Does cardio raise cortisol?
It depends how much you do. Dr. Martin opened one episode with a ten year study tying one hour of exercise a week to fewer insomnia symptoms, and he used it to make a point he comes back to again and again. Exercise is one of the ways to bring cortisol down. There is a limit, though.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1306As long as you don't overexercise. Over exercising will increase your cortisol.
He says this comes from personal and clinical experience over years of practice. So the answer to the search is not that cardio is poison. It is that more is not better, and that long, grinding sessions are where he sees the trouble start.
Why cortisol goes up when you move
Cortisol is the fight or flight hormone. Dr. Martin pictures someone being chased: your body pours everything into running away or fighting, and everything else waits. Blood pressure goes up. That is normal. The issue is whether it switches off afterwards.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 760Your blood pressure's going to go up of course. When you're running, of course, but it's meant to stop. You see, it's when it doesn't stop.
In another episode he points out that most of us are not stressed by running at all these days. The stress that keeps cortisol up is the kind that never ends.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1266Today, what happens? We don't run. It's not run Forrest run. We get angry, we get overwhelmed. We're full of fear.
If worry and poor sleep already keep your cortisol up, hours of hard cardio pile more on a system already struggling to turn off. If you are not sure whether that is you, his high cortisol symptoms checklist for women over 60 is a good place to start.
Is long distance cardio bad for cortisol?
Dr. Martin has been consistent about this for years. He likes all movement. He does not like overdoing it, and he singles out cardio when he says so.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 980Now all exercise is good. Don't overdo, especially cardio.
His reasoning in that episode is that cardio is catabolic. It breaks tissue down rather than building it up, and he goes as far as saying it will break down heart muscle if you overdo it. He has a short way of putting it.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 980You don't build heart muscle by pumping it. You're not a horse.
In the same episode he mentioned an article he had read that day linking marathon running to heart attacks. Asked in another episode whether there is anything negative about exercise, his answer was yes: you can do too much, like a marathon runner.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 588Man was not made to run 26 miles without stopping. I don't recommend that.
Does exercise lower cortisol?
Yes, and this is the part people miss. Dr. Martin knows exhausted patients do not feel like exercising. He still wants them moving.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 857But if you just go for a walk, you'll decrease your cortisol. Isn't that something? So I'm big on exercise.
He remembers studies from 30 or more years ago showing cortisol dropped the moment people started exercising, and he talked about them on his radio show for years. In a later episode on exercise and mental health he put it plainly.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 900When you exercise, you are lowering your cortisol.
So exercise is on his list of ways to bring cortisol down, alongside the evening habits in how to lower cortisol after 60. The question is which kind, and how much.
The best exercise for high cortisol: his sweet spot
Back in episode 1306, right after the warning about over exercising, he gave the amount he has settled on after all those years in practice.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1306Here's my sweet spot for exercise. 15, 20 minutes, three to four times a week, okay?
And he is specific about what those 15 to 20 minutes should be. Not a long run. Resistance.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1306So when I talk about the sweet spot of exercise, three to four days a week, lift something heavy, including your body. If you can do a pushup, good for you.
Bands, light weights and your own body weight all count. He keeps coming back to muscle because, as he says in that episode, the more they study muscle, the more they find it is one of the greatest things you can do for your metabolism. In his view 93% of people have some form of metabolic trouble, and muscle is one of the best ways to stay out of that group.
In another episode, answering a listener asking how much exercise she should do, he boiled it down the same way.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 614But the best exercise is 15 to 20 minutes, three to four days a week, weightlifting.
He said it elevates growth hormone, and that out of all the research it is the most effective form he knows.
Do you need the treadmill?
Plenty of women over 60 were taught that the way to fix their weight and their hormones was long sessions of cardio. Dr. Martin tells a story from his clinic about exactly that: women spending an hour on the treadmill hoping to lose weight, while the real problem was their hormones.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 614Well, you better fix your horrormones because the treadmill ain't going to fix your horrormones.
He is not against it. Later in that episode he asks whether you have to get on a treadmill, answers "not really", and adds that he is not saying don't do any of it. He is telling you what he knows. If the time is short, he would rather you spend it lifting than grinding out an hour of cardio. And his other point from that episode: you can't out-exercise a bad diet.
Strong muscles, strong heart
The word cardio makes people think heart. Dr. Martin thinks the heart is better served by muscle.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 979Weight lifting, resistant training, getting strong. Get strong, strong muscles, strong heart.
In that episode he says that metabolically there is nothing better, for triglycerides, cholesterol, HDL and inflammation. For blood flow specifically, his rebounder and resistance routine is in circulation exercises for seniors.
What to do on the off days
Three or four short sessions a week leaves plenty of days in between. Dr. Martin fills his with walking.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1306Now on my off days, okay, on my off days I walk and that's exercise, okay? I love walking, but I want you to get strong.
Put together: short resistance sessions three or four times a week, walks in between, and no marathon.
Common questions
Does cardio raise cortisol?
Dr. Martin says exercise lowers cortisol, but over exercising will increase it. He tells people not to overdo it, especially cardio.
What is the best exercise for high cortisol?
His sweet spot is 15 to 20 minutes, three to four times a week, lifting something heavy, including your own body weight or bands.
Does walking lower cortisol?
Yes. He says if you just go for a walk, you will decrease your cortisol, and he walks on his off days.
Is long distance running bad for cortisol?
He does not recommend it. He says man was not made to run 26 miles without stopping, and he calls cardio catabolic when it is overdone.
Will the treadmill fix my hormones?
Not in his experience. He tells women spending an hour on the treadmill that the treadmill is not going to fix their hormones.
Cortisol, from the clinic shop
Cortisol Control Formula is the formula the clinic shop sells for cortisol. The short, strong workouts and the walks on this page come first, and it sits behind them.
60-day money-back guarantee. Check with your practitioner before starting a new exercise routine, and about anything you are prescribed.
