Is exercising helping your hormones?

Movement is vital to our health, well beyond the benefits of looking good. The 'why' or the 'benefits' of movement go beyond our outer appearance. It has a strong connection with our hormones, mood and how we feel. 

Today I'll talk about how exercise affects hormone balance in men and women, what exercise supports hormone balance for different people and situations, as well as how to get more movement into your day-to-day life.

Article at a glance

• High intensity exercise can put stress on our body and increase the production of stress hormones adrenalin and cortisol.
• Our body produces stress hormones at the expense of our sex hormones resulting in low levels of progesterone, important for a normal reproductive cycle. 
• It's important to choose the right type of exercise to balance your stress levels and hormones. 

How does movement affect hormone balance in women?

For women, movement is beneficial and important on a daily basis. However, engaging in high intensity exercise can create stress on our body and hormonal system. This is because our body cannot differentiate between real or perceived stress. Therefore, putting our body under the stress of high intensity exercise tends to trigger a flight or fight response in our system and our body's response is to increase the production of stress hormones adrenalin and cortisol. 

Too much exercise can contribute to low progesterone through a process known as the 'pregnenolone steal'. Our sex and stress hormones share the same percusors and when our body is under stress, real or perceived, it will opt to make more of the stress hormone, cortisol, over progesterone, our all important calming reproductive hormone. It makes sense that the body favours survival over reproduction. This instance of the pregnenolone steal is very common at the BePure Clinic, where women often show indications of low progesterone. 

Exercise is important, and it is best to engage in it daily, however, you need to make sure that you are exercising in a way that is right for you personally. If you have a lot of stress in your life already, such as running a business, looking after a family, financial stress or you generally fit a lot into your day, then you need to be conscious of the exercise that you are doing and if it's serving your health or adding more stress.

If you do not have a lot of stress in your daily life then more intense exercise could suit you well, as a small amount of stress can be helpful. Exercise at the right intensity level for your lifestyle is a great example of exposing your body to the right amount of stress for positive adaption and changes to occur. If the exercise intensity is applied correctly the resulting endorphins and hormones from the activity can help promote sleep, stress management and can activate your parasympathetic – or rest and digest – nervous system. 

What's the best exercise for women's hormone balance?

If you have a lot of stress in your life already then taking a walk in nature or practising some yoga may be more beneficial to you. Any movement involving a breathing based exercise can assist in activating the parasympathetic nervous system. The idea here is to make breathing easier and deeper, in comparison with engaging in intense anaerobic exercise where breathing becomes harder. 

How does exercise affect hormones in men?

For men, exercise is important for two reasons. The first has to do with improving the function of the liver and the second has to do with improving hormone balance, particularly testosterone. Exercise also helps to burn testosterone. This is very important because testosterone is used in men's fight or flight response. This is when the body perceives danger in times of physical or psychological stress, including exercise. 

If testosterone is not used it converts to oestrogen which promotes fat storage and in men that can result in 'man boobs' or a 'spare tyre' around the midsection. If too much oestrogen is in the body, it can lead to oestrogen dominance. 

What's the best exercise for men's hormone balance?

For men, doing exercise that combines whole body resistance training with anaerobic exercise like weightlifting and sprints can support your body to burn testosterone. This helps to build muscle mass and help men achieve the physical body they might be after. If men are wanting to strip own and lose muscle mass, aerobic exercise can help to support this. 

Restorative forms of yoga is great for men to use post-intensive exercise for recovery and for maintaining flexibility. Finding a balance between aerobic and anaerobic exercise can help men to build muscle mass and then support their body in recovery phase. If men are experiencing stress, yoga or a walk in nature is a great place to start. 

Exercise that is right for you

Exercise is incredibly important for everybody. No matter what it is, exercise is something everybody needs to be doing for at least 30 minutes a day. But it is key to find the right type of exercise for you. Finding exercise that works for you and your personal health goals is important. 

Find exercise you can enjoy. If you like to be out in nature, get outdoors and go for a walk or a run. While the gym is great for some people it is not for everyone. 

Find something that's easy to build into your day. Perhaps walk or bike home from work and turn your travel into active transport, or find a yoga class on the way to or from work. 

Exercise you can do with a friend. Finding a friend to be your accountability buddy is a great motivator and more fun!

Choose to relax if you need to. If you're feeling stressed take some time off more intensive exercise and focus on allowing your body to rest.

It is also important to be realistic and flexible in your approach to movement. We can have the best of intentions and set goals to work out six days a week, but some weeks it will not happen. Learning to be okay with this and not viewing it as a failure is critical for building long-term habits and health. Small changes reap bigger results over time if you are consistent, than four weeks of intense, vigorous changes.