Your Friend, Cortisol.

Okay, let’s talk about cortisol! And why it’s NOT your enemy!!

I’ve seen so many TikToks claiming that certain types of workouts are bad for women because of the increase in cortisol.  I’ve seen people saying: “women shouldn’t do heavy weightlifting,” “women should only do low-impact workouts,” etc.  While I can agree that too much cortisol is not good for the body, I have to disagree with the statements regarding what types of workouts are best for women because of cortisol levels. 

First, everybody is different and something that works for one person, may not work for everyone.  You could prefer one type of workout over the other but claiming it’s because of the effects from cortisol in the body that you chose that one over another is where you might be misguided.

Before getting into the effects of cortisol, let me explain what it is:

It says, straight from the Cleveland Clinic website, “Cortisol is a glucocorticoid steroid hormone that your adrenal glands, endocrine glands on top of your kidneys, produce and release.”  Its primary function is to regulate your body’s response to stress (good or bad).

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22187-cortisol

What else does it do?

Cortisol aids in suppressing inflammation, regulating blood pressure and sugar, controlling your sleep-wake cycle, and helps control your metabolism. So, you could say that cortisol is pretty vital to our body.

When it comes to regulation of this steroid hormone, your body naturally regulates your cortisol levels continuously. There are times where cortisol levels can be higher or lower than normal. That’s where the misconception that cortisol is bad comes from.  When your cortisol levels are too high you can suffer from weight gain in your face and abdomen, stretch marks, muscle weakness, osteoporosis, and fractures, and more. When they’re too low you can suffer from fatigue, weight loss, poor appetite, and hypotension (low blood pressure).  This is why it’s important to do things that aid in regulation of cortisol levels.

Here’s where exercise comes in. One of the best ways to regulate your cortisol levels is to…. exercise regularly!! Exercise improves sleep quality and reduces stress which are key to regulating cortisol levels.  Also, high-intensity exercise temporarily spikes cortisol levels. That may sound counter-productive to regulating your cortisol levels, but this is actually a good thing! That spike forces your body to stabilize afterwards leading to better regulation of your cortisol levels.

Examples of great high-intensity exercise:

⁃            **Resistance training (including but not limited to free weights and cable movements; also proven to be most effective in weight loss, muscle tone, strength, and hypertrophy)

⁃            Circuit training (series of exercises done for rounds with minimal rest in between)

⁃            Tabata training (boxing, running, biking, rowing, etc.) (8 sets of :20 work, :10 rest)

⁃            Sports training (soccer, football, cheerleading, martial arts, and more)

**anything can be high intensity when done a certain way and as long as you’re getting your heart rate at or above 70% of its max, but when it comes to effectiveness for reaching certain goals its best to be specific in what you’re training.

*Now, I also don’t want to generalize.  If you suffer from pre-existing problems with your cortisol levels, it’s best to talk with a doctor before performing any sort of high-intensity activity.  I also want to add that due to our body’s natural clock, it can help to workout at the beginning of the day due to our cortisol levels already being at their highest during that time.  Towards the end of the day, our cortisol levels naturally start to decline to get ready for bed.  If you have pre-existing cortisol issues, then working out at the beginning of the day could help regulate cortisol levels while not deviating from the body’s natural circadian rhythm.  If you are someone who wants personal training but is concerned about your cortisol levels or pre-existing medical issues, don’t hesitate to tell your trainer so that they can program properly for your needs!