Avoiding Recovery Debt and Adrenaline Dominance (Breather Episode with Brad)

(Breather) On the heels of the previous breather show about the constrained model of energy expenditure, I talk about what happens when you ignore these insights and try to power through hectic modern life like a rock star. You fall into what top MMA trainer (and previous GOY podcast guest) Joel Jamieson calls “recovery debt,” where important body functions get compromised as you overdo it. This can include immune function, inflammation control, and muscle repair, leading to the dreaded breakdown, burnout, illness, and injury.

If you at times feel superhuman in go go go mode, realize that these highs of sustained work performance or training volume are fueled by the chronic overproduction of stress hormones — a state of “Adrenalin Dominance” as detailed by Dr. Michael Platt in his book of the same name. I mention briefly how Dr. Platt recommends applying progesterone cream to blunt the production of adrenalin, estrogen, and insulin, and how “adrenal fatigue” is misunderstood; the cause of this condition is actually adrenalin dominance.

Insufficient attention to recovery, however, is the true cause of your demise here; maybe it’s not the workout itself, but what you did for the remainder of those 22 hours that day affects your body on a deeper level. Does the body like to be pushed hard and challenged? Of course, it does...but when you challenge your body (either in training or just in life, at work), then you do need to compensate with the amount of energy you exert. We know that anything that is stimulating to the body is a form of stress (positive or negative) and should be countered by restful, low-stress activities, but people often
forget how important it is to make time for rest and recovery.

Now, there are plenty of people who feel like they have an endless source of energy, who never get tired, who think, “I can go all day without taking breaks and I’m still energized by evening!” Unfortunately, that’s really not the case. People who have massive energy output at all times probably achieve this (in part) due to the fact that their bodies are overproducing stress hormones. They’re in flight or flight mode, and don’t even realize it, in spite of all the obvious signs: increased alertness, energy levels, and endurance…

Some people can sustain this for days, some people can live like this for weeks, months, even years! But at what price? This overstimulation of your body’s natural stress response has serious long term health effects; suppressing your immune system and compromising your ability to control inflammation. To be clear, this is not just about workouts — there are other very important environmental stimuli people often forget even count as stress. An obvious one? The workplace. The moment you enter your place of work, you’ve entered high-stress mode, and regardless of if you love your job, your coworkers, and your work environment, your body still reacts to all the stimuli in your environment.

Are you currently dealing with symptoms of adrenaline dominance? Do you crash out of pure exhaustion on weekends, crave sugar, or suffer from cold hands and feet? Another thing you can watch out for is salivary cortisol levels. According to Dr. Platt, when you test salivary cortisol and find it to be low, that’s a symptom of adrenaline dominance, not adrenal insufficiency, because your body has shut down “superfluous metabolic processes,” like immune function, good digestion, and circulation to your hands and feet, because your body is just trying to deal with the issues at hand: your stress. If you do suffer from any of these symptoms, it’s time to make some changes. This show will inspire you to examine your energy expenditure and also get real with yourself about how you’re really feeling, so you can make the necessary changes to ensure you’re prioritizing rest and recovery and functioning at peak performance.

TIMESTAMPS:

Do you turn a blind eye to your limit on maximum energy expenditure? [03:34]

When you challenge your body, you need to compensate with the rest of your life behaviors to tone down your energy expenditure. [06:04]

Re-bound workouts are specially designed workouts that can actually speed your recovery. [08:48]

When you overstimulate the stress response, you are looking at a long-term repercussions with the suppression of immune function [10:45]

Overproduction of adrenaline appears to be related to mental illness. [15:38]

Around age 50, males stop producing normal levels of progesterone which leads to the spare tire! [17:59]

Watch out for those overstress patterns. [19:16]

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