Exercise is a great way to get rid of stress hormones. But if you are a person that stresses a lot different rules should apply.

For example, if exercise has become a stress factor in your life, the stress hormone cortisol might be ravaging in your body. If that’s so hard training will break you down and make you both fat and sick.

When there are not enough hours in the day for your long list of things to do and the stress starts to crawl under your skin, then there is nothing better than taking a brisk walk under the clear blue sky so that you can transform performance sweat to workout sweat. Exercise is namely one of nature's very best ways to unwind and regain peace and balance in your body.

The stress hormone disappears

Exercise makes the stress hormone cortisol disappears and if you are physically fit it can make your body more stress resistant so that it takes longer before it begins to secrete cortisol. But in some cases, the otherwise healthy workout might become the last straw that makes the stress hormones go into a spin during a busy weekday. For example if you have a busy schedule then six hard training sessions a week can be an additional stress factor.

The reason is that the body then secretes even larger amounts of cortisol. In small amounts the substance is good for you because it makes you run faster and perform better. It helps you stay alert and able to joggle different tasks every day. But it has a destructive effect on both mind and body when it becomes too much .

Known as the "death hormone"

In the U.S., cortisol has been nicknamed "the death hormone” since the body is not made to constantly maintain high levels of the hormone.

The secretion of cortisol in a healthy person varies throughout the day . It is at its highest level in the morning and at the lowest in the evening. People suffering from chronic stress has constantly elevated cortisol levels. It interferes with the vital balance between the active and destructive processes in the body and can cause serious illness and other minor inconveniences.

The most serious consequences is that blood pressure and pulse constantly work overtime and that increases the risk of high blood pressure and cardiac arrest further. In addition, you may have trouble sleeping and concentrating, suffer from depression or have a decreased resistance to infections. Cortisol alters your metabolism so that your body burns carbohydrates instead of fat, and it is clearly visible on the scale.

Muscles become insulin resistant. They can no longer burn calories, which instead settle as stomach fat and keeps the weight to increase. Abdominal fat is the unhealthiest type of fat a man can have, and therefore, this phenomenon can easily be a precursor to diabetes.

When cortisol is sabotaging your workouts

Too much cortisol can actually destroy muscle and thus the training results that you have struggled to achieve for a long time. While moderate exercise, such as a 30- minute walk can lower cortisol levels for up to two days, too much exercise can break down your muscles. When cortisol makes the muscles resistant to insulin it reduces the content of protein in the muscles, so that they can not grow bigger. After prolonged stress they simply begin to decrease in size.

It can be difficult to self- assess when training starts to become more harmful than beneficial. Your training must never become an additional burden on an already stressed life. You should always feel good when exercising. If you feel that some days you exercise without feeling joy and that it's just something that needs to be done, it is better to skip the workout that day. You might benefit from a 20 –minute walk on the beach or in a other lovely setting.