EXERCISE FOR YOUR HORMONES

Hitting the gym could help to decrease excess circulating oestrogen levels and improve PMS symptoms. Try our hormone conditioning workout to move according to your cycle or stage

- Lucy Miller

Hormones... phew! These powerful chemical messengers are highly complex and control nearly everything within the body and mind (think metabolism, energy levels, mood, sleep, skin health and even digestion), but did you know that exercise is one of the best-known natural ways to keep them balanced and working for you?

Exercise gives you a rush of endorphins and feel-good neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and dopamine, which can help to fight hormonal mood swings often caused by a drop in oestrogen levels. 'Lifting weights can help decrease excess circulating oestrogen levels and improve premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms,' explains Hayley Madigan, female health specialist, PT and founder of the soon-to-launch Grow Girl App (@hayleymadiganfitness). 'It also helps regulate menstrual cycles in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). This is because it reduces androgen levels – those pesky “male” hormones that can cause unpleasant PCOS symptoms, including facial hair, belly fat, hair loss and acne.’ Hormones can be a boon to your training, too. ‘When you are oestrogen dominant (specifically during the follicular phase of your menstrual cycle), strength training can make use of the anabolic [muscle-building] capacity that oestrogen provides,’ adds Madigan.

‘Exercise, especially strength training, has been shown to have beneficial effects on testosterone and progesterone levels in women, as well as the human growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) hormones, which have to be produced to repair the tiny microscopic tears that are critical to building muscle mass,’ says Madigan. ‘This means you recover faster and can build more strength and muscle mass which, in turn, increases metabolism.