how catabolic is STRESS?? lets explore this one my friends...

[VictorBR]

I would say that my life has been pretty much streesfull and problematic the last 2 years . Like never before , I have a problematic relantionship , serious financial problems , and family problems all at once . When those problems started I lost my focus , was training a lot less and eating junk food all day and of course gaiend a ton of fat , now I lost all the fat that I have gained and I still have those problems , BUT I have learned how to NOT let them get on my way ....

My progress has been good so far ( lost all the fat that I have gained and regained all the muscle that I have lost ) , and I have not used any AAS in the last 2 years , but I do feel that my progress would be even better by now if my life was 100 % perfect like it used to be ....

I am waiting for my life to get in order before I start my cycle , why ? Yes , cortisol and stress . I want to maximize my cycle to the most so I will only start when I get my shit straight ... That is why I am holding it back so much ...I could have started by now ...but I will wait , patience is the key here .


Victor

 

[Ffactor]

Definitely #2, positive nitrogen balance and anti-catabolic effect will by far outweigh high cortisol levels induced by stress.

 

[loik4]

#2 No doubt. Just have to watch for temper flaring up while on the juice, and stressed out at the same time. This is probably the main reason 18 & under should avoid AAS. Just my opinion.

 

[Doktor Bollix]

Stress is a diffuse phenomenon, hard to nail down. Gaining muscle is an adaptation to stress, so is catabolism. That's why blocking cortisol is a no-no, apart from the sides if you drop your cortisol levels too low (death), cortisol is an integral part of anabolism, gotta tear it down to build it bigger, though steroids work partly by inhibiting the tear down while encouraging the building, cortisol is a part of the process, even for those on AAS.

Goldendelicious said it right: having a nagging bitch for a girlfriend or flunking out of college or whatever won't raise your stress hormones as much as lifting heavy-ass weights really hard really consistently. So guy no. 1 is still under a lot of stress even with the perfect life and all.

Cortisol is cortisol regardless of whether the stimulus is physical or emotional. I would argue that there is good stress and bad stress and the difference is psychological and lifestyle oriented to a great degree.

Just to go off on a tangent, sure steroids mask many of the effects of cortisol on the body; that doesn't mean the messages being sent by the body in response to stress disappear. There ain't no free lunches. To pick one thing, a main effect of sustained cortisol release is preferential visceral fat accumulation; a fat deposition pattern linked with heart disease, hypertension and diabetes, possibly a risk factor for a bunch of other nasty stuff. Contrary to popular belief cortisol doesn't make you fat (unless released in MASSIVE quantities) but it does influence the type of fat you gain. Lifting weights is stressful, bulking then dieting then bulking like a yo-yo is stressful, particularly when the body will preferentially preserve visceral fat to protect the internal organs in response to starvation signals. There's plenty of guys with great abs who have pot bellies, their fat is all behind the abdominal wall, bodybuilders are notorious for this.

 

[boogersnax]

Anabolic Steroids reduce the secretion of cortisol. Once off cycle, cortisol returns with a vengence, the reason why it's so hard to keep gains. There is a very good treatment of this subject in Author L. Rea's book "BUILDING THE PERFECT BEAST." The book is really worth picking up and adding to your library.

PEACE
Booger...

 

[Doktor Bollix]

Anabolic Steroids reduce the secretion of cortisol. Once off cycle, cortisol returns with a vengence, the reason why it's so hard to keep gains. ..

Not 100% correct there bro. My understanding is that AAS block the binding of cortisol to receptor sites in the muscles not the secretion of cortisol in the adrenal cortex.

There are still consequences to high cortisol levels in the AAS user as cortisol and related hormones have effects on other parts of the body than the muscles and influence other aspects of the body's functioning.

Here's another example: cortisol suppresses the immune system. AAS users are more prone to diseases, colds etc, in the period right after they start their cycle. I've read ten million posts by guys saying they got sick as soon as they got up on their cycle. Everybody always says it's the drugs though nobody knows why. The simplest answer - suddenly elevated cortisol levels due to all the tissue damage and exertion of a guy hitting the weights with increased intensity and immune system suppression is hardly ever mentioned.

It's true about cortisol being ramped up post cycle. The scary bit is that cortisol receptor sites also increase. That's why guys should try and get their levels down before they go off cycle by taking a little time out of the gym and healing up before they have to deal with all the post cycle cortisol.

 

[DIVISION]

1) bodybuilder trains naturally and has a perfect life.. no problems whatsoever!

2) bodybuilder trains on 500mg susta per week but is going through a super super stressful time.

which will build more mass????

#1 builds more mass.

A stress-free environment is an anabolic environment.





DIV

 

[40butpumpin]

i think regardless of how much negative stress one has in their life, if training continues AND nutrition and sleep doesn't suffer, there will be NO noticible drop off in physique or strength. I will add that what gear used in not nearly as important as maintaining training consistency, getting adequate sleep, and perhaps most importantly getting the right nutrition in and at the right times. so 500mg sustanon, in and of itself, will do absolutely nothing to protect you from the ravages of stress if that's all you do. imo anyway.