Girls, how can I raise my hormone levels?
TABLE OF CONTENTS
There is something that positively affects hormones and their balance if you are a girl concerned about your health, and that is exercise, but how does it do it?…
Hormones direct biochemical messages that regulate every process in your body, affecting every aspect of your life, from mood and sex drive to fertility and metabolism.
Research indicates that high-intensity interval training HIIT affects the primary hormones that drive physiology.
In this context, it is more than relevant to keep things balanced through exercise such as short bursts of high- and low-intensity activity.
Some research indicates that HIIT may be more important for girls than for men, since women have a hormonal disadvantage when building muscle because they produce less testosterone.
Although countless compounds in the body are affected by physical activity, there are five key hormones you should keep in mind.
Estrogen, one of the hormones
This hormone is produced in the ovaries and plays an important role in female fertility, bone strength, and mood.
An adequate amount of this hormone improves fat loss because it increases insulin sensitivity.
In addition, it reduces cellular fat storage and can suppress appetite, while also stimulating the production of human growth hormone (HGH), which regulates fat burning.
Short-duration, high-intensity circuit training is the perfect way to balance estrogen, as well as other hormones, because it causes a major increase in HGH, helping women burn fat, build muscle, and control blood sugar.
Human growth hormone
Growing evidence suggests that HIIT training is one of the most effective ways to increase the response of hormones such as HGH.
It does this specifically in women, probably due to their higher estrogen levels.
The HGH hormone is important because it facilitates lipolysis, increases bone strength, and stimulates muscle growth.
Moreover, it facilitates protein synthesis for faster recovery and regulates fat metabolism, helping you achieve your physical goals more efficiently.
Testosterone
Research suggests that high-intensity exercise stimulates the production of testosterone, among other hormones, so lifting heavier to increase intensity is one of the best natural solutions for women.
In this way, women combat low or declining testosterone, which often reduces their ability to develop muscle tissue.
Cortisol
Cortisol is a hormone that can be good for some things and bad for others.
Short, intense periods of exercise help raise cortisol, as well as HGH and catecholamines.
Cortisol is meant to be high during exercise because catecholamines work synergistically with cortisol and other hormones that burn fat, especially abdominal and visceral fat.
Irisin
High-intensity interval training increases irisin production. Research conducted with women shows that single-afternoon sessions of moderate-intensity training and HIIT increase their levels by 12%.
Irisin activates the genes that transform white fat into brown fat, metabolically active tissue that burns calories.
It is also recognized for increasing fat cells’ ability to burn calories at rest, inhibiting fat cell growth.
Regulate your hormones with new challenges
It is clear that HIIT is the secret to hacking your hormones, and the emphasis of your training session should be on intensity.
Your workouts should be challenging, raise your heart rate, and make you sweat while keeping your rest between sets or circuits to 60 seconds or less to maximize the hormonal response.
Make the right hormonal balance an ally in achieving your fitness goals, whether to burn fat, build strength, or tone your muscles.
Source
- Oxygen Research: HIIT your hormones