🏋️♀️ Move Your Body, Elevate Your Health: A Functional Medicine Approach to Movement
Movement is a key pillar of health. It’s not just about burning calories—it’s about boosting your mood, regulating blood sugar, supporting hormonal balance, enhancing cardiovascular fitness, and improving longevity. Let’s explore how you can create a well-rounded weekly movement routine that works for you! Below are some general guidelines but your routine has to be attainable, convenient, and something you enjoy because consistency is the name of the game.
1. General Movement Recommendations
For optimal health, aim for daily movement—even if it’s light activity. Here are the basics:
Exercise snacks: Every hour, take 5-10 mins for light activity like walking, stretching, jumping jacks, or just shaking it out. Think: muscle contraction.
Daily Steps: Aim for 7,000–10,000 steps per day to keep your body active and your metabolism humming.
Stretch Regularly: Incorporate 5–10 minutes of stretching daily to maintain flexibility and mobility.
2. Weekly Training Recommendations
Aim for a balanced training routine that incorporates a variety of movement types. Here’s what your week could look like:
A. Strength Training (3-4 times per week): Muscle Mass Should Be Priority #1!
Focus on compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, push-ups, and rows. Safety and injury prevention is always first - if you are new to this, I recommend working with a trainer for the first 4-6 weeks.
Include resistance bands, dumbbells, or bodyweight exercises.
Benefits: Builds lean muscle, strengthens bones, and improves metabolic health and blood sugar regulation. Our metabolism lives in our muscles.
B. Cardiovascular Training (2-3 times per week)
Alternate between steady-state cardio (e.g., brisk/incline walking, jogging, cycling) and interval training (e.g., HIIT).
Steady-State Cardio: 30–60 minutes at a moderate pace for endurance and fat-burning. Consider adding a weighted vest.
HIIT: 20–30 minutes of short, high-intensity bursts aiming for heart rate zones 3-5 followed by recovery to boost cardiovascular fitness. Refer below for heart rate zones.
C. Flexibility and Mobility (1–2 times per week)
Include yoga, Pilates, or dedicated stretching sessions to reduce stress and improve recovery. Stability and mobility are crucial for longevity and maintaining balance to prevent falls and frailty.
D. Rest/Active Recovery (1–2 times per week)
Light activities like walking, swimming, or restorative yoga to support recovery and reduce inflammation. Rest is an important part of reaching your goals - don’t skip your rest days!
3. Understanding Heart Rate Zones
Heart rate zones are a guide to how hard you’re working during exercise. Knowing your zones helps you train smarter and get the most out of your workouts.
Zone 1 (50–60% of max HR): Light activity, great for recovery and warming up.
Zone 2 (60–70% of max HR): Moderate intensity, ideal for building endurance and fat-burning.
Zone 3 (70–80% of max HR): Higher intensity, improves cardiovascular fitness and stamina.
Zone 4 (80–90% of max HR): Vigorous intensity, enhances anaerobic capacity and strength.
Zone 5 (90–100% of max HR): Maximum effort, typically used for short bursts of HIIT.
How to calculate max HR: 220 - your age.
For example, if you’re 35 years old, your estimated max HR is 185 beats per minute. Zone 2 would be 111–130 bpm, and Zone 4 would be 148–167 bpm.
4. Tips for Women’s Unique Needs
Women’s bodies respond uniquely to exercise due to hormonal cycles. Listen to Your Body: Rest if you feel fatigued and adjust intensity as needed. Here’s how to optimize your movement based on your physiology:
1. Menstrual Phase (Days 1–5)
What's Happening: Hormone levels (estrogen and progesterone) are at their lowest, and energy levels may feel lower.
Exercise Recommendations:
Focus on light, restorative activities like yoga, walking, or stretching.
Listen to your body—if you feel up to it, gentle strength training or low-intensity cardio is fine.
Avoid high-intensity workouts if you're feeling fatigued.
2. Follicular Phase (Days 6–13)
What's Happening: Estrogen begins to rise, increasing energy levels, mood, and muscle recovery. This is the best time to challenge yourself physically.
Exercise Recommendations:
High-Intensity Workouts: Incorporate HIIT, circuit training, or intense strength training.
Cardio: This is a great time for longer endurance sessions like running or cycling.
Strength Training: Your body is more responsive to building muscle, so focus on lifting heavier weights or increasing resistance.
3. Ovulation Phase (Days 14–16)
What's Happening: Estrogen peaks, and testosterone also rises briefly, giving you a strength and energy boost. However, joint laxity may increase during ovulation due to hormonal changes, so extra care is needed to avoid injuries.
Exercise Recommendations:
Push yourself with high-intensity workouts or personal bests (e.g., PRs in weightlifting or sprinting).
Incorporate dynamic movements like plyometrics or agility training.
Warm up thoroughly to protect your joints and prevent injuries.
4. Luteal Phase (Days 17–28)
What's Happening: Progesterone dominates, and you might feel bloated, sluggish, or less motivated as the phase progresses. Energy levels tend to dip, especially in the late luteal phase.
Exercise Recommendations:
Early Luteal Phase (Days 17–21): Moderate-intensity strength training and cardio work well.
Late Luteal Phase (Days 22–28): Shift to lower-intensity activities like yoga, Pilates, or light cardio to support recovery and mood.
It’s about the journey, not the destination: Whether you’re just beginning or you’re a seasoned mover, the key is consistency. Find activities you enjoy and focus on progress, not perfection. Movement isn’t just exercise—it’s a gift to your body and mind. 💪✨
Always here to help guide and support you. Talk soon <3 -Liz