Thyroid hormones regulate our metabolism and organ function and directly affect heart rate, cholesterol levels, body weight, energy, muscle contraction and relaxation, skin and hair texture, bowel function, fertility, menstrual regularity, memory, mood and other body processes. However, I often see clients who are unknowingly lowering their thyroid – with exercise!

Researchers at the University of North Carolina have linked strenuous, fatiguing, lengthy exercise to higher cortisol and lower thyroid hormones. Remember, thyroid hormones stimulate your metabolism, so depletion is definitely not a desired effect of exercise! The same study found thyroid hormones remained suppressed, even 24 hours after recovery, while cortisol levels remained high throughout the same period. As a result, I advocate 30 minutes of intense, circuit style weight training sessions that work a number of muscle groups.

While the amount of time you train for is important so too are the types of exercises that choose. I am a huge fan of functional strength training as well as offering progressive overload training to your accessory/stabilizing muscles, however when you are short on time you need a combination of both to create optimal results.

If you are looking to understand your hormones once and for all, and learn how to train and sculpt your body so you can get the results you want, consider joining me for my 10-week hormone specific lifestyle program, The Hormone Project.

Click here to learn more or email me at jenn @ jennpike.com to learn more about this game-changing program.

Short n’ Sweet Training Session

Choose compound exercises that train 2 or muscles group simultaneously to increase your body’s metabolic response and to increase the amount of muscle fibers you are recruiting, plus calories that you are burning. Also choose a few exercises that have you isolating stabilizing muscles specifically those of the abdominals, glutes and hips. Move quickly from one to the next with very little rest between sets. Move only as quick as you can while maintaining your form! Do 8-10 reps of each, 2-3 times over. 

A sample workout would look something like this. Anything with a * will incorporate dumbbells (8-15 lbs).

  • Squats into a Standing Shoulder Press*
  • Reverse Lunges into Single Leg Bent Row*
  • Step-ups into Bicep Curls*
  • Pushups into Side Plank
  • Mountain Climbers
  • Medicine or Pilates Ball side-to-side Oblique Twist

For an added bonus, try adding 30-60 second burst of cardio in between sets such as running on the spot, skipping, jump squats or jump lunges to amp up your training. This workout should be a total of 25-30 minutes.

I would recommend this type of training 2-4 times per week (depending on your goals), along with 2 days per week of yoga and/or pilates to fully round out your training, firm up your body and keep your thyroid functioning optimally. However, I completely understand that some schedules may not be able to commit to this, so I work with clients to help determine the best program for them.

Click here to learn more about working with me

Shine on and shine bright with your truest potential inside and out!

Resource:
  1. Strenuous, Fatiguing Exercise: Relationship of Cortisol to Circulating Thyroid Hormones, http://endometabol.com/6493.fulltext
Posted in Exercise/Personal Training, Hormone Health