Irritable After A Workout

member11823

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May 11, 2017
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Hey there,

I'm training for nearly 12 years now. I'm focusing mainly on lifting weights. I've tried many protocols and routines but this one makes irritable every time. I'm talking about fullbody routines. Heavy squat, bench presses, heavy rowing, you know. I'm so angry every time I finish to WO. Firstly I tough it may be some kind of supplement reactions or side effect but it isn't. If training push/legs/pull, everything is fine.
Probably the volume is too bigger in the fullbody days? I'm not using bcaa, aminos, caffeine pre/post workout.
Is it due to elevated testosterone levels or it is CNS overload?
 

HealingBoy

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Feb 7, 2019
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Are you still angry after eating ? Could be " just " low blood sugar ? Also, if you don't have enough sugar in blood, you'll be fueled by cortisol and adrenaline, which is very likely to cause anger, beside being in a catabolic state, not helping you gain volume or strength.
 

Beastmode

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Hey there,

I'm training for nearly 12 years now. I'm focusing mainly on lifting weights. I've tried many protocols and routines but this one makes irritable every time. I'm talking about fullbody routines. Heavy squat, bench presses, heavy rowing, you know. I'm so angry every time I finish to WO. Firstly I tough it may be some kind of supplement reactions or side effect but it isn't. If training push/legs/pull, everything is fine.
Probably the volume is too bigger in the fullbody days? I'm not using bcaa, aminos, caffeine pre/post workout.
Is it due to elevated testosterone levels or it is CNS overload?

Testosterone doesn't make you irritable. Estrogen sure can.

It's obvious your system is overloaded, which can facilitate the creation of estrogen, from what you're doing in the gym stacked with what might be going on outside of it.

I took 2019 off from lifting weights to really focus on general health with the sole basis of feeling good. It was the first time in over 25 years of weight training that I took an entire year off.

You don't necessarily have to take any time off, but I would consider taking a more general look at your overall health as it's very easy to use "reductive" reasoning to isolate why you're feeling this way after a workout. It's probably the most powerful thing I've learned from Ray and it seems to be missed often.
 

lampofred

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I'm guessing it's due to either low blood sugar and or excess cortisol from your workout causing aromatization of testosterone into estradiol. Low blood sugar and estradiol increase serotonin and serotonin causes rage and irritability. Eating more before your workout and lowering its intensity might actually help you build more muscle in the long-run.
 

reality

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I get the same when I’m overtraining. It’s definitely cortisol related
 

Hans

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Hey there,

I'm training for nearly 12 years now. I'm focusing mainly on lifting weights. I've tried many protocols and routines but this one makes irritable every time. I'm talking about fullbody routines. Heavy squat, bench presses, heavy rowing, you know. I'm so angry every time I finish to WO. Firstly I tough it may be some kind of supplement reactions or side effect but it isn't. If training push/legs/pull, everything is fine.
Probably the volume is too bigger in the fullbody days? I'm not using bcaa, aminos, caffeine pre/post workout.
Is it due to elevated testosterone levels or it is CNS overload?
It's most likely low blood sugar and elevated cortisol like repeatedly mentioned because the symptoms only kick in after a full body workout which can be very draining.

Additionally, it could be due to leaky gut. The longer the workout, the leakier your gut gets and the more toxins you absorb. So the solution would be to avoid draining workouts in the first place, make sure you're well fed pre-workout and then use zinc carnosine with colostrum pre-workout to prevent leaky gut.
 

homyak

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Sep 8, 2019
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Hey there,

I'm training for nearly 12 years now. I'm focusing mainly on lifting weights. I've tried many protocols and routines but this one makes irritable every time. I'm talking about fullbody routines. Heavy squat, bench presses, heavy rowing, you know. I'm so angry every time I finish to WO. Firstly I tough it may be some kind of supplement reactions or side effect but it isn't. If training push/legs/pull, everything is fine.
Probably the volume is too bigger in the fullbody days? I'm not using bcaa, aminos, caffeine pre/post workout.
Is it due to elevated testosterone levels or it is CNS overload?

IMO this is low sugar and lactic acid build up. If I do a session on Meldonium with lots of orange juice or high sugar tea, then I do not experience this. I found that sauna and cold showers after a workout reduce this as well. I would actually get violent anger after workouts, but much less as I became older and more mature.
 

TheSir

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Jan 6, 2019
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I've read of some curing post-workout dysphoria by taking half a teaspoon of baking soda dissolved to water.
 

