Sports Researcher Claims That These 'Underappreciated Elements' Are Hindering Your Progress in Sports
In the world of fitness, much emphasis is placed on intense workouts and rigorous training regimes. However, two key factors that significantly affect muscle growth and recovery often go unnoticed: stress and sleep.
Chronic stress elevates cortisol, a hormone that promotes muscle breakdown and impairs recovery, thereby hindering muscle growth. Adequate sleep is crucial because it supports the release of growth hormone and regulates hormones like testosterone and cortisol, which directly impact muscle repair and growth.
Muscle recovery involves repairing microscopic muscle damage caused by exercise through muscle protein synthesis (MPS), which peaks within 24 hours post-workout but continues over 24-72 hours or more. Proper nutrition, hydration, and avoiding intense exercise during this recovery window are vital. Sleep facilitates these repair processes and hormonal balance, making it indispensable for recovery.
Active coping strategies to mitigate the negative effects of stress and improve muscle recovery include mindfulness, relaxation exercises, and controlled breathing, which can reduce chronic stress and lower cortisol levels, supporting better muscle preservation and recovery. Engaging in low-impact activities that promote blood flow without excessive strain also helps clear metabolic waste and speeds up recovery.
Improving sleep quality requires maintaining a regular sleep schedule, creating a comfortable sleep environment, avoiding stimulants like caffeine and heavy meals before bedtime, and incorporating relaxation routines before sleep, such as meditation or gentle stretching, to reduce pre-sleep stress.
Sports Scientist Menno Henselmans has highlighted two overlooked factors that could be stalling muscle growth: stress and sleep. He points out that stress is closely related to mental health. By managing stress actively and optimising sleep quality, lifters can mitigate the detrimental effects of stress and sleep deprivation on muscle growth and recovery, promoting better training outcomes and reducing injury risk.
In a study, lifters who prioritised sleep gained more muscle mass and lost significantly more fat compared to those who didn't. Poor sleep can disrupt energy expenditure, appetite, and stress levels, making it harder to stick to training and nutrition goals. Stress can also make it harder for fat loss and sticking to a diet, as it increases the urge to self-medicate with comfort foods.
Recovery is just as important as training when it comes to making real progress in the gym. By understanding and addressing the impact of stress and sleep on muscle growth and recovery, fitness enthusiasts can optimise their training routines for better results.
- Sports Scientist Menno Henselmans suggests that stress, which is closely related to mental health, can negatively impact muscle growth by elevating cortisol, a hormone that promotes muscle breakdown and impairs recovery.
- Improving sleep quality is essential for muscle growth and recovery since adequate sleep supports the release of growth hormone and regulates hormones like testosterone and cortisol, which directly impact muscle repair and growth.
- Engaging in low-impact activities that promote blood flow, avoiding intense exercise, proper nutrition, hydration, and optimizing sleep quality can facilitate muscle recovery, which involves repairing microscopic muscle damage through muscle protein synthesis, and making it indispensable for better training outcomes and reducing injury risk.
