Tom Nikkola | VIGOR Training

Weight training has a way of mimicking life, which is why the lessons learned in VIGOR Training are as practical outside the gym as they are inside it.

And just like life, the shortcuts or easy options rarely produce long-lasting results.

The following are the five most common mistakes people make with weight training. Maybe you don't make any of these mistakes. If that's true, pass this along because someone you know might be making them right now.

1. You Put Too Much Emphasis On Avoiding Pain Or Injury

Somewhere, sometime, somebody sold the idea that you can get fit and healthy without ever getting hurt.

I’ve even heard wannabe personal trainers say you should never be sore after training sessions. Sad, but true.

The reality is, reward rarely comes without risk when lifting weights or in real life.

To create deep, meaningful relationships, you have to accept that you’ll get hurt or heartbroken. To avoid ever being hurt, you’d have to avoid ever making a connection with someone else.

To lead and influence others, you’ll have to accept that the more people love what you do, the more you’ll have people who hate you too. To avoid the pain of small-minded critics, you’d have to remain small an insignificant.

To build a strong, healthy body, you first have to break it down so it can rebuild stronger than before.

You’ll often be sore, you’ll sometimes get hurt, and you’ll occasionally get injured.

When I design the VIGOR Training sessions, I do so with the goal of minimizing the risk of injury, but it isn’t possible to prevent it. The only way to avoid an injury is to do nothing. To sit on the couch day after day and get weak and fat. You might never get hurt, but you’ll also lose your health.

You can't avoid pain. You choose your pain. The pain of building strength, or the pain of being sick.

You can choose the short-term pain and discomfort of strength training so you can become stronger, healthier, and make more of your body and mind.

Or, you can choose the future pain of obesity, heart disease, dementia, cancer, and possibly premature death by opting for the short-term comfort of crappy food and a comfortable couch.

You’re reading this because you want more from life. Rather than fearing the chance that you’ll get hurt, expect that one day you will, and decide now that you’ll carry on no matter what happens.

Building strength and improving fitness requires you to consistently push yourself harder than you have before.

The truly fit often teeter between doing just enough and a little too much.

They experience muscle soreness. They sometimes feel pain. And every once in a while, they get hurt. But we have bodies that can bounce back. It’s better to deal with occasional pain and make progress than sit in comfort and get weak and fat.

Of course, there are smart ways to train and dumb ways to train. But even when you follow a sound program, you do risk getting hurt. That’s just the nature of using your body.

If you spend your life avoiding the chance of getting hurt, you totally limit the opportunity to get healthy and fit.

2. You Change Up Your Training Program As Often As The Country Changes Presidents

Pause for a moment and try to think of an area of your life where you’re thriving, yet you aren't growing and experiencing new challenges. You'll have to think for a long time before something comes to mind.

A business that doesn’t explore new challenges and take new risks eventually becomes irrelevant, like Kodak.

An athletes who wins every competition gets bored or complacent. Eventually, they look for new ways to feel the high he or she once felt from the competition because like anyone else, they need to feel and experience new challenges.

A married couple who does the same thing day after day…the same shows, the same restaurants, the same vacations, heck, even the same sex, gets stale and the relationship decays.

What are the health benefits of the sauna? Is it just a way of testing your resilience to pain, or are there some metabolic benefits from embracing the heat? What's the best way to use a sauna? I'll answer these questions, and then some, in this article.



I grew up in the small, beautiful city of Ely, MN. During the winter, Ely, or one of the surrounding towns, is usually the coldest place in the United States.



Not surprisingly, Ely has a rich Scandinavian heritage. I’m a quarter Finnish (which is where Nikkola comes from), Norwegian, Swedish, and Slovenian.



Some of Finland's contributions to the world include wind turbines, heart rate monitors, reflectors (like on your bike), Fiskars scissors, ice skates, and my favorite word (Sisu).



Sisu: Endurance, perseverance, determination, courage, stamina, stregnth...especially during hard times.



The sisu of the Finnish culture might be partly due to their love of coffee. They drink more coffee per capita than any other country in the world.



Read more: Coffee: Is It Good For You?



Of all the good stuff that's come from Finland, the sauna might be the country's best invention. By the way, it's pronounced SOW-na, not saw-na.