Gl;itch.e

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Additionally, it could be due to leaky gut. The longer the workout, the leakier your gut gets and the more toxins you absorb. So the solution would be to avoid draining workouts in the first place, make sure you're well fed pre-workout and then use zinc carnosine with colostrum pre-workout to prevent leaky gut.
Nice! Glad someone else here suggested this. I was going to put my two cents in but you did it for me. Cheers! Personally I think this is more likely than the estrogen idea though the cortisol and glycogen thing is also likely part of it.

OP. Do you train with a workout drink or just water? What do you eat pre-workout?
 
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NO boosting supplements used to make me very angry. I didn't see the connection until a friend also bought a tub of citrulline to fuel his workouts and noticed he would return home and fight with his girlfriend every single time. Enough garlic had a similar result. This was years before discovering Peat and I was not yet aware of why but I put citrulline, garlic, and a few other supplements and foods aside to save my relationship and prove my sanity.

Aggression for me now signals impeded mitochondrial respiration, loss of CO2, reduced glucose oxidation, and lack of brain energy. Fruit juice, gelatin, tyrosine, riboflavin, thiamine, and methylene blue have been a great workout support and mood stabilizer.

It's hard to say which one of these has had the most impact. Thiamine counteracts hyperventilation, riboflavin oxygenates tissues, methylene blue transports electrons, glycine inhibits excitotoxcicity, tyrosine makes dopamine, and fruit juice replenishes glycogen all rather efficiently.
 
OP
M

member11823

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About the fullbody routines, it is really difficult to learn how to manage volume and intensity and maintain frequency. Training with lower rep range lead me only to a high crash and burn rate. Will switch to push/legs/pull, some low reps in the beginning + lots of higher rep range later...
 
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As an example of an optimal intensity-managing strategy for weightlifting, Pavel explains at 19:29 () to take a weight that can be executed for a maximum of 10 repetitions and perform sets of 3-6 reps. Pavel promotes longer rest periods between sets of the same exercise to allow near full recovery before the next attempt. If time is limited, supersets or circuits of exercises that do not recruit the same muscles are the most efficient way to structure this style of training.

With barbells, Pavel recommends working with sets of a higher number for a few weeks, then dropping 1 rep or 2 or 3 and working with a lower repetition number for a few weeks. According to him the Soviets discovered early on that the body can handle two hard weeks of training out of four.

Accordingly, here is my suggestion. Start with 4 weeks of sets of 10 repetitions, then 4 weeks of sets of 8 reps, then 4 weeks of sets of 5, finally 4 weeks of 3. During the first of each 4 week block, stay 5-6 reps away from failure. During the second week, 3-4 reps from failure, during the third week 1-2, and during the fourth week push yourself to failure. Then on the fifth week start the first week of the 8 rep block using the same reps from failure scheme. Then 5, then 3. The first week is meant to be easy and doubles as a deload so you recover from the failure week of the previous block. (Throw in some lighter exercises like arms, abs, and cardio after the big basic movements if you like; they probably won't hinder recovery and may even help if your nutrition is sufficient.)

I would recommend performing 5-8 working sets of each basic strength movement per session (depending on how frequently you train the movement) rather than 3 sets of 3 different movements (variety is mostly overrated). Regarding frequency, every other day works well when you're younger, while one day of training followed by two full days of rest is smarter when you're older.

If you miss any days for whatever reason, ignore it and pick up where you left off in the program whenever you can. If you've been consistent with the program and find yourself feeling a bit beat up, instead of the planned session just do some light arms, abs, or cardio that allows you to breathe through your nose only, and pick up where you left off 1-2 days later. If you find yourself feeling too beat up, skip the workout, eat more, go to bed early, and pick up where you left off 1-2 days later. The more rest, the merrier. The no pain no gain mentality is optimal for those seeking an early grave. For more on the training philosophy of strategically avoiding failure, here is the coach of legendary UFC fighter George Saint-Piere: .

My advise would be to not perform movements you cannot recover from. I dropped all back squats years ago and more recently front squats as well because they always injured my lower back. In fact I rarely perform bilateral leg movements at all for this reason. The only quadriceps exercises I perform now are barbell step ups, weighted vest walking lunges, and cycling. Deadlifts are not a problem for me but if they don't work for you, ditch 'em. There are so many awesome alternatives.
 
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My bet it's low blood sugar. Try to drink fruit juice or eat some gummy bears right after the workout.
 
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