I wanted to share my old article, but it has not lost its relevance. The article is intended more for beginners... maybe someone will be interested. The article is a year old and I have not edited it.

I would like to talk about a simple and accessible way to combat increased cortisol secretion caused by training load. Many people know that cortisol is the worst enemy of a bodybuilder, putting an end to all attempts to build more muscle mass, and even leading to the accumulation of fat in the abdominal area, hiding your hard-earned abs from others. However, despite what I want to tell you has been known for a long time, thoroughly studied and double-checked, my experience of regularly visiting the hall, observing its visitors and communicating with them gives me reason to say that many amateurs only know about the existence of protein and amino acids, This is where their knowledge in the field of proper and effective nutrition for athletes is limited. So, first we should understand that the enemy for us, athletes, is not cortisol itself, but its excessively increased secretion. Directly during training, we need an increase in cortisol secretion, just the opposite. Why? Cortisol is a glucocorticoid hormone produced by the adrenal glands in response to the body's increased needs for physical, mental work and coping with stress. Any stress (physical and emotional) leads to increased and even enormous secretion of cortisol; under the influence of severe stress, the concentration of cortisol in the blood can increase tenfold. What happens? Protein structures are destroyed, including muscle tissue, glycogen contained in muscles, as well as adipose tissue. When destroyed, they leave their homes and enter the bloodstream, from where they enter the liver. In the liver, glucose is formed from these compounds, which is the main source of energy necessary to counteract stress. Simply put, if you need to cope with intense physical activity, do a large amount of work - lift heavy weights, run quickly and for a long time, cortisol will provide energy to the body, which will convert it into energy as quickly as possible, without sparing the tissues of your body, in order to SAVE!! ! If you ever have to flee in an open field from a bull that has suddenly gotten loose from its leash and is aggressive, despite the fact that a few seconds ago it was your antics in front of it that caused this aggression, then having run a kilometer over rough terrain in just a couple of minutes and having climbed a saving high tree, you will thank cortisol for providing you with an extremely high amount of energy, which allowed you to set this speed record. That is, cortisol during training is not evil, but good, but... in everything positive, unfortunately, this “but” appears.. At the end of the training, the increased background of cortisol remains at a high level, continuing to “burn” our tissues during rest. body, especially muscles, converting amino acids of muscle tissue into glucose, although at this time we need something completely different, we need to restore the resources spent during training and over-recover, making progress in increasing endurance, muscle mass and strength. And it is precisely this increased secretion of cortisol that we should fight, which I will talk about now. This can be done without even resorting to hormonal drugs.
Consuming carbohydrate drinks during exercise. A carbohydrate-based drink taken during an intense workout helps increase blood glucose levels, which in turn signals the body to reduce the secretion of cortisol, since a drop in blood glucose levels signals the body about a state of stress caused by a lack of energy. The stronger the training stress, the more energy we expend per unit of time, the lower the blood glucose level and the stronger the signal about the need to secrete as much cortisol as possible in order to increase this glucose level by converting muscle tissue amino acids (mainly BCAAs, glutamine) into glucose. This process is called gluconeogenesis - the formation of glucose from non-carbohydrate sources. By increasing the amount of glucose in the blood plasma by absorbing simple carbohydrates during training, we will ensure that the signals to increase the secretion of cortisol will be weaker, which means that the amount of cortisol will be produced less, which will avoid excessive consumption of amino acids in muscle tissue during the post-workout recovery period. Additionally, the increase in blood glucose levels caused by a carbohydrate drink can increase insulin levels, a hormone that can counteract some of the negative effects of cortisol. In general, the body’s performance will also increase during training.
Practical advice: purchase either a ready-made carbohydrate drink in a bottle (so-called isotonic drinks, which also contain minerals in addition to carbohydrates) or a concentrated carbohydrate complex (like “ULTRA FUEL” from Twinlab, “CARBO ENERGY” from Universal, “PURE MUSCLE CARBS” from Ultimate Nutrition, "ISOTEC" from Incospor), consisting of either a mixture of dextrose, fructose and maltodextrin, or maltodextrin alone and diluted in cool, clean water at the rate of no more than 35 grams of carbohydrates per half liter of water. The concentration of carbohydrates in the drink should be no more than 6-7 grams per 100 ml of liquid, otherwise the digestive system, depressed by training, will not cope with a more concentrated drink and you will get gastrointestinal upset in the form of fermentation. For this reason, fruit juices are not suitable for consumption, since they contain more than 10 grams of carbohydrates per 100 ml and it is absolutely stupid to drink a protein shake during training, which I personally had to observe more than once. You can also use the simplest recipe - add 6-7 teaspoons of simple refined sugar to half a liter of water and squeeze lemon juice into it (for taste). Bodybuilders did this back in the early 90s, sometimes adding honey instead of sugar. The drink should be consumed every 15 minutes of training, 100-200 ml. It would be great to add a couple of tablespoons of liquid amino acids to such a drink.
