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Introduction to Cortisol

Cortisol is a steroid hormone produced by the adrenal glands. Its secretion increases in response to stress, whether it’s from physical exertion, emotional strain, or environmental factors. While cortisol plays a fundamental role in several essential bodily functions like glucose metabolism, blood pressure regulation, and immune function, its fluctuations have particular implications for men who are actively training.

Effects of Cortisol on the male body.

Muscle Catabolism: Cortisol can promote the breakdown of muscle protein to supply the body with amino acids for energy. For men aiming to build muscle mass, chronically elevated cortisol levels can hinder progress.

Testosterone Interplay: Cortisol and testosterone, the primary male sex hormone, often operate on a seesaw. Elevated cortisol can suppress testosterone levels, and since testosterone plays a significant role in muscle growth, recovery, and overall vitality, this dynamic can be a concern for training men

Bone Density: Chronic high cortisol levels can decrease bone density, posing risks for male athletes or those engaged in high-impact training.

Weight Management: Elevated cortisol can stimulate appetite and fat storage, especially in the abdominal area. Over time, this can lead to unhealthy weight gain in men.

Mood and Mental Health: Men are traditionally less likely to discuss or address mental health concerns. Chronic stress and prolonged elevated cortisol levels can contribute to mood disorders, anxiety, depression, and reduced motivation – all of which can impact training.
Cortisol and Training Implications for Men

Performance Variation: Fluctuating cortisol levels can cause variations in daily performance. Men might find themselves excelling in their training sessions some days and struggling on others.

Overtraining Syndrome: Continual high-intensity training without adequate recovery can keep cortisol levels perpetually high. Symptoms like persistent fatigue, decreased performance, sleep disturbances, and mood fluctuations signal overtraining.

Recovery Delays: High cortisol post-training can slow recovery. For those engaging in regular sessions or requiring quick turnarounds between trainings, managing cortisol is crucial. Strategies to Manage Cortisol for Optimal Training in Men

Balanced Training Regime: Incorporate a mix of high-intensity workouts, strength training, and restorative exercises like yoga or stretching. This balance can help regulate cortisol spikes and maintain testosterone levels.

Adequate Recovery: Post-training nutrition should focus on proteins and carbohydrates to counteract muscle protein breakdown. Additionally, prioritizing sleep is essential as it aids recovery and regulates both cortisol and testosterone levels.

Mindfulness and Stress Management: Techniques like meditation, deep breathing exercises, and progressive muscle relaxation can be valuable tools for men. Not only do they help in managing stress, but they can also improve focus and mental clarity, enhancing training outcomes.

Limiting Stimulants: Over-reliance on pre-workout stimulants or excessive caffeine can artificially spike cortisol. Men should monitor their intake and be aware of any potential overstimulation.

Regular Health Checkups: Regular checkups can help monitor cortisol and testosterone levels. Understanding one’s hormonal health can guide training decisions and strategies.

Conclusion

While cortisol is a natural and necessary hormone, its effects on men, especially those actively training, necessitate awareness and proactive management. By acknowledging the unique challenges cortisol presents and adopting a holistic approach to training and recovery, men can optimize their fitness results and safeguard their overall well-being. The male body’s intricate dance between cortisol and testosterone underscores the importance of balance – pushing the limits while ensuring the body and mind are well-tended.

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This home ab workout focuses on lower abs and can be done absolutely anywhere, I did it in my bedroom 🙂 I want to inspire people to workout wherever they are using minimal, if any equipment to get into the best shape of their lives, I’m talking to YOU. See I used to think you needed to go to the gym, get on machines, lift weights and all that to get into shape. You don’t. Your body gives you everything you need. Working within your own body in the way it’s intended to be worked, provides more than enough resistance to burn fat and build muscle.

So this year, 2020. I am wanting to provide and produce more content on my YOUTUBE CHANNEL, each week, that will give everyone the chance to workout with me, wherever you are and help you achieve the fitness and body you always wanted.

The 7 mins home abs workout below was posted on my YOUTUBE CHANNEL last Thursday, and every Thursday going forward I’ll be doing different videos that will get you maximum results without providing the excuses not to do them!

The workout below is in real-time, follow along with me for the entire 7 minutes and we will do this workout together. Let me know in the comments how you found it! Go get it!

Make 2020 your best year yet.

Matt

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When it comes to building muscle, you don’t need to lift weights! You can build some serious strength and lean muscle without stepping foot in a gym. For over 3 years I haven’t stepped foot in a gym and my back is stronger than ever! Not only stronger visibly, but more importunately, from within. The lower back is one of the most prone to injuries places of the body and I have had my share of serious injuries and flare-ups in that region. Not since quitting the gym has my back and specifically lower back ever felt better, stronger, more flexible and as a result, I haven’t had a flare-up for the past 3 years!