In North America, most of us see the sauna as a luxury. In Finland, it's seen as a necessity, just like taking a shower. In fact, before modern healthcare, Finish mothers delivered babies in the sauna.



Over the past decade, research has shown what the Finns and other Scandinavians have known for millennia. The sauna is good for you!



I've outlined six reasons you should sauna, and described how to sauna to get the most health benefit from it.



Article Shortcuts* The Traditional Sauna* 6 Sauna Health Benefits* 1. Saunas Enhance Hormones and Neurotransmitters* 2. Saunas Speed Up Detoxification* 3. Saunas Improve Recovery* 4. Saunas Change Your Perception of Heat and Pain* 5. Saunas Reduce Pain and Inflammation* 6. Saunas Lower Stress Levels* How To Take A Sauna* Duration* Cool Down* Frequency



The Traditional Sauna



Finnish saunas are hot. They're kept at a temperature between 176° F (80° C) and 212° F (100° C). For many people, who've spent most of their lives in the comfort of an air-conditioned home, the heat can be almost unbearable. However, in a traditional Finnish sauna, the heat doesn't stop there.



Sitting on top of the wood-burning stove (modern saunas use gas), you'll find a collection of rocks. In most American "dry saunas," especially in gyms or hotels, the rocks are there just for looks, as though they add some kind of Zen garden ambiance. In a Finnish sauna, they serve a purpose. Once you start feeling the heat, you douse the rocks with water. The stones instantly turn the water into steam, and a few seconds later,

Though most people know fish oil is an important supplement to use each day, surprisingly, few people take it consistently. I've even been surprised by how few of my nutrition coaching clients use it regularly when we connect for our first session.

It is often advertised for its heart health benefits, but fish oil benefits much more than your heart. You'll see how it affects your heart, body composition, brain, and even the rate at which you build muscle.

An online survey completed by Equation Research showed that only 26 percent of Americans said they take fish oil supplements, even though 63% of the respondents said they felt their diet did not have enough omega-3 fatty acids.

What are Omega-3 Fatty Acids?

Like omega-6 fatty acids, omega-3s are part of a select group of fats: essential fatty acids. Like essential amino acids, essential fatty acids are nutrients you need in your diet because your body can't make them on its own.

We eat plenty of omega-6 fatty acids, so you don't need to supplement with them. We don't get nearly enough omega-3s, in total, and compared to omega-6s.

Oily fish, like wild-caught Alaskan salmon, contains the greatest concentration of omega-3s from food. More specifically, oily fish are rich sources of the omega-3s eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA).

DHA and EPA are the sources of the health benefits fish oil is known for.

To make things a little more confusing, plants like flaxseeds, walnuts, soybean, and wheat germ also contain omega-3 fatty acids. However, they contain the omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). Humans have trouble converting ALA to DHA and EPA, so you don't get the same benefit from them.

If you don't eat fish every day, you'll need to supplement with fish oil to reach an optimal intake of DHA and EPA.

Not surprisingly, fish oil is part of my Foundational Five, the best supplements to support health. If I had to narrow my list down to just two supplements, it would still make the cut.

You’re about to find out why. The following are seven significant health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids.

1. Enhances Fat Loss

While you can eat fat on Keto and drop body fat, most dietary fat doesn’t cause fat loss. However, supplementing with omega-3 fatty acids does enhance fat loss, according to research. It seems to be especially effective at reducing visceral, or belly fat.

A small 2010 clinical trial, published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition found the following:

Forty-four men and women supplemented with either four grams of safflower oil or four grams of fish oil. Those taking the fish oil decreased body fat and body fat percentage, increased lean body mass, and experienced a decrease in cortisol levels. Interestingly, the study participants were not instructed on diet or exercise. They were encouraged to keep their nutrition and exercise patterns the same as before the study.

Noreen, et al. 2010

That isn't an excuse to just take fish oil and avoid exercise, but it’s still impressive that the study participants saw the changes they did without any instruction on diet or exercise.

Research shows fish oil supports weight loss by:

Stimulating the sympathetic nervous system, which activates brown adipose tissue, raising metabolic rate and heat production

Causes fuel partitioning, which directs storage of glycogen and mobilization of stored body fat for energy

Enhances satiety, making you feel full longer so you eat less

The research that showed omega-3s stimulated the SNS used only 2.4% of the animals' total calorie intakes. An equivalent amount for an adult on a 2000-calorie diet would be five grams of fish oil per day.

