point I’m sure there’s not much I could or should do anything about it anyway! It is interesting stuff though!
Scott
It’s super interesting, and CT is not only a wealth of knowledge, but is a super accommodating coach who will answer your most in-depth questions, so don’t be discouraged from finding out more. Just don’t scare yourself out of living your life!
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It’s just that type 3 are more prone to stress in general. So yeah don’t stress over this you’ll generate more cortisol ahahah
Yes chronic elevated cortisol is very bad, but you don’t get there in an instant, and cortisol is also beneficial, you need it to perform at a high level, to train ahrd, to lift heavy.
So sure aim to diminish stress and cortisol, not to eradicate it. You should watch CT’s recent video on his youtube channel (Thibarmy) “The differences between enhanced and natural trainees” to have a more in-depth view of the effects of cortisol on training
That is 100% accurate.
I think I created a monster when I talked about cortisol, how it’s bad for gains and how some people are more prone to have it chronically elevated.
The reality is that some people have taken it too far. If you listen to some of my videos on youtube, you’ll see that cortisol is actually NEEDED to train hard and that you do want some of it when training. If you want to absolutely avoid anything that will elevate cortisol when training (volume, intensiveness, intensity, density, neurological demands) you will never get any gains.
Certainly, you want to avoid excessive cortisol and, more importantly, chronic cortisol elevation (which has more to do with lifestyle, job, life stress, than training).
The 30-10-30 method, just like any of Dr.Darden’s method is high in one variable that will increase cortisol: intensiveness. Pushing each set to its limit. HOWEVER his training is also VERY low in volume to accomodate that. The overall effect is not excessive at all.
Of course if you take the 30-10-30 (or any of Doc’s methods) and you apply them to a higher volume approach, you might get too much cortisol.
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what about high frequency ,then ? 1-2 sets to failure /per workout/ , but everyday ?