Best Fitness for Women for Hormone Balance
Are you having peri-menopause symptoms? Let’s talk about why they happen, and what to do about them from a fitness perspective.
This post was taken from my continuing education for my fitness certifications. “How Hormones and Metabolism Change the Training Game for Females by Scott Josephson MS RD
Estrogen dominance is typical of peri-menopause. The estrogen roller coaster🎢 alters feedback between the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus.
The hypothalamus regulates blood pressure, body temp, appetite, sex drive, and mood.
Estrogen dominance can slow down nutrient absorption. Dominance can increase fat storage, water retention, and weight.
You are what you absorb - not what you eat but what you absorb!!
Bloat and weight gain increase cortisol (the stress hormone) and a decreased progesterone. The body tends to store more fat in the abs, hips, and thighs.
I have heard so often of heart palpitations. What happens is your calming and energy systems are competing causing your heart to palpitate.
I also hear of insomnia and migraine headaches A LOT!!! Decrease progesterone can increase hot flashes and carb cravings.
Do you run?👟 Thinking that will help your health and wellness? Do you hit the gym and do cardio exercise for long periods of time thinking that will help and it doesn’t? Well here is the reason why:
Major long bouts of cardiovascular exercise can be extremely catabolic - meaning the body breaks down instead of building up which only makes the hormone issue worse!!!!
Major, long bouts of cardio is bad! Why? Because of the 90-90 rule.
90-90 rule 90 minutes at 90% of your heart capacity = overtraining!!!
You break down much more than you build up.
Have no fear for BEST is here! The solution? B.E.S.T training.
A study was done at the University of Arizona and they came up with the B.E.S.T program.
B=Bone Mineral Density E= Estrogen S= Strength T= Training....higher intensity weight training. Decrease intensity of cardio, and increase calories of healthy carbohydrate fiber and fluids.
B.E.S.T Components
Incorporate pelvic floor exercises such as Kegels.
Incorporate moderate-intensity cardio using 70-80% of max heart rate on apparatus.
Lift weights 8-10 reps at 60-70% of 1RM (1RM means 1 rep max so if your max weight is 100 pounds you’d want to lift 60-70 pounds for 8-10 reps. And note that it takes some figuring out this magic number.)
The B.E.S.T. formula increases balance, strength, bone mineral density, metabolism, and stability in large muscles.
Increasing resistance and decreased reps provide more bone mineral density!!!
So in short to decrease symptoms of peri-menopause it has been documented that the B.E.S.T. Method helps with all symptoms. Be sure to incorporate Kegels to increase pelvic floor strength, moderate-intensity cardio, and lift weights incorporating a total body workout 60-70% 1 rep max of 15-25 reps per muscle group per week.
Why do I know this works? I am 56 years young and have just entered peri-menopause. I have very low symptoms and feel great for my age. After taking this continuing education course and studying the factors involved I know this works and want a blog post to share with my friends, clients, and those with questions.
Remember there are several factors to take into account:
Genetics
Body type
Lifetime of workouts
Lifetime of “diets” either extreme caloric intake or decrease or fluctuations
Organ or bone damage
And growth hormone (GH) release (BEST training provides excellent GH release).
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