Conditioning with Adrenal Fatigue

Bigger Stronger Leaner
1

Hi, wont go into too much detail unless someone has specific questions. Is anyone here well versed in Adrenal Fatigue, and how to condition while dealing with the condition, to not push yourself back into the red zone and half long term recovery? My lifting is now going so so and keeping it under control without burning myself out, but conditioning wise Im keeping it to minimal wimpy ass cardio, but I need to drop bodyfat bad.

If I were healthy, I know plenty well how to drop bodyfat…but this adrenal fatigue thing totally changes the dynamics of everything, and very few people tend to be intimately familiar with it in the strength and conditioning/fitness world…yes people are hopping on the bandwagon talking about it, thats good, but no one is really getting specific about how to train with it, especially for fat loss, without reversing the recovering process of the adrenal glands…

there are a few gurus i guess that are working with people, but at $700 a pop to consult with someone thats out of my league.

Thanks!!

2

“Adrenal fatigue is thrown around quite frequently these days and I don’t really know why. There is no medically recognized disease of adrenal fatigue. If you look into the term adrenal fatigue you’ll find many articles posted on bodybuilding and powerlifting forums, but you’ll find no scientific or peer reviewed articles on the subject.
If you search for peer reviewed journals on adrenal insufficiency, you’ll find addison’s disease, a disease which is caused when the adrenal glands do not produce enough of the hormone “cortisol.”
This is the exact opposite of what people write about when mentioning adrenal fatigue. They talk about excessive cortisol production from various forms of stress. Adrenal insufficiency is exactly the opposite of this.”

Quote from a top prep coach and high level bodybuilder, Justin Harris.

Adrenal fatigue huh? I’m afraid you are going to have to go into detail.

3

well yes I do have low cortisol after a period of it being sky high, all verified from labs and multiple doctors…so its not me labeling it or playing a guessing game…so now Im stuck with needing to take cortisol, thyroid, T, and GH…but since the adrenals are supposedly recovering your not supposed to hit it hard as you might normally…

whatever the label, I have low cortisol, thyroid, and T…

4

Justin Harris, never heard of him. I do not typically consider bodybuilders the real intellects of the exercise science or medical community.

5

You mentioned being over-weight, do you think that has anything to do with it? I know that there is a connection between low T and belly-fat. There also seems to be a connection between cortisol levels and diet. + you have things auto-immune disorders that account for the low cortisol, like HIV and diabetes. You have low cortisol being an indicator of some types of cancer.

Really, I would seriously dig for answers on the cause here and not listen to anyone who says it’s adrenal fatigue. Those hormonal issues can be really serious and indicative of life-threatening illnesses. But instead it sounds like you had tests done by valid doctors and then went to some specialist who earns his living in pumping people with hormones.

What are you sodium/potassium levels? Did they tell you that? If you have low cortisol levels and you’re being examined by competent medical professionals, they should know to look for elevated potassium/low sodium to figure out the cause(since, IIRC, those are symptoms of a serious autoimmune disorder). They would ask you about any changes in your pigmentation and test to see if you were dehydrated or felt dehydrated, and many other questions.

Do some digging, all of a sudden if cortisol levels drop that is an indication of something and it’s not ‘adrenal fatigue’(the adrenals, dey tired derp derp, let me give you some hormones and make a living derp derp).

6

Thanks for the response. Ill go dig up some of my labs and look at the potassium/sodium. Ive had so many labs done in the last 4 years by so many doctors my head spins…and most of them do not really explain things so well…

Ive been checked for cancer by places like Hopkins and Cleveland Clinic, so Im confident I do not have it. Ive been checked time and time again for numerous disease since I was ill for so long…in the end they explained it that after some initial surgeries getting botched and internal infections, for a few years I continued getting flu like sickness, upper respitory infections, and they kept giving me anti biotics, and thats on top of lots of pain killers and muscle relaxers i was on…Hopkins told me that all the crap Id been overmedicated on killed my immune system and hormones, and being sick and tossed around from doctors with conflicting input on what was up with me, surely caused a ton of stresss which further will blunt hormones, etc…

I have been to some doctors now that you mention it, that do labs and right away offer tons of hormones hah…“pay to play” I called it, like anyone could probably walk in there complaining of being tired with low sex drive and walk out with T, GH, and thyroid.