2. Supports Healthy Lipids and Blood Glucose

Your doctor probably still focuses on your total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL). The more important cardiovascular markers are your triglycerides and high-density lipoprotein (HDL).

I've been dragging my feet about writing this article for so long. Not because fish oil isn’t awesome. It is! I’ve been procrastinating, telling myself, “Who doesn’t already know about the importance of fish oil? Everyone’s probably using it already.” In fact, the first time I wrote about it, it was 2009!



Obviously, I came around.



The reality is, you, the person reading this right now, might never have used fish oil before, and might have no clue how important it is for our health.



Or, perhaps you used it for a while, and when you ran out, you didn’t get a refill. You might have been taking fish oil for years, but you’re not using enough to make a difference. Or, you use it consistently but haven’t figured out how to convince your family or friends about why they need to take it too.



Whatever your situation, I’ve got you covered with this article.





What Are The Benefits of Fish Oil?



Fish oil is often advertised for its heart health benefits, but it does so much more than that (not that the health of your heart isn't important). But I'm getting a little head of myself. Let's start with a little primer on fish oil, omega-3s, and essential fatty acids, as there's a lot of confusion out there.



Along with omega-6 fatty acids, omega-3s are part of a special group of fats called essential fatty acids. Like essential amino acids, essential fatty acids are nutrients you need in your diet because your body can't make them on its own.



You don't need to give much thought to eating enough omega-6s. They're prevalent in the diet. Omega-3s...not so much. However, that's not how things have always been. Long before the days of eating beef and chicken, humans ate a lot more fish, and the average diet was much more balanced with omega-6s and omega-3s.



The imbalance with which we eat those fats today contributes to numerous health problems. But it's not just about eating less omega-6s. We need more omega-3s in the diet than we consume each day.



Plant foods like flaxseeds, walnuts, soybean, and wheat germ do contain a pretty decent amount of omega-3s, but it isn't the ideal type of omega-3s for humans. The omega-3 fatty acid in these plants is called alpha-linolenic acid (ALA).



Some animals easily convert ALA to eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA). Humans do not. And it's DHA and EPA that provide the health benefits fish oil is known for.



We need to consume EPA and DHA directly, either by eating fatty fish or through supplementation.



Of course, if you overeat fatty fish, you do risk eating too much mercury. And high-quality fish oil is filtered to virtually eliminate mercury. So your best bet is to eat wild Alaskan salmon once in a while and take high-quality fish oil regularly.



Fish oil is part of my Foundational Five, the best supplements to support health. If I had to narrow my list down to just two supplements, it would still make the cut.



You’re about to find out why.



An online survey completed by Equation Research showed that only 26 percent of Americans said they take fish oil supplements, even though 63% of the respondents said they felt their diet did not have enough omega-3 fatty acids.



1. Enhances Fat Loss



If you’re into Keto, you’ve no doubt heard people say, “Eat fat and lose weight.” And while

Though most people know fish oil is an important supplement to use each day, surprisingly, few people take it consistently. I've even been surprised by how few of my nutrition coaching clients use it regularly when we connect for our first session.

It is often advertised for its heart health benefits, but fish oil benefits much more than your heart. You'll see how it affects your heart, body composition, brain, and even the rate at which you build muscle.

An online survey completed by Equation Research showed that only 26 percent of Americans said they take fish oil supplements, even though 63% of the respondents said they felt their diet did not have enough omega-3 fatty acids.

What are Omega-3 Fatty Acids?

Like omega-6 fatty acids, omega-3s are part of a select group of fats: essential fatty acids. Like essential amino acids, essential fatty acids are nutrients you need in your diet because your body can't make them on its own.

We eat plenty of omega-6 fatty acids, so you don't need to supplement with them. We don't get nearly enough omega-3s, in total, and compared to omega-6s.

Oily fish, like wild-caught Alaskan salmon, contains the greatest concentration of omega-3s from food. More specifically, oily fish are rich sources of the omega-3s eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA).

DHA and EPA are the sources of the health benefits fish oil is known for.

To make things a little more confusing, plants like flaxseeds, walnuts, soybean, and wheat germ also contain omega-3 fatty acids. However, they contain the omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). Humans have trouble converting ALA to DHA and EPA, so you don't get the same benefit from them.