So how can you strengthen your back without lifting weights? Here are a few key exercises to do.

1. Pull ups .Let’s start with the hardest move. Keep in mind you can always use a resistance band to assist in your pull-ups. Obviously, you need a bar of some sort, whether this is at home above the doorway or even the local playground using the monkey bars, anything sturdy enough to hang from, you have yourself a pull-up bar! Play around with hand position, don’t get too comfortable using the same width for hand placement. Your hand placement plays a major roll in putting more load on certain areas of the back. Challenge yourself and go wide, really wide and even super close to the point your hands touch each other!

• Australian Pull ups (Inverted pull-ups) This one is a great alternative to build-up to the high bar for the full dead hang pull up but also a great exercise to hit different areas of your back. Unlike regular pull-ups where you are hanging directly under the bar, Inverted pull-ups or “Australian pull-ups” as they are also commonly referred to have you underneath a lower bar (think stomach height) with your body on an angle and heels on the ground. Again, hand placement is key, play around with that and feel the different areas of your back working!

Now that we have covered two of the best moves for middle to upper back, let’s focus on the lower back, which is key to almost every movement you make with any part of your body… Don’t believe me, try slipping a disc in your lower back, then you’ll know how debilitating it is on your entire body and movement!

• Back extensions – A great exercise to target the lower back and glutes which are often overlooked in back health. For this one, you don’t even need a bar. This is a zero-equipment exercise that should be done in a slow and controlled movement. At the top of the movement with your chest and thighs off the ground (that’s the aim) squeeze and pause for a split second.

• Cranes (Bodyweight deadlift)This exercise does require some balance but brings the hips, hamstrings, and glutes into play, all while working the lower back. Another exercise not to be rushed through, slow and controlled is the way!

If you would like to have a structured workout plan, know exactly what to do to achieve your body and fitness goals then check out my online coaching options available at BODYWEIGHT BUILT and find me on Instagram @mattycfox.

THIS WAS WRITTEN BY MATT FOX AND ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON “MAN OF MANY” 18/10/19

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WHY YOU DON’T NEED A GYM TO GET YOUR IDEAL BODY

Like most people, but especially young men I was under the belief that I need to hit the gym hard, lift weights and be in there for at least an hour at a time. Its pushed on us from a young age that fitness=gym time and big muscles = weight lifting. After living with this belief all my life, and finally getting sick of being unable to break a plateau in my appearance, I quit the gym and quit weight lifting.

I already had a strong knowledge base of workouts and exercises to do without weights, but I spent a bit of time studying and learning more so I never got bored and off I went. Fast forward to know, and I haven’t done a regular “gym” session in a tad over 3 years.

1. FREEDOM

The freedom to workout anywhere, on my terms, whenever, wherever I pleased. It was life-changing!  No longer did I have to fight rush hour traffic after work to get to the gym, or rush hour at the gym for that matter. I worked out on my lunch break at a local oval, or when I got home from work in the backyard, or even down at the beach- there were no restrictions! As I traveled a bit too, this took the pressure off from always finding a gym, I sued to feel stressed whenever I travelled about finding a local gym- not anymore!

2. Results

It wasn’t just the enjoyment of training outside in the fresh air, under the sun that kept me going. But 4 months after going solely bodyweight training, my body had completely changed. More muscle, a leaner physique and I just felt generally stronger! Unlike traditional weight lifting bodyweight training often involves lots of compound movements or movements that require multiple muscles to work together at the same time. Which unless you’re a bodybuilder competing and need even bicep fiber to be bulging, this is perfect and it will get you to result’s- fast!

3. Functionality

Bodyweight training is functional, it relates to everyday life movements. Rather than be locked in position in a one size fits all machine, you work with your body, in movements your body is meant to travel in.

4. INJURY PREVENTION

For over 10 years I suffered flare-ups from a lower back injury I got in my late teens. Since stopping the gym and focusing on bodyweight training, I have not had a single flare-up in 3 years. I believe this is due to bodyweight training really helping to improve mobility, flexibility and also core strength. So many bodyweight moves require core activation, even when the core isn’t the focus. Pull-ups for example, while mainly targeting your back, biceps, and shoulders, will if done correctly and with strict form- bring your core into play big time (non-kipping/swinging pull-ups)

5. PROGRESSIONS

You can most definitely build muscle with bodyweight training. As I have discovered, there is always a progression once an exercise becomes to “easy”. Rather than keep loading up the weights (more often than not with poor technique) something as simple as hand placement can prove to add another level of effort. See regular push-ups, progressing to “archer” push-ups for example.

If you would like to know how to transform your health and fitness without needing a gym, check out my online coaching packages at BODYWEIGHT BUILT . Where you will learn the benefits of bodyweight training and see the changes that come with it!

