Cortisol, androgen and gene expression

[Stewilliams]

Hi Scott,

I recall hearing you discuss how it may be crucial for a bodybuilder looking to maximise muscle gain to prevent cortisol from raising too high even during a training bout. I believe your rationale (or at least part of it) was due to cortisol being a steroid hormone that binds to the androgen receptor, so even when cortisol levels are reduced (via diet, sleep or whatever) their catabolic effects may still continue to occur?

Please correct me if I have this completely wrong. Do you have any papers in your library that you could point me towards to educate myself further on the subject? I have been having a dig around google scholar, but feel like I would benefit from a nudge in the right direction.

Thanks !

[Scott Stevenson]

Hi Scott,

I recall hearing you discuss how it may be crucial for a bodybuilder looking to maximise muscle gain to prevent cortisol from raising too high even during a training bout. I believe your rationale (or at least part of it) was due to cortisol being a steroid hormone that binds to the androgen receptor, so even when cortisol levels are reduced (via diet, sleep or whatever) their catabolic effects may still continue to occur?

Please correct me if I have this completely wrong. Do you have any papers in your library that you could point me towards to educate myself further on the subject? I have been having a dig around google scholar, but feel like I would benefit from a nudge in the right direction.

Thanks !

Hey Bud!

So, you've got the main pieces of my perspective in there, but just a big jumbled.

(Thanks for posting this on the open forum, too, BTW.)

Main issue is cortisol binding to it's own receptor, initiating protein catabolism (that proceeds slowly over time, as the actions of steroid hormones do via the classical mechanism). An acute elevation of cortisol resulting it it binding to it's receptor means setting into motion longer acting (gene expression-related) mechanisms of muscle protein breakdown (and other things like upregulating PEPCK in the liver for the purpose of glyconeogenesis).

Here's the paper that I typically refer to (I've covered this in a few articles, now I think and in my BYOBBCoach book.)

1. Tarpenning KM, Wiswell RA, Hawkins SA, and Marcell TJ. Influence of weight training exercise and modification of hormonal response on skeletal muscle growth. J Sci Med Sport 4: 431-446, 2001.

Related articles from some of the same authors:
1. Bird SP, Tarpenning KM, and Marino FE. Independent and combined effects of liquid carbohydrate/essential amino acid ingestion on hormonal and muscular adaptations following resistance training in untrained men. Eur J Appl Physiol 97: 225-238, 2006. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query...s=16456674
2. Bird SP, Tarpenning KM, and Marino FE. Effects of liquid carbohydrate/essential amino acid ingestion on acute hormonal response during a single bout of resistance exercise in untrained men. Nutrition 22: 367-375, 2006. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query...s=16472979
3. Bird SP, Tarpenning KM, and Marino FE. Liquid carbohydrate/essential amino acid ingestion during a short-term bout of resistance exercise suppresses myofibrillar protein degradation. Metabolism 55: 570-577, 2006. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query...s=16631431


Here's figure from the Tarpenning et al. study showing the inverse correlation between cortisol (reduced in this study by consuming carbohydrate as an intra-workout).

That's a high correlation, FWIW.

   

-S

[Stewilliams]

Hey Bud!

So, you've got the main pieces of my perspective in there, but just a big jumbled.

(Thanks for posting this on the open forum, too, BTW.)

Main issue is cortisol binding to it's own receptor, initiating protein catabolism (that proceeds slowly over time, as the actions of steroid hormones do via the classical mechanism). An acute elevation of cortisol resulting it it binding to it's receptor means setting into motion longer acting (gene expression-related) mechanisms of muscle protein breakdown (and other things like upregulating PEPCK in the liver for the purpose of glyconeogenesis).

Here's the paper that I typically refer to (I've covered this in a few articles, now I think and in my BYOBBCoach book.)

1. Tarpenning KM, Wiswell RA, Hawkins SA, and Marcell TJ. Influence of weight training exercise and modification of hormonal response on skeletal muscle growth. J Sci Med Sport 4: 431-446, 2001.

