Important Hormones for Active Women

By Jessy A

If women are said the be blessed with one thing that they can blame for how they act, feel, and think, it’s the hormones. With the four phases of the menstrual cycle that women have; menstruation, the follicular phase, ovulation, and the luteal phase, our hormones are almost always at an ever-changing pace. With all the methods that are at hands’ reach for us to regulate these said hormones for our overall health, staying fit and active is one of the many things we can keep them in check and balance.

“Increasingly, we’re learning that your muscle serves as another endocrine organ that plays a key role in metabolism by talking to other organs such as the fat tissue, brain, and liver, and most certainly, by releasing hormones,” says Sara Gottfried, MD, author of The Hormone Cure and The Hormone Reset Diet.

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Here’s what each hormone does – and how exercise can improve its performance.
These five hormones are greatly affected by your fitness routine so keeping track of them can help you live your best, healthiest, and happiest self.

Irisin
Its job: Fights fat
How exercise affects it: Stimulates its production, which helps boost metabolism

Estrogen
Its job: Regulates female physical features and the menstrual cycle
How exercise affects it: Curbs estrogen dominance, reducing breast cancer risk

Testosterone
Its job: Boost muscle growth
How exercise affects it: Stimulates production is some women

Human Growth Hormone (HGH)
Its job: Contributes to muscle/bone strength and fat metabolism
How exercise affects it: High-intensity workouts increase production

Cortisol
Its job: Regulates the body’s stress response
How exercise affects it: Intense endurance training can increase production too much