This article was originally written by me, MATT FOX for Men’s Health Australia Online

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For all my years of training and in the fitness industry at a high level (17 years) I’ve played a professional sport, worked with some of the best fitness coaches in the world and spent more hours studying than I can remember.

I’ve used myself as a guinea pig with every style of diet and types of training. So when I get asked the best way to train, I have an opinion of-course. Now for the vast vast majority of us who aren’t trying to be a professional body builder and have every element of their muscle fibres critiqued, the answer is quite simple- Full body workouts!

Why train full body instead of splitting and isolating muscle groups. Well for one, most people don’t have hours a day, every day to spend working out and if you want to isolate and split muscle groups, that’s what you’ll need to see some improvement. Think about it, if you focus on biceps for your session, and you don’t train them again until 4 or 5 days later once they roll around again in your “training program” its quite a low frequency.

But if you incorporate bicep workout in 3 or 4 of your sessions per week while training other parts, these muscles are getting worked more often and will be provided with a greater stimulus, thus, greater growth.

Not only will each muscle group get worked more frequently but because you are training multiple muscle groups in the same session your body and you are working harder= more calories burned.

So not only are you providing more of a chance for muscle growth but you are burning more energy and if fat loss if a goal, then this is a major plus. Now, what if you don’t want to lose fat and you want to gain more muscle? That’s fine. Full body workouts are still the way unless of course you are a pro bodybuilder and have hours each day to split your sessions and still get the volume in! Then it just comes down to replacing those burned calories with good quality fuel to help you gain!

I’ve tried both methods, and by far the most beneficial is a workout which involves multiple muscle groups rather than isolating. That’s not to say I don’t put an extra focus on a muscle group sometimes during a session, but it just won’t be the only thing I focus on. An example of this, using biceps again- would be training chin-ups, which is also hitting the back, core, and shoulders, mixing up the grip on these so biceps become a focus, but in between these sets- I might do sprints, push-ups or squats too.

So, my advice to everyone who doesn’t want to be a body builder for a living? Focus on multiple muscle group workouts, workouts where cardio and strength are combined.

I post a lot of these workouts on my INSTAGRAM and YOUTUBE so you can check it out and give them a try at home!

Go crush it!

Matt

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So when I say I have done the World’s hardest workout, I feel like it has to be up there. Of course I’m open to more suggestions and challenges but in terms of something done under 1 hour, well, I guess you’ll have to try it yourself and find out.

THE MENTAL BATTLE

The reason why this workout is so tough is not only the physical component but the mental fight you have with yourself. There are no designated rest breaks- get to the finish in the best time possible. You decide your rest breaks (if you need them) and this becomes a battle in itself. The guilt of resting, not resting too long, not resting long enough.

THE PHYSICAL BATTLE

Now the physcial side of things. I used the exercises I did fo this workout because it covers everything. Its a complete full body, strength, power, agility, speed and cardio based workout. Using my calisthenics expertise with the mix of my new found love for mixing in kettlebells this workout is NEXT LEVEL!

This workout format is not new, I’m not trying to claim that. But the exercises I added to it put my spin on things.

It goes like the song- 12 days of Christmas. if you don’t know the words and how it plays out- google that. Basically, we have 12 exercises, the number (day)next to each exercises represents the reps for that given exercise.

In my Bodyweight Built version of this workout my exercises are;

1- RUN

2- MUSCLE UPS

3-ROWS EACH SIDE

4- CLEAN+ PRESS EACH SIDE

5- REVERSE BURPEES

6- BALL SLAMS

7- BURPEES

8- THRUSTERS

9-PUSH UPS

10-CHIN UPS

11- KICK SITS EACH SIDE

12- SHOULDER TAPS EACH SIDE

You can watch the video here:

So, I want you to watch the video on my YouTube channel and let me know your time! It was hard, HOT and HUMID when i did this, you’ll see my time in the video. Yes, it also depends on how far you make the run component of things too. Have fun with it and let me know your time in the comment section of this video!

Matt

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If you’ve been following my journey for a while now you would know that It has been a few years since leaving the gym and weight lifting behind for a new fitness beginning with solely bodyweight training!

Switching to calisthenics was one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life, not just my “fitness” life. It has allowed me to pursue my passion for helping others achieve the best version of themselves, travel the world and meet and connect with like-minded people.  If you’re a new reader or stumbled across me, WELCOME! I hope I can give you value in whatever goals, fitness, health and personal you have set.

Back to the podcast…

In this interview, I get some great questions and speak about some things I have never personally opened up about, a bit more on overcoming cancer, how my mindset shifted and what calisthenics training has really done for my overall level of fitness. My advice to people looking to add more calisthenics to their workouts or make the full switch and never look back (like me and the boys doing the interview!). More muscle, strength, endurance and functional fitness have been achieved all without needing a gym or gym equipment, I speak about injuries I once had and how this all changed for the better when I made the switch.

