Exercising with Adrenal Fatigue & Cortisol Dysregulation
Exercise is a hormetic activity, which means that exercise itself is a stressor. The right amount is healthy, but going over amount can become unhealthy. When you’re exercising too much, there’s very little opportunity for the body to recover.
When we combine over-exercising with other life stressors, such as a busy lifestyle, lack of rest and recovery, and under-eating, it can become a major contributor to adrenal issues.
The term “adrenal fatigue” is a bit of misnomer, as the adrenal glands don’t become “fatigued”. It’s more of a communication issue. When the brain perceives stress, there is an interruption in the chemical messaging system between the hypothalamus and pituitary gland to the adrenal glands. Since the adrenals produce cortisol, they can over-produce or under-produce this stress hormone.
This is why the terms “HPA axis dysregulation” or “cortisol dysregulation” is better suited for what’s actually going on. But even though technically “adrenal fatigue” isn’t real, the symptoms of adrenal fatigue can be VERY real.
Symptoms of Cortisol/HPA Axis Dysregulation
Foggy thinking
Low stress tolerance
Low libido
Symptoms of low blood sugar, even with good diet
Poor immune system function (catch every bug, cold that goes around)
Feel as though you get injured easily or don’t heal well
Low back pain
Headaches after exercise
Craving salt
Feeling stressed out often
Weight gain around your middle
Sitting still feels hard
Hard time falling asleep or staying asleep
Second wind of energy in the evening - feeling “tired and wired”
Energy depletion
Reliant on stimulants or LOTS of sleep
Still tired after a full nights sleep
Low exercise endurance/tolerance
Dizzy spells
If you look at these symptoms, they’re ones that we would tend to ignore or write off. If they get bad enough for you to discuss with your doctor, you might be prescribed a sleeping pill, anti-anxiety meds, anti-depressant, or pain killers. The root of the issue is rarely (if ever) addressed, so symptoms often persist.
We tend to blame ourselves for the ongoing issues. We think we’re not tough enough, not resilient enough, people might treat us like hypochondriacs because we don’t have a medical “diagnosis” for our symptoms.
We start to get frustrated with ourselves and our bodies. But what’s really going on is a series of protective mechanisms—your body is trying to compensate for the mental, emotional or physical stress you are experiencing.
The Main Causes of Stress in the Body
DIETARY STRESS
Eating a poor diet that doesn’t give your body the macronutrients, vitamins, minerals and the requisite cofactors to drive chemical cellular processes in the body.
You could be eating foods that you’re sensitive to—without knowing it, or on purpose—and causing a stressful situation in your gut.
INFLAMMATORY STRESS
Maybe there’s a gut pathogen, virus or chronic low grade infection that your body is perpetually trying to fight off. This causes inflammation in the body and that continues to trigger your stress alarms.
EMOTIONAL STRESS
Emotional stress creates real, physical stress symptoms in the body. I would put busy lifestyle, overworked, under-rested, overwhelmed, and under-resourced in this category.
If you’re showcasing signs of adrenal fatigue or cortisol dysregulation, you have to analyze: where the heck are your stressors coming from? And then you have to do some things to reduce the stressors.
A common “stressor” that I see in my practice is over-exercising.
The Problem with Over-Training
Excessive exercise burns stored up glucose, which can lead to low blood sugar. This is especially problematic if you already deal with low blood sugar issues. This will force your body to make more cortisol to bring blood sugar back up. It does this by breaking down lean muscle mass and even your own gut lining to free up amino acids to use for fuel. This is “catabolic state”—your body is breaking tissue down.
If you’re under stress—emotional stress, dietary stress, or otherwise—you’re already in a catabolic state, so you don’t want more catabolic activity.
Test - Don’t Guess
My exercise recommendations for clients often depend on what I see on their labs, especially in regards to cortisol levels. When it comes to cortisol dysregulation, it’s really hard to go just based on symptoms.
This is one of the main reasons I created Your Hormone Revival™ - so more women could have access to functional hormone tests, while also getting specific recommendations catered to them! I personally love the DUTCH test, and it’s what I use most commonly in my practice, and in YHR.
Exercise Recommendations for High Cortisol
Exercise can lower high cortisol levels if not done to excess
Exercise might feel like it “calms you down” (BUT you can also push yourself too hard, so watch out for that)
Excessive cardiovascular and high intensity exercise can put you in a catabolic state
Not a great time to train for a marathon or start Crossfit
Focus on rest and repair as well as exercise
Moderate CV exercise (70-75% of max aerobic heart rate for age) for 45-50 minutes can reduce sympathetic overdrive and modulate cortisol, but that much exercise with low cortisol can be counterproductive
Exercise Recommendations for Low Cortisol & Adrenal Fatigue
You have to be really cautious here because any type of exercise might make you feel worse and continue to exacerbate your symptoms of fatigue. You might need to wait a couple of months and instead focus on rest, repair, and rebuilding.
Yoga
Pilates
Stretching
Tai Chi
Qi gong
Breathing exercises
Keep cardio to 20 minutes/day, no more
NO HIIT (high intensity interval training)
Keep heart rate low
Walking outdoors (full spectrum daylight is beneficial to endocrine + immune systems)
Strength training that doesn’t elevate heart rate
Rest Based Training (RBT)
CAUTION:
When cortisol is depleted, some people will use exercise as a way to feel better and bring cortisol levels back up. This might give a short artificial boost, but can eventually leave you feeling even more depleted.
Self Assessment: How do you feel?
This is probably the most important part. Take stock of how you feel: During workout, immediately after your work, 2 hours later. You *should* feel energized and refreshed. Pay attention to signs of over-exercise, as these are CLEAR messages from your body that you need to slow things down.
If you’re reading this and screaming out “But I’ve always worked out like this!” I get it. But how has that worked out for you? Be honest with yourself here. Maybe you’ll get back to that place or MAYBE that’s part of what got you here in the first place.
The following are all indications you’re over-doing it for this season of your life.
SIGNS OF OVER-EXERCISE
Exhaustion
Need a nap on the days you work out
Sleep: not sleeping well or requiring MORE sleep
Low back pain and/or side ache
More aches & pains than usual
Not recovering well—more soreness than usual
Frequent injuries
If you’re feeling any of these, you must reduce:
Intensity
Duration
Both
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