If you don't eat fish every day, you'll need to supplement with fish oil to reach an optimal intake of DHA and EPA.

Not surprisingly, fish oil is part of my Foundational Five, the best supplements to support health. If I had to narrow my list down to just two supplements, it would still make the cut.

You’re about to find out why. The following are seven significant health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids.

1. Enhances Fat Loss

While you can eat fat on Keto and drop body fat, most dietary fat doesn’t cause fat loss. However, supplementing with omega-3 fatty acids does enhance fat loss, according to research. It seems to be especially effective at reducing visceral, or belly fat.

A small 2010 clinical trial, published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition found the following:

Forty-four men and women supplemented with either four grams of safflower oil or four grams of fish oil. Those taking the fish oil decreased body fat and body fat percentage, increased lean body mass, and experienced a decrease in cortisol levels. Interestingly, the study participants were not instructed on diet or exercise. They were encouraged to keep their nutrition and exercise patterns the same as before the study.Noreen, et al. 2010

That isn't an excuse to just take fish oil and avoid exercise, but it’s still impressive that the study participants saw the changes they did without any instruction on diet or exercise.

Research shows fish oil supports weight loss by:

Stimulating the sympathetic nervous system, which activates brown adipose tissue, raising metabolic rate and heat productionCauses fuel partitioning, which directs storage of glycogen and mobilization of stored body fat for energyEnhances satiety, making you feel full longer so you eat less

The research that showed omega-3s stimulated the SNS used only 2.4% of the animals' total calorie intakes. An equivalent amount for an adult on a 2000-calorie diet would be five grams of fish oil per day.

2. Supports Healthy Lipids and Blood Glucose

Your doctor probably still focuses on your total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL). The more important cardiovascular markers are your triglycerides and high-density lipoprotein (HDL).

Amidst all the supplements that are just marketing hype, are there some that actually help you build muscle? What is the best muscle-building, strength-supporting supplement?

The supplement industry is filled with bunk products, empty promises, and companies hoping to find the next sucker looking for a shortcut. Inevitably, those products get called out by the media, causing people to question the credibility of all supplement companies. The great brands are guilty by association.

For the average person, it’s hard to discern quality from crap, especially when it comes to supplements to support muscle growth, so I've singled out the four best supplements for building muscle, based on research and experience to date.

Before we get to them, I need to stress two points:

There’s no short-cut for consistently following an intense strength training program (like VIGOR Training), eating plenty of protein, and getting sufficient sleep. Don't expect any of these supplements to make a difference if you don't have those ducks in a row.

The recommendations, and "how to use" sections are not intended to suggest or recommend the diagnosis, treatment, cure, or prevention of any disease, nor to substitute for medical treatment, nor to be an alternative to medical advice. The statements below have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The use of the suggestions and recommendations are for educational purposes only.

Read also: How to Gain Muscle Without Gaining Fat.

Beta-Hydroxy-Beta-Methylbutyrate (HMB)

In my opinion, HMB doesn’t get talked about nearly enough. It enhances recovery from resistance training, most likely by revving up muscle tissue regeneration.

Beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) is a metabolite of the branched-chain amino acid leucine.

Leucine, one of the three branched-chain amino acids, stimulates protein synthesis, or muscle growth. Your ability to build muscle depends on increasing protein synthesis and decreasing protein breakdown. They sound like the same thing, but they are not.

In addition to stimulating protein synthesis, at very high doses, leucine decreases protein breakdown, also known as proteolysis. Unfortunately, the dose needed to reduce protein breakdown is so high that it wouldn’t be practical to supplement with leucine for that purpose.

However, researchers found that HMB could reduce protein breakdown like leucine, but at a much smaller dose.

an individual would need to consume over 600 g of high quality protein to obtain the amount of leucine (60 grams) necessary to produce the typical 3 g daily dosage of HMB used in human studies

Wilson, et al. 2013

Multiple studies have shown HMB enhances exercise recovery and improves lean body mass, strength, power, and aerobic performance.

Two forms of HMB are available, the calcium salt form, or HMB-Ca, and the free acid form, or HMB-FA.

