Does anyone have any information on the connection between stress and muscle gain? One of the reasons I work out is because I have anxiety problems and exercising is one of the ways I deal with it. I am getting fairly strong. Well strong to me. I’m not on the 500 pound squat and 300 pound bp some of you monsters are on, but I’m getting there.
I have trouble gaining weight and I wonder how much of a connection that is to stress. Since I’m sure the stress/anxiety makes my body work harder.
I eat well and I do a lot of compound exercises, but I wonder how much further I would be a long if I wasn’t such an anxious person.
Oh I’m 6’1 195 pounds. My Max squat is 260(ass to the grass, of course) and about 220 bench.
I’d say not a huge amount, as long as you’re not chronically stressed to the point of elevated blood pressure, etc.
I think you’ll see the most benefit when you fix a whole combination of factors that may not be ideal, which individually make a small difference, but together can help with noticable improvements.
For example, if you’re stuggling to gain weight I would say fix your diet first. But, fixing your diet, getting a better amount of sleep, doing some meditation with using some mild anxiolytics to de-stress would probably be even more beneficial as a whole.