I was not overweight when the initial injury happened or surgery…I was 245 at 10% BF…it took 3 years of illness, inactivity, and other follow up surgeries, for me to blow up to 270 and probably 25-30% BF. Within a few months of being on HRT, I dropped back to 240, but Im still not even half the physical being I was before and although Im eating clean and working out a bunch, the belly fat is not coming off.

7

looked at latest labs, sodium and potassium are smack dab in middle of reference ranges

8

I’m interested in this thread as well. I just got my results back from my cortisol test yesterday. I had 0.2 ng/mL upon waking (normal is 3.7-9.5) and <0.1 ng/mL the other 3 times of the day. I guess that is super low. Test was also at 41, way below normal for my age (32). I’m waiting on my blood tests for my thyroid, but I suspect the adrenals are at the center of it. My guess is that I have been dealing with this for a long time. I’m curious of how best to handle it. I have read a few things that say you definitely want to keep the intensity in check since this taxes the adrenals…

9

Welcome to the struggle brother…Im sure this type of thing will start getting more attention hopefully

10

do you know how much to take of the supplements listed in “The truth about adrenal fatigue”? Also, do you know which ones work (or are alleged to work) best? I was thinking of starting w/ licorice root and ashwaganda…

11

This is what I was taking as of a few weeks ago, I have tweaked it a bit backing off of some stuff since my liver values were higher than normal last labs:
Wake Up Empty Stomach:
10mg Cortef Cortisol (5mg later in day)
7 Grains Armor Thyroid

Few hours later with Living Fuel Ultimate Shake:
Idebenone 90mg (then another 90mg later in day)
Centrophenoxine 2g
L-Huperzine A 100mcg (2 x more with meals later in day)
Piracetam 1600mg (3 x more with meals)
Choline Bitartrate 235mg
Acetyl L-Carnitine 500mg
L-Theanine 500mg (1x more later in day)
CoQ10 100mg (has some C, E, Lipase in it too)
NAC 600mg
Alpha Lipoic Acid 600mg
TMG (trymethylglycine) 1500mg
B Complex (crapload of all the Bs + 100mg C)
NewChapter Organics Every Man�?�¢??s One Daily
Taurine 1000mg
Carnitine 660mg

Adrenal Assist (Each vegetarian suitable capsule includes: Vitamin C, buffered (as calcium ascorbate), Vitamin B6 (as pyridoxal-5-phosphate), Vitamin B5 (as calcium pantothenate), Magnesium (citrate, malate), Zinc (as picolinate), Rhodiola rosea extract ( 3% rosavins, 1% salidroside), Astragalus root, Maca, Ashwagandha root extract (3.5% withanolides), Holy basil leaf extract (2.5% ursolic acid), Panax Ginseng extract (10% ginsenosides), Schizandra berry, Eleutherococcus senticosus extract(20:1))

Thyroid Support Complex
Digestive Enzymes
Pregnenolone 150mg
DHEA 75mg
Vitamin D3 5000iu+550mcg Vitamin K
HANDFULS of BCAAs every day multiple times

At night:
Dynamics of Nature Vitaforce Whole Food Vitamin and Mineral (greens powder)
Healthforce Nutritionals Truly Natural Vitamin C Powder

Living Fuel Shakes I use a few times a day, they are loaded with stuff.

We are dropping the DHEA and Pregnenolone for now as my hormones seem to be leveling out. Im on 200mg Testosterone week, 250iux3 HCG, 1mg daily GH, 4 grains Armor Thyroid, 10early AM 5mg 4-5 hours later Cortisol. GHB at bedtime during week, I take weekends off.

Added recently:
Resveratrol
L-Arginine/Ornithine
Glucosamine/MSM/Ginger/Tumeric blend
Liver Support with Milk thistle and other herbs

In my shakes Ill put 5mg Luecine powder from Biotest and Superfoods from Biotest. Also use Biotest’s two versions of Essential Fatty Acids, 2 caps of each kind with each meal.
I also do Muscle Monster Milk shakes and other whey shakes, all depends what I have on hand.

