Hormones regulate all processes in the body. They play an important role in weight gain and fat burning. Learn how to boost testosterone production. You must remember that hormones play a key role in bodybuilding. These substances regulate all processes in the human body. Good mood, depression or boredom are all the result of the work of certain hormones. The situation is similar with muscle growth and fat burning.
At the same time, hormones cannot exist in isolation. Their concentration is constantly changing, and your athletic performance depends on it. Many athletes simply quit playing sports, not understanding the fact that almost all of their failures are associated with a lack of understanding of the mechanisms of hormones. Today we are going to introduce you 10 facts about hormones in bodybuilding that will help you improve your training performance.
Ways to restore hormone balance
The balance of hormone concentration can be achieved in three ways. To begin with, hormonal substances have a great effect on the rate at which other hormones are synthesized. For example, if you are in a stressful situation, the pituitary gland begins to actively synthesize andrenocorticopic hormone, which in turn increases the rate of cortisol secretion by adrenal cells.
Gradually, the concentration of cortisol reaches such a level at which the production of adrenocorticopic hormone is inhibited, which also causes a stop in the synthesis of cortisol itself.
The rate of hormone production is also influenced by nutrient levels. For example, when a large amount of carbohydrates are consumed, insulin secretion is accelerated. This hormone conducts glucose molecules into cells and gradually the concentration of sugar in the blood decreases. This, in turn, leads to a decrease in insulin secretion.
And the last factor that influences hormone production is the brain. Again, when in a stressful situation, the brain stimulates the nervous system, which gives the command to increase the secretion of adrenaline with norepinephrine. Thanks to this, the body's energy reserves increase.
The cyclical nature of the synthesis of hormones
The cyclicality of hormone production is influenced by various factors. This can be daylight, food intake, stress and other situations when the hormonal balance in the body is disturbed.
The same cortisol is synthesized in maximum quantities in the morning after waking up. Then its concentration decreases, and this fall occurs most actively at the time of eating. In the evening, there is little cortisol in the blood so that a person can fall asleep. But this cycle can be easily disrupted, say, by your desire to lose excess weight. To do this, you reduce the calorie content of your diet, which as a result leads to an accelerated secretion of stress hormone. A similar situation occurs during fasting. If you add intensive training to these factors, then the level of cortisol will be very high. All this can disrupt sleep patterns and only increase stress for the body. This is just one situation that can disrupt the cycle of hormone synthesis. To avoid this, you should get rid of the habits in your behavior that contribute to the imbalance of hormones as soon as possible.
The behavior of hormones in different situations
At the time of the beginning of the exercise, the body accelerates the production of hormones that can increase the energy potential. To do this, the body is forced to start burning fat, which leads to a decrease in insulin levels. It is at the very moment when the level of cortisol is high, and there is little insulin in the blood, fats are burned as efficiently as possible.
Quite often, you can hear recommendations to consume fast carbohydrates before exercising in order to increase the body's energy reserves. But this in turn leads to an increase in insulin concentration, and the body burns fat at a slower rate. The carbohydrates that you consumed before the start of the training begin to be used as energy.
Powerful secondary effects of hormones on the body
Take insulin as an example. With an increase in the rate of synthesis of this hormone, the need of muscle tissue for glucose increases, which should be attributed to the primary effect. This leads to an increase in the production of glycogen in the tissues, i.e. secondary impact.
The main positive aspect of increasing insulin concentration after exercise is the replenishment of the glycogen depot. This is very beneficial in the long term for muscle growth, as cortisol levels decrease. However, for accelerating the production of protein compounds, this fact is not decisive.
Effects of Exercise on Hormonal Balance
This is true both in the short term and in the long term. With high-intensity training, the production of growth hormone is accelerated, which enhances lipolysis. This is very important in the short term if you need to lose weight.
But in the long run, this fact will also be useful to you, for the reason that your response to stress can be more flexible. At the same time, with frequent high-intensity exercises with insufficient time for rest, the activity of the autonomic nervous system will be inhibited, which will result in overtraining.
Nutrition to restore hormonal balance
Insulin is responsible not only for the accumulation of fat stores, but also regulates the process of creating a glucose store in muscle tissues. This is quite an important point, since under the influence of physical exertion, insulin will increase the rate of synthesis of protein compounds and increase the supply of glycogen.
At the same time, unused carbohydrates will be converted to fat. This suggests that when you consume more calories compared to their expenditure, insulin ceases to have a positive effect and increases fat mass. Many people should follow a high protein meal plan with a low carbohydrate diet. This will reduce the concentration of sugar and, as a result, stop the gain in fat mass.
For more information on the main hormones in bodybuilding, see this video:
