Harnessing Adrenaline: The Key to Superhuman Strength?

What would you think if I said you have the potential to perform superhuman acts of strength?

You’d probably say I watch too many Marvel films (guilty). However, in this article I’m going to provide you with real-life occurrences where normal adults and even children have displayed superhuman levels of strength.

 

Yes, in real life! And I’m going to give you step-by-step instructions on how you can replicate the same physiological process, helping you lift more weight than ever before.

Superhuman Lifts

Have you ever switched on the news and heard about freak incidences of strength completed by mere average Joe’s?

For example, in 2009 you might have heard about the 2 women who lifted a car (weighing 1 tonne) off a boy who was trapped underneath it (1). Just to translate this weight into lifting terms, that’s 1,400kg or 3086lbs.

The surprising thing about this story is that it’s quite a common one. Almost everyone has heard or read about a ‘woman lifts car off baby’ news story. It’s not as if these two women happened to be the two strongest female powerlifters in the world in the right place at the right time.

And even if they were, they wouldn’t necessarily be able to lift anywhere near that weight.

This type of feat is classed as superhuman or hysterical strength. Here are some more examples of this type of hysterical strength being demonstrated by every day, normal people:

1. 2009: 185lb man lifts Mercury Sedan off a little girl to help her escape unharmed (2). It was also stated that he tried to lift other cars later that day, but failed. So the one time he really needed to lift the car, was the one time he actually succeeded. Coincidence?

2. 2011: 295lb American footballer lifts Cadillac (weighing roughly 3,500 lbs) to save a man’s life (3).

3. 2013: Two teenage girls, aged 14 and 16, lift a 3,000lb tractor off their dad to save his life (4).

And all it takes is a quick google search to find dozens more remarkable moments similar to these. These feats have been performed by men, women, and even children. It seems almost anyone can perform these remarkable acts of strength, given the motivation is strong enough.

But How Did They Do it?

The answer lies with Epinephrine (better known as adrenaline).

When you lift weights the sympathetic nervous system becomes stimulated.  Your body shifts into fight or flight mode.

As a result the adrenal medulla starts to produce more adrenaline. When this adrenaline output increases, blood flow to your muscles increases. In turn, this allows your muscles to perform at heightened levels, i.e. become stronger. Your skeletal muscle function also becomes enhanced when the sympathetic nervous system is stimulated. Skeletal muscle is the tissue that is connected to your bones by your tendons. The SNS sends electrical impulses to these muscles, making them contract and shorten, increasing strength potential. With these examples of hysterical strength, we can conclude that the higher your adrenaline levels, or the more stimulated your SNS, the increased strength potential you will possess.

The ISFA (former strongman sanctioning body), used to test for banned stimulants in competitors to create a level playing field. This backs up the theory that more stimulation/adrenaline correlates with increased strength. And what could spike adrenaline levels more than the fear of a child or someone related to you dying if you can’t lift the weight off their body? This motivation was the reason the man who lifted the Mercury Sedan off the little girl could not lift the same weight again later that day. The stimulus of the girl under the car was no longer there, so his adrenaline levels plummeted. When you’re in the gym trying to lift a certain weight, you know that somebody’s death isn’t a likelihood if you don’t beat your PR. Thus, your adrenaline levels won’t be as high as they could be, due to that fear factor not being present.

So, How Do You Increase Adrenaline?

So how do you replicate this effect down the gym?

No, you do not have somebody hold a gun to your daughter’s head if you don’t squat 2,000lbs.

We simply won’t be able to elicit the same amount of adrenaline as in extreme situations.

We can, however, stimulate the sympathetic nervous system and increase adrenaline levels to a somewhat higher than normal level. For best results these tips should be implemented on special occasions when you’re trying to beat a PR, and not on a regular basis. This is because adrenaline has vasoconstriction effects on alpha receptors in the body. Blood vessels becoming more narrow, reducing blood flow and spiking blood pressure. In the short-term this isn’t an issue, but if your BP is constantly spiked it could lead to serious health problems. We also know that elevated adrenaline levels over a long period of time can sabotage testosterone levels, having catabolic effects (4). This happens from adrenaline lowering the Luteinizing hormone (LH). LH is needed in the conversion of androstenedione into testosterone. So by lowering LH, it prevents the leydig cells in the testis from producing as much testosterone.

Caffeine

Caffeine, the drug pretty much the whole world is hooked on, is one of the most powerful stimulants.

Hence why it’s the prime ingredient in most bodybuilding pre workout supplements. After you’ve consumed caffeine it takes 1-1.5 hours for levels to peak in your blood. 