Injectable B12 Methycobalamin 3x week
Injectable Vitamin C and Gluathione daily, but will be switching to nutrional IVs soon with bigger doses of C and Gluathione

12

holy crap dude. I’m going to retake my test again i think. A few people have told me that my numbers are so low that I should barely be able to function and that the lab probably messed up. I am hoping that is the case cuz I don’t feel that bad really. I’ll keep you posted…

13

Adrenal glandular,licorice and 5htp

Gonna skip the biography, but I did a lot of research and trial and errors and thats what gave me the best results

Panax ginseng is great, did not try ashwagandha, rhodiola I didn’t like the feeling, its makes me numb inside

14

I just bought some licorice root yesterday. My 5htp is on the way.

How much licorice root did you take/day? I bought the liquid stuff and have been taking 750mgs twice/day. Also, how much adrenal glandulars did you take? I bought some powder from leviticus 11 and was taking 1 tsp/day. thinking of bumping it up to 2tsp/day.

After talking w/a few people who have beaten this thing, I have also decided to take a month off completely. Starting my second week right now. They all said that you know you are making progress when you start to get antsy for exercise again…

15

Id love to hear more about their experiences…and workout protocols, as well diet…Wilsons book is great, but not geared toward hard core athletes dealing with this…

16

[quote]imcleish wrote:
I just bought some licorice root yesterday. My 5htp is on the way.

How much licorice root did you take/day? I bought the liquid stuff and have been taking 750mgs twice/day. Also, how much adrenal glandulars did you take? I bought some powder from leviticus 11 and was taking 1 tsp/day. thinking of bumping it up to 2tsp/day.

After talking w/a few people who have beaten this thing, I have also decided to take a month off completely. Starting my second week right now. They all said that you know you are making progress when you start to get antsy for exercise again…[/quote]

Adrenal glandular: 1 cap 3 times a day with the first 3 meals I eat (I eat 5 or 6 times a day)
Licorie root powder: a tablespoon or two, with my first 2 adrenal glandular caps

Licorice root gives me a lot of energy

Adrenal glandular did most of the healing: allergies, no energy between meals, inflamation, waking up being the worst thing in the world, no energy between 6am and 3pm

My diet is normal stuff, meat, eggs, all kind of vegetables, lentil, kidney beans, mushrooms, cheese, nuts etc etc…

http://tuberose.com/Adrenal_Glands.html

17

I’m curious how much relaxation time you take and what techniques you use to keep stress at bay.

It doesn’t seem to me that “minimal wimpy ass cardio” will do you any favors unless you are taking a relaxing walk outside where you can rejuvenate and let the natural world do it’s thing.

Cortef at 10 mg and 7 grain tell me that relaxation and minimal stress with an easy diet and lots of good water are the best bets for you for weight loss.

18

This is the best resource online for adrenal fatigue info:

http://www.drlam.com/conditioncareguide/adrenalhealth.asp?tab=1&condition=adrenalhealth

Also, if you want a book that deals with different forms of exercise depending on your current condition, this is it:

19

Hi guys…sorry been a while but if anyone is following this thread, you asked about relaxation stuff…I do nuerofeedback twice a week, and was doing Healing Rythms biofeedback meditation at home on my PC a few times week too, in addition to relaxing slow breathing walks…and Mass in the morning which is calming for me…my schedule has changed up a bit as Im studying for the GRE, started new workouts in the evening in group classes as I started feeling better…so this GRE prep course Im in and studying is adding a little stress to the fire and taking away some of my at home meditation/biofeedback/prayer time and chill walks…but as soon as I pop this test in the next 4 or 5 weeks and put it behind me, Ill be back to hitting all the relaxation stuff as often as possible…

Walks, yoga, tai chi, meditation, anything calming and chill is the way to go with adrenal fatigue…hard though at times, because i start feeling better and want to step on the gas again!

20

[quote]bluecollarjock wrote:
Justin Harris, never heard of him. I do not typically consider bodybuilders the real intellects of the exercise science or medical community.[/quote]

He has a bachelor’s in exercise science. He used to write for EliteFTS, but is currently having some medical issues (rhabdo). Huge dude, strong as fuck, and from the things he has written, I surmise that he is a pretty bright guy.