WOMEN’S HEALTH

Tracking the highs and lows of your body’s chemical messengers means that you can work with your natural biological rhythm to get the most out of training

Words: Louise Pyne

Hormone mapping

Life can sometimes feel like the ultimate multitasking act. Whether you’re juggling the balance between work life and family commitments, striving to eat more of the good stuff and less of the bad, or trying to strike a balance between a regular training regime and a decent social life, most of us would agree it’s no easy feat.

It doesn’t end there, either; balance and hormones are two words more often than not used in the same sentence. How many times have you blamed mood changes or food cravings on your hormones? And rightly so, because without harmony in our hormones, many other aspects of our lifestyles can quickly go out of whack, causing a downward spiral that can affect both our physical health and mental wellbeing.

The state of equilibrium within the body is called homeostasis. This is a self-regulating biological process in which the body’s systems sustain a positive internal environment within a set range via a feedback mechanism. Without homeostasis, the body simply cannot function effectively. Over the next few pages, we will be looking at some of the main hormones at play throughout a woman’s lifetime and the best ways to work with them to keep our training on track and achieve optimum wellbeing.

Learning how your body works best from week-to-week will help you make the most of your training

Sending out the right messages

Hormones are chemical messengers that go back and forth in the body all the time. They each exert different functions and often work in sync with one another. These crucial messengers transport signals through the blood to your organs, skin, muscles and glands, telling your body what to do and when to do it.

This complex network is known as the endocrine system and it controls a huge number of internal processes. Can’t seem to get your eight hours? Wondering why you’re grumpier than usual? Feeling sluggish after a big dinner? It might sound like a cliché but there’s a good chance that your hormone response might have something to do with it.