Muscle and Cortisol

There has been a lot of talk about cortisol and how it increases fat stores, especially in the abdomen. What you may not know is that cortisol can actually destroy muscle fibers. A study done with women taking contraceptives and those not, completing 10 weeks resistance training with an exercise physiologist, demonstrated a significant difference in these 2 groups. The women who were taking contraceptives, showed higher levels of cortisol and gained far less muscle mass.

Women who were not taking contaceptives had 60% more muscle mass. So if you are taking contraceptives and wondering why you are not gaining muscle mass, are you taking contraceptives?