Although exercise is one of the best ways to improve your ability to deal with stress, exercise itself is stressful. Or at least it should be. That is the paradox.

There are many different health benefits to all types of exercise and movement.

But to enjoy the cardioprotective effects of exercise, or to build muscle and improve your metabolism, you need to push your body to perform near its limits. Then your body will adapt by building more muscle, strengthening your heart, and releasing beneficial hormones.

In other words, you must put yourself through bodily stress in order to reap the rewards of exercise. If your exercise protocol never gets your heart pumping at high levels, or never challenges your muscles near their point of failure, you’re simply not getting the full benefits of exercise.

Whenever you experience stress, your adrenal glands release the hormone cortisol. Cortisol is your friend. But too much cortisol is your enemy. When your body releases cortisol, it diverts energy to repair injured tissue and rebuild muscle. Persistently high levels of circulating cortisol will keep you in a chemically activated state and neurologically hypervigilant posture, not allowing you to take a physiological break to repair and rebuild.

Athletes who overtrain or don’t get enough rest between workouts are at risk for this scenario. Overtraining will cause your performance to suffer, ultimately leading to injury, burnout, and poor training results. Even if you don’t exercise much, you should be alert to this risk. The same negative cortisol response can occur in sedentary people who suddenly become overzealous in their quest to get in shape.

There will never be a substitute for recovery, sleep, and good nutrition for those who want to improve their exercise capacity. Varying the types of exercise you do also helps.

But, in addition, there is a nutritional supplement that helps.

Research shows that the supplement phosphatidylserine, a natural component of cell membranes, reduces cortisol after exercise. That allows you to exercise harder, recover faster, and achieve quicker athletic gains. It has even been shown to improve your golf game.

Here is a link to the underlying research: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1997116

I can offer you access to a high-quality Phosphatidylserine supplement through my Wellevate online dispensary. But I will need your email contact information to do so. Email me at [email protected] for more information.