Related articles from some of the same authors:
1. Bird SP, Tarpenning KM, and Marino FE. Independent and combined effects of liquid carbohydrate/essential amino acid ingestion on hormonal and muscular adaptations following resistance training in untrained men. Eur J Appl Physiol 97: 225-238, 2006. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query...s=16456674
2. Bird SP, Tarpenning KM, and Marino FE. Effects of liquid carbohydrate/essential amino acid ingestion on acute hormonal response during a single bout of resistance exercise in untrained men. Nutrition 22: 367-375, 2006. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query...s=16472979
3. Bird SP, Tarpenning KM, and Marino FE. Liquid carbohydrate/essential amino acid ingestion during a short-term bout of resistance exercise suppresses myofibrillar protein degradation. Metabolism 55: 570-577, 2006. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query...s=16631431


Here's figure from the Tarpenning et al. study showing the inverse correlation between cortisol (reduced in this study by consuming carbohydrate as an intra-workout).

That's a high correlation, FWIW.



-S

Thanks Scott, this has created a few no questions for me so I'll continue doing some digging!

No need to thank me for posting here, I would never consider posting such a question elsewhere (in a private message for example )

I'm quite familiar with the above studies, but am surprised that there hasn't been any significant follow up research. I know quite a few sports nutritionists who work in professional sport and one of them is head of nutrition for a national football (soccer) team. All of them implement strategies for their athlete's to intake carbohydrates during competition and training, but do it purely from a fuelling perspective (which is most important). I've asked them about the recovery and/or adaptation potential of their methods and they dismissed them and said it's not something they have considered and have never seen any evidence for!

[Scott Stevenson]

Thanks Scott, this has created a few no questions for me so I'll continue doing some digging!

No need to thank me for posting here, I would never consider posting such a question elsewhere (in a private message for example )

I'm quite familiar with the above studies, but am surprised that there hasn't been any significant follow up research. I know quite a few sports nutritionists who work in professional sport and one of them is head of nutrition for a national football (soccer) team. All of them implement strategies for their athlete's to intake carbohydrates during competition and training, but do it purely from a fuelling perspective (which is most important). I've asked them about the recovery and/or adaptation potential of their methods and they dismissed them and said it's not something they have considered and have never seen any evidence for!

Intersting... Here's another one that doesn't show significant effects, but if look at Figure 2, there is what I would call a practically significant effect of timing on the decrement in muscle strength following damaging exercise that comes with taking the same supplement BEFORE vs. after the damaging bout:

https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles...0-2783-5-5

   

-S

[Stewilliams]

Intersting... Here's another one that doesn't show significant effects, but if look at Figure 2, there is what I would call a practically significant effect of timing on the decrement in muscle strength following damaging exercise that comes with taking the same supplement BEFORE vs. after the damaging bout:

https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles...0-2783-5-5



-S

That exercise protocol looks brutal! Untrained participants performing FIFTY eccentric isokinetic leg extensions!!

That data is cool, I know muscle damage is high in professional rugby player's following games which has a big impact on glycogen replenishment as well as force production.

It may not translate as much over to a sport like soccer, but I would not want to risk leaving any stone unturned, especially when teams are playing 3 games in 7 days and have squads valued at over $1,000,000,000!

[Scott Stevenson]

That exercise protocol looks brutal! Untrained participants performing FIFTY eccentric isokinetic leg extensions!!

That's a pretty standard protocol for a DOMS study, actually. Ensured to get an effect!

That data is cool, I know muscle damage is high in professional rugby player's following games which has a big impact on glycogen replenishment as well as force production.

Yes, muscle injury can impair glycogen restoration.

It may not translate as much over to a sport like soccer, but I would not want to risk leaving any stone unturned, especially when teams are playing 3 games in 7 days and have squads valued at over $1,000,000,000!

For the various aspects of recovery (muscle protein balance and fuel stores) it makes sense to consume carbs as an Pre-/intra/Post- supplement in those situations. (Note that the Tarpenning et al study employed only gatorade - not even an EAA / protein source.)

-S