To date, most of the research on HMB is based on HMB-Ca. However, a newer form of HMB called HMB free acid, or HMB-FA, may get absorbed and utilized better than the calcium salt version. More research is needed yet.

Personal note: I used the free acid form for about five weeks and found that it bothered my stomach too much, so I went back to the calcium salt version of HMB.

HMB, like all of the supplements in this article, has a strong safety record. Even at doses equivalent to 50 grams per day in adults, researchers saw no side effects in animals. That’s more than 12 times the standard dose used for supporting gains in lean body mass!

Because HMB slows muscle tissue breakdown, it could be especially helpful for those on a fat loss or calorie-reduced diet, where muscle tissue loss is typical.

For HMB to be effective in supporting muscle growth, your resistance training must be intense enough to cause significant muscle tissue damage. For those who are new to exercise, that's pretty easy to do. The adaptation phase to exercise often causes much mus...

Amidst all the supplements that are just marketing hype, are there some that actually help you build muscle? What is the best muscle-building, strength-supporting supplement?

The supplement industry is filled with bunk products, empty promises, and companies hoping to find the next sucker looking for a shortcut. Inevitably, those products get called out by the media, causing people to question the credibility of all supplement companies. The great brands are guilty by association.

For the average person, it’s hard to discern quality from crap, especially when it comes to supplements to support muscle growth, so I've singled out the four best supplements for building muscle, based on research and experience to date.

Before we get to them, I need to stress two points:

* There’s no short-cut for consistently following an intense strength training program (like VIGOR Training), eating plenty of protein, and getting sufficient sleep. Don't expect any of these supplements to make a difference if you don't have those ducks in a row.* The recommendations, and "how to use" sections are not intended to suggest or recommend the diagnosis, treatment, cure, or prevention of any disease, nor to substitute for medical treatment, nor to be an alternative to medical advice. The statements below have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The use of the suggestions and recommendations are for educational purposes only.

Beta-Hydroxy-Beta-Methylbutyrate (HMB)

In my opinion, HMB doesn’t get talked about nearly enough. It enhances recovery from resistance training, most likely by revving up muscle tissue regeneration.

Beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) is a metabolite of the branched-chain amino acid leucine.

Leucine, one of the three branched-chain amino acids, stimulates protein synthesis, or muscle growth. Your ability to build muscle depends on increasing protein synthesis and decreasing protein breakdown. They sound like the same thing, but they are not.

In addition to stimulating protein synthesis, at very high doses, leucine decreases protein breakdown, also known as proteolysis. Unfortunately, the dose needed to reduce protein breakdown is so high that it wouldn’t be practical to supplement with leucine for that purpose.

However, researchers found that HMB could reduce protein breakdown like leucine, but at a much smaller dose.

an individual would need to consume over 600 g of high quality protein to obtain the amount of leucine (60 grams) necessary to produce the typical 3 g daily dosage of HMB used in human studiesWilson, et al. 2013

Multiple studies have shown HMB enhances exercise recovery and improves lean body mass, strength, power, and aerobic performance.

Two forms of HMB are available, the calcium salt form, or HMB-Ca, and the free acid form, or HMB-FA.

To date, most of the research on HMB is based on HMB-Ca. However, a newer form of HMB called HMB free acid, or HMB-FA, may get absorbed and utilized better than the calcium salt version. More research is needed yet.

Personal note: I used the free acid form for about five weeks and found that it bothered my stomach too much, so I went back to the calcium salt version of HMB.

HMB, like all of the supplements in this article, has a strong safety record.

Amidst all the supplements that are just marketing hype, are there some that actually help you build muscle? What is the best muscle-building, strength-supporting supplement?

The supplement industry is filled with bunk products, empty promises, and companies hoping to find the next sucker looking for a shortcut. Inevitably, those products get called out by the media, causing people to question the credibility of all supplement companies. The great brands are guilty by association.

For the average person, it’s hard to discern quality from crap, especially when it comes to supplements to support muscle growth, so I've singled out the four best supplements for building muscle, based on research and experience to date.

Before we get to them, I need to stress two points:

There’s no short-cut for consistently following an intense strength training program (like VIGOR Training), eating plenty of protein, and getting sufficient sleep. Don't expect any of these supplements to make a difference if you don't have those ducks in a row.The recommendations, and "how to use" sections are not intended to suggest or recommend the diagnosis, treatment, cure, or prevention of any disease, nor to substitute for medical treatment, nor to be an alternative to medical advice. The statements below have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The use of the suggestions and recommendations are for educational purposes only.

