Alright let’s chat about EXERCISE & HORMONAL HEALTH! Keep reading to find out what my current exercise routine looks like! 

It’s no secret that most Americans are not getting in enough movement. 

Our bodies were DESIGNED TO MOVE!

Movement/exercise helps to:

• support healthy hormones / ovulation / fertility
• blood sugar balance
• lower inflammation
• improve mental help (anxiety/depression)
• decrease PMS
• increase energy
• improve cognitive function

What’s my favorite form of movement:

ANYTHING YOU CAN DO CONSISTENTLY. 

Yup. We could debate all day on what the best forms of exercise but here’ the thing- the best form of exercise for YOU is going to be what you can stick to CONSISTENTLY!

Forms of exercise that have been found to be beneficial for health:

• Strength training
• Walking
• Biking
• Pilates
• Yoga
• Running
• ….pretty much anything lol!!

Now exercise & hormonal health is a tricky topic because it is true that you don’t want to overdue it. 

Our society has done a TERRIBLE job at educating women how to exercise in a way that also supports our hormonal health.

Too little or too much exercise can be detrimental to hormone health. 

But it is a MYTH that in order to balance your hormones you “can’t” do high intensity workouts.

What the real issue is with exercising “too much” is really if your aren’t eating ENOUGH to properly fuel both healthy hormones and muscle recovery.

Over-exercising & under-fueling can negatively impact hormones by:

• lowering FSH & estrogen
• potentially increase androgens (think: PCOS)
• lower progesterone
• lower thyroid hormone
• impair insulin signaling
• impair hunger regulating hormones

Exercise should help us balance our hormones, not drive them into further dysfunction.

With my clients we are uniquely assessing their nutrient/caloric needs based on their levels of activity. In some clients, they have a difficult time reaching their caloric needs which in those cases we may recommend cutting back on the intensity of their workouts.

Personally, this is a big factor that I ignored for so long. My excessive workouts (which I thought were very healthy) coupled with not eating enough was a huge factor CAUSING my hormonal imbalance/PCOS.

It took a long time for me to accept that higher intensity workouts 5-6x per week did not agree with my body, increased my acne, and irregular cycles.

But remember ladies, its alllll about balance.

You CAN do higher intensity workouts but you need to also be ADEQUATELY FUELING your body at the same time!

So what is my current workout routine?

Let me first start with telling you my current goals as this heavily impacts my workout routine:

My goal currently in just to get in consistent workouts 5x per week. I don’t have partiuclar aesthetic/weight loss goals. My goal is just to move to be healthy. 

Why this matters? Because this means I need to prioritize movement that I can be consistent with.

Right now I alternate between strength videos by Growingannanas to help build muscle and lower intensity pilates from The Sculpt Society because its fun, effective, and easy for me to hit the “play” button.

My typical schedule is to do 2 days of 30 minutes of workouts in a row followed by 1 active rest day (active rest: walking, yoga, or just general movement chasing after my little girls)

So a sample of what that looks like for me:

• Monday: Full body strength from Growingannanas
• Tuesday: 30 minute full body Sculpt Society Workout
• Wednesday: active rest day- 30-60 minute neighborhood walk or
• Thursday: Lower body strength from Growingannanas
• Friday: 30 minute full body Sculpt Society Workout

Sometimes I switch things up and do a longer 45 minute Sculpt Society Workout and then the next do a full body, no weight workout by  Growingannanas.

I switch things up based on how I feel!

This schedule is what I used prior to my most recent pregnancy and started back up again once I was 6ish months postpartum and is partially what has enabled me to get back to my personal ideal weight postpartum!

During pregnancy and early postpartum I did exclusively Sculpt Society Workouts. As they really matched my energy levels and I did not feel ready for heavy strength training. 

Now my exercise routine does NOT need to be your exercise. I utilize video workouts because as a mom of a toddler and infant- I need to turn my brain off and just follow along to something. Being able to just hit “play” is so helpful for me when my workout motivation in low. 

Additionally, if you have specific goals like weight loss or optimizing your blood sugar some exercise may be preferred over others. For example, weight training helps to build lean muscle mass which is beneficial for increasing your metabolic rate and support optimal blood sugar. 

We recommend to clients certain forms of working out based on their goals, history, & current symptoms (for example we won’t tell someone with chronic fatigue to start heavy weight training 3x per week or we may tell someone who is missing their period to dial back their current workout routine/intensity). This is where working with a coach/practitioner may be helpful for you to determine what kind of workout schedule best fits your needs.

There are a million ways to workout to support your health- my biggest advice is to find something you somewhat enjoy 😉  

Questions about my workout routine/exercise for hormonal health? Feel free to DM me on Insta!!

For my next Newsletter- I will chat about exercise specially during pregnancy & postpartum, so stay tuned!

Want to work together? I gotchu!

– If you’re looking for more 1:1 coaching to get to the root cause + in depth support + functional lab testing, you can apply for my 4 Month 1:1 Coaching program here.​

-Want more details about what working with me and my team looks like? You can find out more here!