Changing your exercise to match your hormones isn’t really talked about, but its a game changer! If it’s so important to adapt your nutrition to your cycle, shouldn’t movement be just as important?
It is!!
Exercise is beneficial because it builds muscle, and its important to have muscle for so many reasons but also to lose weight. Your body is not made to just do cardio over and over all month long – you need to be building muscle!
There are two big phases of exercise: pushing your body (muscle building) and recovery. When you match these with your cycle, you will see much better results and feel better!
Estrogen days 1-3: Although the estrogen phase (days 1-14) of your cycle is when your energy is boosted, days 1-3 can still be tough for some women. Your body is switching over to a new cycle! This is a time to really listen to your body and rest if you need to.
Estrogen days 3-14: The rest of the estrogen phase is an incredible time to build muscle! The food in this phase are also designed to support muscle building. This is a time to do more lifting and strength training!
– Lift heavier weight
– shorter recovery time
– High Intensity Interval training
Progesterone days 15-28: After ovulation, your body starts to shift and change. The same things that work in the estrogen phase, can make you feel like crap in the progesterone phase because of the shifts in hormones!
You can still enjoy working out during this phase but here are a few things you need to take into account:
– Lift light/medium weight
– Longer recovery time
– Slower but longer endurance cardio
This is a big aspect of my 12 week challenge that I coach women on. Working out for your hormones will change the game. If you are interested in learning more, join the waitlist here: www.drbethwestie.com/waitlist
