Your hormones. They run everything in your body.

And if they are out of whack, it can literally halt your progress In the gym.

For the sake of this article, I want you to envision your hormones like a switchboard. With extremely sensitive switches. If one of these get thrown off for any reason, it’ll cause another to do the same, and another, and another. You get the idea.

In this short article, I want to go over some of the main causes for hormone fluctuation, and what you can do to build a better hormone panel to speed up your progress in the gym. Naturally.

Lets go.

First, I want to debunk a fitness myth that’s been going around for far too long.

Both males AND females need testosterone and estrogen. Just at different levels. You literally need them both to feel like your best self.

With that in mind, I often ask new clients that have been out of the gym a long time, to go through a hormone panel through their doctor, before ever starting a program with me. Just to make sure everything is in working order before starting the program. After all, being in the gym is just as much about internal health, as it is external.

If you’re reading this, you should do the same.

Once you find out what you panel looks like, you have a baseline reading to build on. If you didn’t get a panel done however, you can still feel better in the gym by doing the things I will explain in the article.

So, here are 5 simple, starter things you can do regardless of your sex, to build a better hormones panel.

1. Eat your protein. At every meal.

   Ive told clients before when starting out. If it isn’t protein, don’t put it in your mouth. Although its not sustainable in the long term, the goal here is to be aware of what you’re eating. By doing this, you realize just how much junk we are actually putting into our bodies. This same junk is trashing our hormone panels, as well as our waistline. Processed sugars and vegetable oils ruin your testosterone levels, and raise estrogen. Regardless if male or female, this isn’t optimal at all for fitness.

   So, are you eating your protein brah?

2. Lower your sugar intake

   I touched a bit on this one above, but Ill say it again. Stop eating processed sugars.Yesterday.

   Constantly eating sugars are a huge cause in insulin resistance, which in turn can cause extremely unstable blood sugar levels, as well as high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes.

   It also will crash your testosterone levels very quickly.

3. Get Quality Sleep

   This one is a no brainer. You feel like crud after a bad nights sleep. Theres a reason why.

   It throws everything off in your body. Cortisol rises, dopamine production halts. You feel like a shell of yourself. And working out on a bad nights sleep? Try again.

   My best advice to fix this problem, relies solely on a schedule. Set a sleep schedule. Make it non negotiable. You’ll find that you are far more productive in everyday life, and you feel better in the gym.

   This should be the easiest thing on the list. Just go to bed.

4. Swap Carbs for Healthier Fats

   Now, don’t get it twisted. Carbs are not bad for you. But there are better options when looking at hormone panels.

   Our bodies just function much more efficiently on healthy fats, with them being low inflammatory foods. Some benefits of this include, clearer thinking (no brain fog), less joint pain, as well as more stable energy throughout the day.

   Now, when adding this into your regimen, be sure to get a healthy serving of Omega 3s, not Omega 6 fatty acids, and youll be good to go.

5. Take ya vitamins

   Your parents were right about this one. You need to take your vitamins.

   Although we should be getting most of them through our diet, there’s just no way to get them all in. You need to supplement here.

   Some major ones that play a role in hormones function are:

   1. Vitamin E- Stress reduction
   2. Vitamin D- Thyroid function
   3. Vitamin B6- Mood regualtion

   The list goes on. And they literally support every function in your body.

So, in conclusion, use this knowledge to make better choices in your everyday life that support you and goals. Take your hormones health seriously. It will thank you in the gym, and outside the gym.

Level Up Programming