Adrenergic Receptor Desensitization

Bigger Stronger Leaner Christian Thibaudeau Coaching
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whats up Coach CT

hope your doing great coach just read all the feedbacks about adrenal fatigue you wrote and i understood that it is more about the neurotransmitters and i think that i have adrenergic Receptor Desenitization to much cortisol and adreneline and sleep problems and even if i am on a great training program and my diet are on point i never see the results i am busting my ass on so .

for Training what is the best split i could do without pushing myself to much would an upper / lower/upper with rest days between or Pull+Hams /Push+Quads/full body how many sets and the rep scheme that i should do my sets in that wont hurt me more
some advice would be great

for supplemets what are the best supplements i could take i gave magnesium Glycinate and Ashwagandha and what else would be benificial

and does the normal day caffine intake Harms the receptors more should i come off all stimulants any help would be really appreciated

Thanks

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First you need to re-establish sensitivity. If your receptors are indeed desensitized/downregulated pretty much any intense training program will, at best, keep things the same and at worse, increase the desensitization.

If you’ve read some of my articles you know that 5 main things can increase cortisol production in the gym:

  1. Volume: cortisol plays a big role in energy mobilization. More volume = more energy needs = more cortisol to mobilize it

  2. Intensiveness: how hard you push each set. The closer you do to failure (or even beyond) the more cortisol and adrenaline you produce

  3. Psychological stress: This is often related to using big weights that somewhat intimidate you, but it could also be doing energy systems work to the going to not being able to breath properly

  4. Neurological demands: the more demanding on the nervous system the program is, the greater is the need for CNS activation which means greater adrenaline production. More complex lifts, more explosive work, heavier weights, Alternating exercises (e.g. A1/A2) or adding new complex movements are all elements that increase neurological demands.

  5. High training density: The shorter the rest intervals are, the more adrenaline you produce (and thus also cortisol).

If your situation you will need to lower 3-4 of these variables for a good 7-14 days. YES this essentially means doing a training program that will not trigger progress, it will help you maintain though.

You need a low volume (1 work set per exercise, 2 warm-ups, 4 exercises per session), low intensiveness (stop 2, even 3 reps short of failure), low neurological demands (switch to mostly machines for 1-2 weeks, do not alternate exercises) and even increase the rest intervals to 3-4 minutes between sets.

As for frequency I would recommend 3 days a week.

Again this is only for 1-2 weeks. Honestly it’s either that or take a week off completely.

It’s not like you are making gains right now anyway.

As for nutrition, make sure that during those 1-2 weeks, you are in a caloric surplus and eat carbs at every meal (it will help decrease cortisol and adrenaline). Don’t worry abut gaining 1-2 lbs of fat, you will easily lose that later: the goal is to get your CNS back in top form ASAP.

As far as supplements are concerned I would recommend SAM-E (around 1000mg per day). This will help with mental state and with adrenaline clearance.

If you don’t mind have zero energy for a week, the best blitz approach you can use for your problem is taking 1mg of melatonin every hour starting at 10am. If you feel too fatigued you can go 1mg every 2 hours starting at 10am. Metalonin will essentially kill cortisol production. YOU ONLY DO THAT FOR A WEEK. And will help you re-establish a normal cortisol cycle.

On week two switch to taking 1mg every hour after 5pm, and you do that for a week.

By almost completely killing cortisol and adrenaline this will rapidly re-increase sensitivity.

As for after your 1-2 week(s) “deload” I recommend doing a program where you only focus on pushing one variable very high. Do not mix high intensiveness (going to failure or 1 rep in reserve) with high volume. I personally prefer to push intensiveness and keep volume low for the natural lifter. My “Best Damn” programs, but done for 4 days a week at first would be the best option.

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Thank you so much Coach that one hella of information
i dont know what is Sam-E at all but i live overseas and bringing supplements is a bit hard
i have magnesium Glycinate and Melatonin but for melatonin coach supplementing with it supresses natural production of it i have it at 3mg i could break it into half and take the half only .

I always have a Classic Corto which is my only caffine intake for the day should i come off all stimulants for that recovery phase does it harm me more consuming caffine .

for workout i think i could workout at home i have some bands which and 16KG kettlebells abd TRX should i use these set and do a fullbody workout at home because i feel that when i go to the gym sometimes without being aware i push myslef becasue when iam there iam always seeking progress .

And Does the recovery process can take more time than that and does sleep deprivation can cause that problem and to much stims like pre-workouts
since sometime back like 5-6 years i was chuggging these drinks like water and i remember once i went to the hospital and i felt like daying i had the most intense panic attack anyone could handle .

Thnak you so much Coach for your time and really appreciate it

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Coach CT,

Hope your doing great I have been facing an issue regarding finding myself gaining any results from all my workouts and training I am doing for the past 4 years always pushing myself and the results aren’t that good at all

And always have bad sleep issues the day I train or workout I never sleep that well the days I stop training I sleep better and my body temperature is always low during training I don’t feel like my metabolic rate is working efficiently and always have fat around my waist and handles is this from high cortisol and adrenaline output and my anxiety is to much to handle .

So my concern is what exactly is my issue here I used to abuse pre workout drinks from along time and once went to the hospital from a panic attack from it but I stoped it since ages I only drink one coffe a day and one black tea so do I have Adrenergic receptor problem or something else and should I stop training altogether or should I move 3 times a week or I won’t make any progress but it’s better to move I had a shoulder injury last week from all that stress and I am really in a deep black hole I need some help and guidance

Thank you Coach

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Hey I know that approach with the melatonin! We talked about the half a year ago on the forum. How was the process of implementing it? Did you talk to the Dr who recommended it first?

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I think at the moment, regaining beta-adrenergic sensitivity is more important for you than anything else.

So I would certainly recommend taking steps to lower cortisol/adrenaline production.

  1. Low volume training
  2. Training 3 days a week
  3. Longer rest intervals
  4. Magnesium taurate post workout and in the evening (around 200mg)
  5. Glycine post-workout and in the evening 3-5g
  6. Melatonin at 5, 7 and 9pm (1mg ideally)
  7. Stick to exercises you know well
  8. AVOID being in a caloric deficit
  9. Higher meal frequency with carbs at every meal