Caffeine has a half-life of 5.7 hours. If you were to take 1 serving of Grenade’s .50 calibre pre workout (containing 150mg) at 5pm, at approximately 11pm you’d still have 75mg of caffeine circulating in your blood stream (approaching bedtime). For this reason, this ‘Super Strength Workout’ should take place in the morning to avoid insomnia and ensure maximum sleep quality. Another benefit to completing this workout in the morning is that you’ll be more stimulated compared to if you did it the evening. Cortisol levels are highest in the morning and lowest in the evening, meaning your sympathetic nervous system will be more aroused. In most adults, cortisol levels rise by 50% just 30 minutes after waking (5). Cortisol levels are highest upon waking is because the glucocorticoid plays a key role in the process of waking the body.

Optimum Dose

The FDA recommends no more than 400mg of caffeine per day.

Therefore this dose and no more should be consumed before your ‘Super Strength Workout’. Most pre workouts contain 150-300mg per serving. You’ll be getting up to 2.6x more caffeine with a 400mg dose.

Make sure you keep your caffeine intake low 5 days before your ‘Super Strength Workout’. This will prevent you from building up a tolerance to it in the days leading up to your workout. Then you can get the maximum effects from your pre workout stimulation. However, if you have a high caffeine diet (over 400mg a day), don’t suddenly stop all caffeine consumption. You’ll be likely to experience caffeine withdrawal during these 5 days. Instead, cut it down by half. So if you consume around 5 cups of coffee a day (500mg), reduce it to 2 (200mg).

Recommended Caffeine Source

I recommend getting your caffeine from coffee as opposed to a pre workout supplement.

Studies have shown that when caffeine is consumed in the form of coffee, it doesn’t cause a spike in blood pressure, compared to caffeine alone (6).

3 of my favourite ways to get approximately 400mg of caffeine from coffee:

1. 5 espresso shots (based on 1.5 fl oz shot size) = 385mg

2. 4 cups of brewed coffee (based on 8 fl oz cup) = 379.2mg

3. 2x 3 shot cappuccino’s (based on 12 fl oz cup) = 462mg.

Cold Shower

The morning of your ‘Super Strength Workout’, have a cold shower.

Man up, it’s only for one day! Cold showers are another way to stimulate your sympathetic nervous system and send adrenaline levels surging.

Another great benefit to taking a cold shower is it’s positive effect on testosterone levels. Several studies have proven that the cooler your testicles are, the more testosterone your leydig cells can secrete (7). If you’d like to learn more about creative ways to cool your testicles and increase your sperm count/testosterone, read my post: “7 Hacks to Boost Your Testosterone by 462% (Naturally)”.

Music Selection

The type of music you listen to can determine the amount of adrenaline in your body.

Listening to music with a fast rhythm has shown to significantly increase plasma epinephrine levels (8). So if listening to slow-paced classical music is your thing, you might want to save that for bedtime, rather than before this killer workout.

…Time to download some rave music to your iPod.

Food Choices

As we want to be as aroused/stimulated as possible for maximum strength, it’s important that we don’t consume any foods/drinks that will have the opposite effect before a workout.

L-tryptophan, an amino acid naturally occurring in several foods works in the opposite way to caffeine. L-tryptophan calms the nervous system, reducing adrenaline levels, and preparing us for sleep.

You know that post-Christmas dinner coma that you fall into every year without fail? That’s you experiencing the effects of L-tryptophan in the turkey. Turkey’s not the number one source of L-tryptophan, but carbohydrates can significantly increase the absorption of this amino acid. Because Christmas dinner typically contains a crazy amount of carbs, you can feel drowsy and in need of a power nap!

Here’s a list of foods/drinks rich in L-tryptophan (to avoid):

• Chicken
• Turkey
• Cheese (particularly mozzarella and cottage)
• Milk
• Red meat
• Fish
• Yoghurt
• Oats
• Eggs

Eating these foods after the workout is a good idea to shift your body out of fight or flight mode and regulate your adrenaline levels back to normal. This will prevent you from experiencing the ‘comedown’ that is often associated with increased adrenaline levels.

It’s also important to know which foods CAN stimulate you. You’ll be able to utilize these as a pre workout snack combined with your pre workout caffeine. Here’s a list of foods that stimulate your central nervous system:

• Nuts
• Chocolate
• Chili’s (spicy food)
• Ginger

A food combination that works really well for me is snacking on nuts throughout the day. About an hour before the workout I have a really hot bowl of chili. Thirty minutes before I have a gingerbread man and some dark chocolate (dark chocolate has a higher cocoa % than milk chocolate).

Summary

Although we know it’s possible for humans to display superhuman strength, we know that without an extreme situation of life and death we won’t be able to replicate this effect in the gym.

But we do understand the relationship of how adrenaline levels affect strength and how to manipulate this to your advantage.

Here are the 4 main steps to do this:

• Consume 400mg of caffeine approximately 1 hour before your workout.
• Have a cold shower – the colder the better!
• Listen to loud, fast-paced music before/during your workout.
• Stick to foods that will stimulate your central nervous system instead of soothing it (as listed above).

Once you’ve done these 4 steps, you’ll be ready to hulk-smash through any strength plateau. And remember…

 

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