Stopped lifting weights/gym and feel better - WTF?!

Therapeutic Efforts
#1

Hi everyone,
It is super strange but I got little improvement in my symptoms of ED, almost 0 libido and the inability to sleep more than 4,5 hours per night by basically not lifting weights any more. The effects come around 2 weeks after stopping

I am very unhappy about this, cause gym helped to clear my mind and feel more “masculine” having muscles. But the day after I am a complete mess

The ED, libido and sleeping start immediately when I lift weights again, 1 or 2 days after it. Even if it is just an easy workout.

Did anyone experience something similar or found a solution to it?

My Bloodwork is in the normal range

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#2

My symptoms are all worsening the days following exercise, unless it’s light exercise.

Given Baylor’s findings - that our AR is overexpressed - this would suggest that raising androgen levels (through an activity like lifting weights), would be bad for us at a cellular level.

Try cut back to light exercise like jumping rope or more cardiovascular exercises if possible.

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#3

I also experience this if I go to hard at the gym. Mostly my sleep gets really bad.

Lifting weights increase T only acutely (for like 15-30 min IIRC). After that your androgen levels actually drop lower than baseline.

Wikipedia source.

  • Androgens increased in response to exercise, particularly resistance, while cortisol only increased with resistance. DHEA increased with resistance exercise and remained elevated during recovery in resistance-trained subjects. After initial post-exercise increase, there was decline in free and total testosterone during resistance recovery, particularly in resistance-trained subjects.

So the misconception that training increase T/androgens are simply not valid. Something else going on, but god knows what.

My best bet would be the decrease in stress response that’s also been documented in PFS. But it’s only a guess so take it for what it is.

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#4

Same effect here. In the future when work isn’t so intense, I’m might try to “Pal” the shit out of it. One guy here said he had the same problem but recovered by going balls-out for 4 weeks, then would take two weeks off, then repeat until things desensitized.

#5

@Renegade
So you mean 4 weeks Workout, 2 week break Pattern?

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#6

Yes. I believe it was a recent post but I can’t seem to find it.

#7

I trained hard for at least 14 years before PSSD. I was able to continue training hard for 3 years with PSSD, I seemed to tolerate exercise still very well. Then after three years without taking anything seemingly dangerous, came third degree hemorrhoids along that prevented me from exercising for a long time, and other physical problems that I hadn’t, I had PSSD for 7 years now. However, I always thought about going back to training and now I have been back for a few weeks. Before I stopped training even with PSSD I weighed 80 kg of solid muscles for 1.74 cm now I am 68 kg, but I hope to rebuild something. It would be interesting to know what a pro bodybuilder who gets PFS / PSSD or a person working in the fitness industry would do, how they could handle it?

If training is really your passion I hope you don’t have to stop for a long time, you can try to stop for a few weeks and resume very light, and try to increase the intensity of the training very gradually.

#8

The first 3 Years after PFS I was able to train hard too.

Now in the third year Game over. I thougt PFS will get better over time, unfortunately the opposide happens to me