Drinking carbohydrate drinks before training. You can prepare an even more powerful anti-catabolic drink, but it must be taken 40 minutes BEFORE your workout. To do this, you need to mix 50-100 grams of carbohydrates, best in the form of maltodextrin, since unlike sugar it is absorbed and enters the blood more smoothly and evenly, that is, it has a lower glycemic index, with half a liter of clean water, and add VITAMIN there C in a dosage of at least 1-2 grams. Numerous scientific studies have shown that vitamin C in large quantities can reduce the fluctuations in cortisol levels that occur within 24 hours after exercise, and can reduce stress on the body, thereby reducing the need for the stress hormone. In addition, increasing the concentration of vitamin C in the blood can reduce the sensation of muscle soreness caused by exercise, and since vitamin C also has antioxidant properties (along with vitamin E), this also provides its effects in reducing stress and cortisol secretion. It should be noted that many vitamins, taken in large quantities, in doses of up to 1 gram or higher, can have not only a vitamin effect, but an effect comparable to powerful drugs, but without dangerous side effects. It will be even more effective to take 20-25 grams of complex amino acids and (or) 10 grams of BCAAs with the carbohydrate drink described above. This mixture of carbohydrates, amino acids and ascorbic acid (vitamin C), taken before training, improves performance by replenishing muscle glycogen stores and reducing the breakdown of muscle protein during training, due to increased levels of amino acids in the blood, and thanks to vitamin C taken a decrease in post-workout cortisol levels is achieved. This method of taking carbohydrates with amino acids will help increase energy for those who come to the gym after work already tired and exhausted, especially if you additionally take guarana extract, preferably in liquid form. And for athletes who belong to the category of difficult-to-grow people, the so-called. hardgainers should never train hungry, this will contribute to severe catabolism of muscle tissue. I strongly recommend that such athletes take a mixture of carbohydrates, amino acids and ascorbic acid before training.
Consuming carbohydrate drinks after exercise. About the fact that after training during the so-called period. In the protein-carbohydrate window, it is necessary to take a large amount of simple carbohydrates and easily digestible protein or an amino acid complex, a lot has been written and said. A portion of a gainer or carbohydrate drink with amino acids taken after a workout promotes the rapid restoration of spent energy and plastic resources and causes a strong secretion of insulin, a powerful anti-catabolic hormone.
Thus, by manipulating the intake of simple carbohydrates BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER training, even taken alone, it is possible to reduce the catabolism of muscle tissue caused by strength stress, both directly during training and after, which will undoubtedly result in faster recovery and more pronounced increase in muscle mass.
To increase the maximum effectiveness of carbohydrate drinks taken BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER training, I recommend ADDITIONALLY using:
- BEFORE training: amino acid complexes in tablets or liquid form (20-25 grams) or BCAA (10 grams), 1-2 grams of vitamin C, liquid guarana extract containing at least 200 mg of caffeine (for those who need to cheer themselves up a little after busy working day). In addition, you can add 5-10 grams of creatine to this cocktail. Taking creatine together with carbohydrates promotes its maximum absorption by muscle cells.
- DURING training: 10-20 grams (2-4 tablespoons) of liquid amino acids added to the drink.
- AFTER training: amino acid complexes in tablets or liquid form (20-25 grams) or BCAA (10 grams) or whey protein 30-40 grams, or just take a portion of the gainer, which already has everything, and if you use creatine, then you need take 5-10 grams of it.
All of the above is a good addition, but the basis is CARBOHYDRATES; if you use the above supplements in the considered time periods WITHOUT carbohydrates, they will have a very weak effect on metabolism and the secretion of cortisol, and CARBOHYDRATES without these additives will still give a pronounced effect. I would like to note once again that we are talking about simple carbohydrates - sucrose, dextrose, fructose, lactose, maltodextrin. If you use these types of carbohydrates at other times during the day (except for the time after waking up), this will contribute to the accumulation of subcutaneous fatty tissue and excessive stress on the pancreas. For athletes who are overweight (endomorphs), I recommend not taking a carbohydrate drink before training, limiting yourself to taking amino acids, vitamin C and guarana, it would be nice to add a couple more grams of L-carnitine. During and after training, you can take carbohydrate drinks without fear of gaining fat tissue.