Stimulants vs Cortisol

[bmp]

Taking 200 mg caffeine pre-workout....

PROS

- Increased mental focus
- Increased strength

So you get a better workout (can focus more and more likely to bust plateus)

CONS

- Increases cortisol levels (which is bad since cortisol is muscle burning & fat promoting)


Do the pros outweigh the cons? Does your answer change based on whether you're dieting or not?

I know dave palumbo advocates against the use of stimulants while dieting. Not sure how what his opinion is for the offseason, however.

[Sammich]

If 200mg of caffeine affected cortisol levels to any significant degree then 9/10 of the public would be suffering from Cushing's syndrome.

[bbjeff86]

Cortisol is not always bad...

[bmp]

Here is the Q&A that got me wondering about it:

Q: If I am not mistaken, you don't recommend stimulants because they raise cortisol levels? Why is it recommended that one should use caffeine to aid in weight loss? Is using a stimulant counterproductive for maintaining lean mass while dieting?

Dave Palumbo: People like the feeling of stimulants; and caffeine does have a benefit for weight loss but the concomitant increases in cortisol (a catabolic steroid that breaks down muscle, suppresses the immune system, and causes increases in abdominal fat deposition), blood pressure, and cardiac risk profiles, don't make it worth it.

[bbjeff86]

I haven't read boatloads of research on this... but here is what I don't get about that reasoning.

Cortisol causes the breakdown of tissue... It makes no sense that it would cause muscle breakdown, yet at the same time cause fat storage.

"In reality however, cortisol is a primary signal hormone for carbohydrate metabolism and is related to the glycogen stores in the muscle. When glycogen concentrations in the muscle are low, to gain energy other substrates (proteins) need to be catabolized." -Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning 2nd edition 2000 pg 111

So from what I can decipher from that (and the other stuff printed I didn't copy) it would seem if you had decent levels of carbohydrates/glycogen then you shouldn't have any issues with losing muscle. Now when dieting down to very low BF levels when carbs get cut this could become an issue.

It makes sense why Dave wouldn't be a fan of this since he utilizes a ketogenic diet where glycogen stores are often very low...

[nexa]

Cortisol causes the breakdown of tissue... It makes no sense that it would cause muscle breakdown, yet at the same time cause fat storage.

If cortisol is coming in and your blood sugar levels are increased, insulin's going to kick in.

Paging Smammich and his endo textbook

[bbjeff86]

If cortisol is coming in and your blood sugar levels are increased, insulin's going to kick in.

What's your point though? Just because Insulin is present doesn't mean you are going to store/get fat... unless you have a surplus of glucose in your blood, which judging from the text I copied you wouldn't...

[nexa]

I didn't get what your question about cortisol was until now.

[0001Delta]

Paging Smammich and his endo textbook

I'll let Sammich get this one because just because I'm sleepy and maybe hypoglycemic, and he'll probably phrase the response better than I will.

[Sammich]

Do the pros outweigh the cons? yes Does your answer change based on whether you're dieting or not? not for caffeine, no

:ear:

[greensoup]

that damn swirling frog makes me unable to logically process anything