Both holistic almond moms and hardcore bodybuilding coaches spend a decent amount of time talking about stress as it pertains to body composition.
This is one of those midwit traps.
When you’re new, you accept its significant role in fat-loss and muscle building.
As you get into your intermediate years you probably rail against the concept.
Then you come back around, if your eyes are open.
Stress is real, it really will “kill your gains,” or at least significantly slow progress, and most of us would be better off to learn to account for it.
What I’m referring to when I say “stress” is not simply worrying about something, or as some might call it, trippin’.
That’s part of the equation, but not all. I think of accumulated “stress” as distance from body’s equilibrium relative to recovery.
Training very hard, psychological challenges, drug load, being very lean or very heavy, lots of cardio, 12 hours shifts at work, etc….
These all play into the stress equation. The more stressed you are, the more you need to prioritize recovery in order to keep progress on track.
If you want mental toughness, taking on tons of psychological stress is a great idea, but body composition will likely suffer.
If you want maximum muscle growth, taking on a huge mental load is eating into your precious parasympathetic anabolic environment.
The more of that stress that comes from undesired stimuli, the worse off you are, in the selected realm, and the more you need to increase your capacity to recover.
This can be extra food, naps, better recovery agents, breathing exercises, sleep, supplements, recreational activities, even massages…you get the point…
You don’t need to over complicate it. Great demand requires equally great recovery.
Target demand according to the adaptation you want to build.
Stress is always doing something, it’s just a question of how much? A little bit more than what tips the scales, will almost certainly serve as an easily recoverable stimulus.
Too much means work becomes less efficient and the body tends to “rebel.”
Short bursts of massive stress then massive recovery do work.
Very long, slow, building of stressors, alongside less rigorous recovery, also works.
Either way, you need to build what you can tolerate over time, and provide the necessary means to recover, then do it again.