Bodybuilding, one of the most misunderstood pursuits, especially in the past few decades.
If we distill bodybuilding back to its roots, minus the ego and chemical enhancement, the bodybuilding lifestyle is an excellent way to promote health and longevity.
In fact, whether they know it or not, most fitness enthusiasts are bodybuilders at heart.
As I explained in a previous post, bodybuilding is not about building muscle for muscles sake.
It is about achieving the ideal balance of muscle size, balance and leanness.
When pursued in a recreational sense without chemical enhancement and the extremes that accompany any competitive endeavor, bodybuilding can help men, especially those over 40 maintain their strength, energy and vitality well into their 60s and beyond.
Today’s post will focus on the hormonal benefits of bodybuilding.
TRT gets a lot of attention these days. But today I will show you that TRT is largely unnecessary when you adhere to bodybuilding principles.
In my HYBRID STRENGTH PROGRAM for men over 40, I strategically combine Powerlifting, Bodybuilding, Speed/Power and Agility with Muscular Endurance Training to efficiently strip away body fat while retaining lean muscle and strength and optimizing your hormones so busy overworked men can feel like themselves again.
As may have guessed, the bodybuilding component is aimed at efficient muscle gains.
However, there are many other benefits that come along with bodybuilding.
One of those is the hormonal response that happens in response to the training, diet and lifestyle.
All forms of strength training, Powerlifting, Bodybuilding, Speed/Power Training and Muscular Endurance Training have a significant impact on your hormones.
However, each does so in slightly different ways.
TESTOSTERONE:
Bodybuilding stimulates Testosterone moderate to high, Powerlifting has a strong effect on Testosterone, Power Training has a moderate effect on Testosterone, Muscular Endurance has a modest effect on Testosterone.
CORTISOL:
Some of the Test boosting effects of Powerlifting are offset by a relatively large spike in Cortisol accompanied by CNS fatigue if recovery is not managed effectively.
On the other hand, bodybuilding has only a moderate effect on Cortisol and Muscular Endurance training produces the smallest effect.
Power Training produces similar effects to Powerlifting.
GROWTH HORMONE & IG-1:
The moderately high volume and short rest periods typical in bodybuilding workouts, significantly increase metabolic waste production and by extension HGH and IGF-1.
Growth hormone helps breakdown and mobilize fat for use as energy and IGF-1 increases the production of protein in your body.
Powerlifting, Speed and Power Training as well as Muscular Endurance Training all produce modest effects on these two hormones.
INSULIN SENSITIVITY:
Insulin is the master hormone and has far reaching effects on nearly every organ and tissue in your body. It influences IGF-1, HGH and Testosterone.
Bodybuilding has the greatest positive effect on Insulin Sensitivity though the use of short rest periods and the increase in muscle size which serves as a “storage depot” to hold extra carbohydrates preventing blood sugar from remaining elevated.
This is in contrast to Powerlifting which can negatively impact Insulin Sensitivity if recovery is not managed properly.
Muscular endurance training can also enhance Insulin Sensitivity if short rest periods are also employed.
My Hybrid Strength Method combines all of these training methods in a way that capitalizes on the Testosterone stimulating and Myofibrillar Hypertrophy inducing effects of Powerlifting while at the same time capitalizing on the muscle growing and fat burning power of IGF-1 and HGH stimulated by bodybuilding.
Muscular Endurance Training is used to increase metabolic efficiency, optimize fat burning and accelerate recovery from the Powerlifting and Bodybuilding Phases.
If you’re 40+ and looking to pack on lean muscle while reclaiming your strength, energy and drive…
Email me “𝐇𝐘𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐃” to see if this system is right for you.
