I cycle erase pro for the cortisol benefits. I also dose Ashwagandha 3-5 times throughout the day and drink a protein shake with dextrose during my workout (Layne Norton tip).
I've heard of Reduce XT, but I'm saving it for a bulk or lean mass gain phase.
Are there any other supps/methods to reduce cortisol? (besides meditation)
Don't fear cortisol. People overly fear whereas it actually serves a very important purpose.
From ZiR:
Take a look, cortisol was associated with changes in type II fiber CSA and LBM.
It may actually be the link between why people gain muscle signficantly faster when they are on hormones and training vs. just on hormones.
Eur J Appl Physiol. 2012 Jul;112(7):2693-702. Epub 2011 Nov 22.
Associations of exercise-induced hormone profiles and gains in strength and hypertrophy in a large cohort after weight training.
West DW, Phillips SM.
Source
Exercise Metabolism Research Group, Department of Kinesiology, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. West, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada.
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate associations between acute exercise-induced hormone responses and adaptations to high intensity resistance training in a large cohort (n = 56) of young men. Acute post-exercise serum growth hormone (GH), free testosterone (fT), insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) and cortisol responses were determined following an acute intense leg resistance exercise routine at the midpoint of a 12-week resistance exercise training study. Acute hormonal responses were correlated with gains in lean body mass (LBM), muscle fibre cross-sectional area (CSA) and leg press strength. There were no significant correlations between the exercise-induced elevations (area under the curve-AUC) of GH, fT and IGF-1 and gains in LBM or leg press strength. Significant correlations were found for cortisol, usually assumed to be a hormone indicative of catabolic drive, AUC with change in LBM (r = 0.29, P < 0.05) and type II fibre CSA (r = 0.35, P < 0.01) as well as GH AUC and gain in fibre area (type I: r = 0.36, P = 0.006; type II: r = 0.28, P = 0.04, but not lean mass). No correlations with strength were observed. We report that the acute exercise-induced systemic hormonal responses of cortisol and GH are weakly correlated with resistance training-induced changes in fibre CSA and LBM (cortisol only), but not with changes in strength.