Fat Woman gets hormonal

Fat Woman has hormones. Fat Woman is like most women in this case, but Fat Woman hasn't seen or heard much mention of normal hormones and how they affect exercise.

Fat Woman had been having a lovely time at the gym. Fat Woman had been training fast and hard and had been feeling as though she was making progress. Fat Woman went to the gym expecting the good feeling to continue. Fat Woman was actually as week as a kitten. Fat Woman found that weights that had been light four days previously were now twice as heavy. Fat Woman found that the "burn" came more quickly and did not dispell as fast. Fat Woman found the most humiliating moment to be when Personal Trainer took her weights down from 15kg to 12.5kg, and then to 10kg and then to 7.5kg.

Fat Woman was on the last day of her menstrual cycle when she did her fast and hard training and found it easy. Today Fat Woman was on the fifth day of her new cycle. Fat Woman felt like a different person. Fat Woman couldn't lift as much or move as fast or hit as hard. Fat Woman ached and felt pain and was in short a decrepit old bag.

Fat Woman didn't speak with Personal Trainer about this because Personal Trainer is very, very young and also because they have a jokey, ironic kind of relationship. Fat Woman waited and spoke with Swimming Coach. Swimming Coach is also a personal trainer at the same gym but is a bit older than Personal Trainer. Fat Woman thinks of Personal Trainer as being 12, even though he is actually 21. Swimming Coach also has a degree in a related subject. Fat Woman feels more comfortable talking to Swimming Coach about biology that relates to personal things.

Swimming Coach was very helpful. Swimming Coach explained how the hormone oestrogen applies and how low oestrogen means more susceptibility to pain. It matched up with this:

"A 2010 study by Drs. Peter Tiidus and Deborah Enns of the Wilfrid Laurier University department of kinesiology notes that when estrogen levels are highest during the reproductive cycle, women experience a significant increase in muscle strength and force generation."

Fat Woman was grateful to Swimming Coach, who is a very well informed personal trainer as well as a very nice chap. Fat Woman had been rather thrown for a loop with the sudden change in ability and had been completely unable to find anything helpful on Google. Fat Woman would like to make the following statement for readers and search engines:

Exercising early on in your menstrual cycle can feel a lot harder because of your lowered hormones.

Fat Woman hopes that anyone who was feeling fit and healthy one week and disgustingly out of shape the next will appreciate this fact.

Fat Woman is looking forward to next week and the week after when she is further into her menstrual cycle and can get back to slinging kettle bells and punching bags with enthusiasm.