Read also: How to Gain Muscle Without Gaining Fat.

Beta-Hydroxy-Beta-Methylbutyrate (HMB)

In my opinion, HMB doesn’t get talked about nearly enough. It enhances recovery from resistance training, most likely by revving up muscle tissue regeneration.

Beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) is a metabolite of the branched-chain amino acid leucine.

Leucine, one of the three branched-chain amino acids, stimulates protein synthesis, or muscle growth. Your ability to build muscle depends on increasing protein synthesis and decreasing protein breakdown. They sound like the same thing, but they are not.

In addition to stimulating protein synthesis, at very high doses, leucine decreases protein breakdown, also known as proteolysis. Unfortunately, the dose needed to reduce protein breakdown is so high that it wouldn’t be practical to supplement with leucine for that purpose.

However, researchers found that HMB could reduce protein breakdown like leucine, but at a much smaller dose.

an individual would need to consume over 600 g of high quality protein to obtain the amount of leucine (60 grams) necessary to produce the typical 3 g daily dosage of HMB used in human studiesWilson, et al. 2013

Multiple studies have shown HMB enhances exercise recovery and improves lean body mass, strength, power, and aerobic performance.

Two forms of HMB are available, the calcium salt form, or HMB-Ca, and the free acid form, or HMB-FA.

To date, most of the research on HMB is based on HMB-Ca. However, a newer form of HMB called HMB free acid, or HMB-FA, may get absorbed and utilized better than the calcium salt version. More research is needed yet.

Personal note: I used the free acid form for about five weeks and found that it bothered my stomach too much, so I went back to the calcium salt version of HMB.

HMB, like all of the supplements in this article, has a strong safety record. Even at doses equivalent to 50 grams per day in adults, researchers saw no side effects in animals. That’s more than 12 times the standard dose used for supporting gains in lean body mass!

Because HMB slows muscle tissue breakdown, it could be especially helpful for those on a fat loss or calorie-reduced diet, where muscle tissue loss is typical.

For HMB to be effective in supporting muscle growth, your resistance training must be intense enough to cause significant muscle tissue damage. For those who are new to exercise, that's pretty easy to do. The adaptation phase to exercise often causes much muscle dama...

The most frustrating part is that those with adrenal fatigue are often ambitious, driven, and hard-working. Yet, exhaustion makes it difficult to function.

Don't be surprised if you have all the symptoms, but your doctor hesitates in making an adrenal fatigue diagnosis. Many conventional doctors don't recognize the term adrenal fatigue. However, most understand the concept and see numerous patients with its symptoms.

Had I not seen the effects of adrenal fatigue firsthand in my wife, I might not comprehend how debilitating it can be.

What is adrenal fatigue?

Your adrenal glands act in concert with the hypothalamus and pituitary glands. This relationship is called the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis. 

Many practitioners prefer the term HPA Axis Dysfunction instead of adrenal fatigue when discussing a patient's symptoms.

Your adrenal glands produce and secrete four stress-related adrenal hormones:

Cortisol

Aldosterone

Noradrenaline

Epinephrine

The pituitary and hypothalamus produce additional hormones, too. However, cortisol plays the most significant role in adrenal fatigue.

Your adrenal glands secrete cortisol according to circadian rhythm and in response to mental or physical stress.

Normal Cortisol Rhythm

Naturally, cortisol peaks in the morning to wake you up. The rise in cortisol provides a jolt of energy to get you up and out of bed so you don't feel the need to hit the snooze button repeatedly.

From the time you wake up until around noon, cortisol levels drop significantly. As the afternoon and evening progress, the remaining cortisol continues to decline, reaching a low point around bedtime. The low level of cortisol and peak in melatonin helps you get to sleep and stay asleep.

Cortisol and Stress

Stress stimulates the release of cortisol, noradrenaline, adrenaline, and aldosterone. 

Cortisol, noradrenaline, and adrenaline increase heart rate, blood flow, energy, and mental acuity, and enhance your reflexes. Aldosterone increases fluid retention, raising blood pressure. These effects are helpful when dealing with a threat.

