The Impact of Muscle Mass on Hormones in Women

This topic, I can’t stress enough about.

The importance of the relationship between muscle mass and hormones. And I needed to speak about this more outside of my coaching, in hopes that it will become more of a natural part of women’s day to day life.

So let’s dive into it….

‍

First off, muscle mass refers to the amount of muscle tissue in the body, which can be influenced by many factors, such as physical activity, nutrition, age, and genetics.

And for women specifically, muscle mass is crucial for overall health!!

‍

The benefits are great! And are many!

Not only does it benefit the physical appearance…that we all know we’re looking for…. there are also these extremely important benefits to muscle mass as well:

~ it improve metabolism as the more muscle mass you have means the body burns more calories at rest. (which leads to managing any unwanted weight gain)

~ it enhances mood and mental health. When strength training, endorphins get released that help regulate hormones that influence your mood. Reducing that anxiety that many feel, and promoting overall emotional well-being.

~ it contributes to better bone health. Women are at a higher risk for osteoporosis, especially post menopause. So we definitely want better bone density.

~ increasing energy levels. Build that muscle up for better stamina, and enhancing overall quality of life.

‍

And now let’s talk about regulating those hormones!

Here are hormones that you would be familiar with and the result of having more muscle mass plays on them:

‍

Insulin -increased muscle mass enhances the body’s ability to use insulin effectively, which can help prevent insulin resistance. And we need to regulate that blood sugar.

‍

Estrogen -which influences various functions like your menstrual cycle, bone health, and fat distribution. Muscle mass plays a huge role in regulating these levels.

‍

Testosterone - most women don’t think much about this one because most think this only affects men. However, muscle mass stimulates the production of this hormone which can enhance not only strength, but libido.

‍

Cortisol -your stress hormone. Muscle mass helps in regulating this. And while regulating this it also reduces stress and as we know exercise promotes better mental health.

Higher levels of cortisol leads to your unwanted weight gain, feeling tired, and a lot of other hormonal imbalances.

‍

Growth hormone -not many are familiar with this one, but again muscle mass influences the secretion of this. And this hormone is essential for growth (like it’s name), metabolism, and muscle repair. The production of this leads to improved recovery from exercise translating into better physical performance.

And ending with this hormone is a great way to lead into the last thing that I wanted to talk about, and yet an oh so important thing to talk about…..

‍

RECOVERY!!!

‍

Because this is when your body is building that muscle.

I often break it down and explain it in this easy way for clients….

The actual workout is “priming the muscle” and the recovery is “building it”.

Too many back to back workouts does not give the body adequate time to do this.

The recommendation is to NOT work the same muscle group back to back, give it it’s time to build. And by doing this, you’ll notice how much better your performance is going into that next workout. And if it’s gains you are seeking, well, this too is how you achieve them and they will be more noticeable!

‍

🫶

April