I’m sure you can take something out of the interview and use it to propel you forward in the right direction.

Have a listen by CLICKING HERE 

It would be great to hear your feedback and thoughts on this and if you would like me to do another one covering a specific topic, reach out and let me know!

Until next time,

Matt

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What is over training? Does it exist?

Can you train too much? If you want to continue to build muscle, burn fat and sculpt the body you desire with the fitness level to match, then please read on.

Overtraining put quite simply is when you have pushed your body too hard, too often without giving it adequate rest to repair and recover. This doesn’t just go for your muscles but also your CNS (Central Nervous System) and your overall mental wellbeing.

Overtraining is relatively easy to spot, we just need to be aware of the signs and actually doing something about it. If you’re like me, I’m sure you feel guilty for taking time off from training, but I have recently been reminded of how important rest and time off actually is. I am back into my first week of training after taking 2 weeks off, I was suffering from overtraining. I got run down, tired, unmotivated, felt weak and to top it off, got a shocking virus- obviously due to the fact I had battered my body and not let it recover. Did I want to take 2 weeks off? Not really, but I knew I had too. There was no chance of me training while I had the virus which lasted 4 days, but on either side of that, I was still tired and rundown. I knew rest and some time away from training was the answer.

So, unlike previous times when I took a few days off, I was partially forced (illness) into taking longer, and I’m glad I did.

So how do you know if you’ve overtrained?? What are the signs?

A plateau in performance. Not seeing progress as you normally have in the past.
A decrease in overall performance.
An Elevated Resting Heart Rate.
An Elevated Training HR.
Feeling lethargic and heavy in your body.
Ongoing muscle soreness that doesn’t seem to go away.
Lack of motivation to train and start your workouts.
Tiredness. Finding yourself getting tired earlier than usual.
Changes in appetite. Either not as hungry as usual or craving food constantly.
Weight loss (when not trying).

Overtraining is, as I have found out, quite simple to cure. Some time away from training and other factors stressing your body will make a huge difference. How much time is up to you listening to your body but I recommend at least a week, potentially 2 (as I did). Despite what you might believe you won’t lose muscle mass and fitness in 2 weeks- science has proven that but I’ll save that for another time. You may come back feeling slightly “weaker” in your first few sessions, I did, while some will come back feeling stronger. Don’t panic if you feel what I felt, the strength comes back after a few sessions, I have found it to be your body getting used to firing up again, not as mentioned above- from muscle loss.

So to sum it all up, if you’ve found yourself express a combination of the above, take some time off. Rest, repair, both mentally and physically and come back firing to start making some gains again!

PS. If you want to take your health, fitness, and body to the next level- check out Bodyweight Built, my coaching platform, where I will give you the blueprint to success without needing a gym or fancy equipment to completely transform your body!

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When I first go into calisthenics/bodyweight training, one of the first “cool” looking exercises I saw was the L-sit. So I thought I would write today’s blog on How to L-Sit. Everyone that was doing it had a strong, well-defined core and looked so balanced, fit and strong. This is why I made the change. I wanted to look like that and I wanted to master moves that look hard, but very cool! Fast forward to today and I am now doing the L-sit either from the ground or hanging from the bar! This came through practice and more practice. It didn’t always feel as easy as it does now (it’s still never easy), I can remember when I could barely get into the position without flapping around on the bar, maybe straightening my legs for a second before they dropped.

Don’t know what the L-sit is?

In simple terms, the L-sit is extending your legs out in front of you so your torso makes a 90-degree angle with your legs, hence the “L” shape. This can be done by either hanging from a bar with your legs extended out straight, holding yourself up from the paralettes or from the ground (The hardest in my opinion). As with all of the calisthenics moves, there are more advanced variations of the L-sit as you improve!

If you are just starting out, and want to improve your overall strength, especially your core- then you NEED to start doing the L-sit. If you don’t know where to start, I made a video you can watch below of how to build up and progress to the L-sit. These are the steps I used to learn and develop the strength and endurance needed for this movement. Not only will your abs improve, but your triceps and shoulders will feel the burn too, not to mean your quads!

I would credit this calisthenics move as one of the main reasons behind my core improvement and development. It has helped strengthen muscles I didn’t know I even had and has gone a long way to helping me recover from chronic lower back pain! CHECK OUT THE VIDEO BELOW AND START MASTERING THE L-SIT AND YOUR FUNCTIONAL STRENGTH

If you are looking to add variety, smash through a plateau or develop all round, total body, functional fitness and strength, then check out the online training programs I offer at BODYWEIGHT BUILT   

The exact methods I have used to transform my bodies and thousands of others around the world!

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