Once the threat is neutralized or avoided, the hormones and their metabolic effects return to normal.

However, issues arise when stress is chronic, and you don't have sufficient time to recover from it.

Stress and Recovery

Stress is part of life. It is necessary for growth, learning, and physical and mental adaptation.

The stress of intimate relationships makes you adapt and develop empathy. Without it, you'd remain a selfish person who thinks the rest of the world should believe what you do.

Your business or career's stress causes you to think differently, develop new strategies, and communicate your ideas differently, so others listen. Without that stress and the adaptation to it, your career or business would flatline.

The stress of weight training causes your bones to get denser, your muscles get stronger, and your nervous system becomes more coordinated. Without the stress of weight training and the adaptation that follows, you'd be more likely to develop diabetes, osteoporosis, and multiple other diseases.

As good as these stressors may be, their benefit only comes to fruition through the recovery that follows the stress.

Without the ability to recover, your body can become overloaded by stress, leading to adrenal fatigue.

Adrenal fatigue is a state of diminished resilience.

Adrenal fatigue is a state of diminished resilience, not necessarily an excess of stress. The solution isn't to escape from stress, but it is to rebuild your resilience.

With the combination of constant stress and insufficient time or ability to recover, your cortisol rhythm changes, leaving you feeling like one of the three descriptions below.

As a side note, men and women respond differently to stress, which is why men are at a greater risk of certain diseases than women, and visa versa.

Worn out. Unmotivated. Achy. So tired. Depressed. These are just some of the words people use to describe adrenal fatigue. Others are wired, anxious, and overstimulated. The most frustrating part is that those with adrenal fatigue are often ambitious, driven, and hard-working. They're also more often women than men.



Everyone experiences such symptoms in certain seasons of life. Those with adrenal fatigue often endure them for so long that they can't help but feel hopeless.



I first learned of adrenal fatigue through Dr. Jim LaValle, author of The Metabolic Code. Dr. LaValle was one of the first healthcare practitioners to point out the connection between stress, cortisol patterns, and the symptoms of adrenal fatigue. My wife, Vanessa, found herself in the late stages of adrenal fatigue, and was fortunate to work with Dr. LaValle on her recovery. It took much prayer, patience, and persistence. Eventually, she worked her way through it.



Had I not seen first-hand how hard it can be, I would have never known the frustration people feel when dealing with adrenal fatigue.



I do need to mention that adrenal fatigue is not a recognized medical condition (yet). Conventional doctors might raise their eyebrows if you suggest to them you might have adrenal fatigue. They'd be more likely to diagnose depression than consider adrenal fatigue (the symptoms are similar for both). Adrenal fatigue isn't a black and white condition. Though there are tests to measure certain aspects of adrenal function, the root cause is often a mix of lifestyle, exercise, attitude and nutrition choices.



In this article, I hope to:



* Provide a clear explanation of what adrenal fatigue is, as well as explain what else could cause similar symptoms* Explain why the cause is not necessarily stress or cortisol, but your resilience to stress and your recovery from shots of cortisol* Outline simple steps in your Lifestyle, Exercise, Attitude, and Nutrition choices to help you overcome the symptoms associated with adrenal fatigue and reclaim your vigor and vitality



I've kept the technical writing to a minimum. It might make me sound smarter to use big words, but I'm more interested in you getting the necessary points, and then taking action on them, than thinking "Wow! That was fascinating but I have no idea what to do."



Cortisol Rhythm, Stress, and Recovery



Let's begin with stress because it's rare to find an article about adrenal fatigue without it being connected to stress and cortisol.



Stress is not bad. Cortisol is not bad. I realize that's counter to what you've probably heard, but it's all about context.



Your adrenal glands release cortisol in a daily rhythm and in response to a real or perceived stress. Your adrenal glands are part of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which governs many of your hormones.



In stressful circumstances, cortisol acts with the neurotransmitters adrenaline and noradrenaline to increase heart rate, blood flow, energy and acuity, and enhances your reflexes. Elevated cortisol is only detrimental when your diet, lifestyle, and exercise habits don't allow you to recover from one release of cortisol to the next.



Neurotransmitter: Chemical messenger produced in the nervous system and carried through the nervous system to target tissues. Neurotransmitters are fast-acting, and their effects are short-lived.