Do any of you guys go to the gym / workout?

[nianxiousguy]

This will sound daft but I am after some opinions. I've suffered GAD with occasional panic attacks all my adult life, (38 now). 3 years ago I joined the gym and started lifting weights, 3 years on zero results in the gym, I've had nutrition, programs, testosterone all looked at and everything was fine, but it has been suggested the issue could be cortisol levels because of my anxiety issues. Do you think this could be true or bull?

[ankietyjoe]

Probably a combination of not enough protein in your diet and not enough effort in the gym. As harsh as it sounds (and I'm a lot older than you!), it's hard to put on muscle in your late 30s! Cortisol won't help, but it's more likely to be a minor hindrance than an absolute barrier.

Sleep is the other thing, unless you're getting good sleep it's difficult for your body to lay new muscle down.

[nianxiousguy]

Probably a combination of not enough protein in your diet and not enough effort in the gym. As harsh as it sounds (and I'm a lot older than you!), it's hard to put on muscle in your late 30s! Cortisol won't help, but it's more likely to be a minor hindrance than an absolute barrier.

Sleep is the other thing, unless you're getting good sleep it's difficult for your body to lay new muscle down.

Yes true age isn't helping. So basically its bull? Cortisol could be an issue but only a small part.

[brucealmighty]

it may contribute but as joe says it`s likely to be other things

I found doing large compound exercises like the dreaded squats, overhead press, deadlift etc will always tend to produce results because they are so bloody effort intensive. concentration type moves like bicep curls which isolate a muscle always get the attention but don`t give you the same overall benefits

rest is key, and eat protein within an hour of training, but absolute balls out effort when you train is 90% of the answer I`d say

best of luck and train safe too, sod the numbers just do your best on any given day

[nianxiousguy]

Ok guys thanks for clearing that up

[ankietyjoe]

Do you know how much protein you're eating?

[MyNameIsTerry]

I wouldn't rule anything out, without someone testing obviously, but since this is a common problem with training it is more likely going to be pointing at the usual factors (age, genetics, build type, how close you are to you natural potential when starting, diet, type of training, etc). It's possible that someone could say it's cortisol due to anxiety because they can't see something else stopping you gaining hence falling back on a potentially incorrect conclusion.

Cortisol will be negatively affected if you are training for longer than an hour. Couple that with anxiety and it may hold you back since we tend to have too much of the stuff floating around anyway. But since exercise helps reduce cortisol what you are doing is likely fighting against it anyway (providing you aren't training beyond that threshold).

There are a lot of fancy routines out there. And a lot of people making their money off inventing them. But you will see how the pros just say go back to basics and leave all the fancy volume stuff to the advanced trainees. Compound and not isolation. Some gets boosts from heavy training, some get boosts from higher reps, some try something else. I think the point is that you do the basics that are time tested, compound lifting and good diet, and once you plateau you look more towards those fancy things we see in the mags that are just for squeezing out that extra inch or few pounds in someone already close to genetic potential.

I reckon my cortisol isn't in good shape for various reasons being a daily GADer. I have walked a lot over the last decade or so. In the past couple of years I've stopped walking as much and added in about 30-40g of protein but spread out. The result has been muscle growth just from stuff like walking as my quads are more muscular and larger. I'm yet to get back into the weights. Not enough protein and too much exercise, not that I was even trying to add anything, but I did see a change when I made some alterations that showed I was not fuelling my body properly for what I was putting it under as well as doing too much for it to build on anyway.

The opposite is true of calves though with volume. There's a reason runners & cyclists have great calves and weight lifters struggle with them...big loads and tons of repetition.

[mark84]

what are your lifts like??

[WiredIncorrectly]

I have 1 testicle and lower T than a normal man. I'm 35. I don't eat what nutritionists recommend for a lifting regime. I don't take supplements. And I sometimes take month long breaks in between due to anxiety. Yet, I can still build muscle. In 2 months I went from benching 40kg to 60kg (80 inc. bar). Added 2 inches to my arms (not in 2 months lol! That took couple years).

Have you really gained nothing?

Do you follow any regimes?

How do you lift?

Are you skinny? Overweight? Average?

How much do you eat?

What do you eat?

I tend to do less reps but very heavy weight, to the point where on my last reps I'm grunting very loud and my arms are about to fall off. I have seen people pick up a weight that doesn't challenge them in any way and continue to repeat the same thing for every gym session. That wont do anything. But, after 3 years I doubt you're doing that.

Very strange indeed if you haven't put anything on and you're lifting right, and eating right.

In 3 years, even with a poor diet and constant gym use, you would build muscle. Just not as fast.