Ugh, hormones. When they’re balanced and doing their thing, our bodies and minds are in flow. But throw in just a little disturbance—like some good old stress or the luteal phase of your menstrual cycle—and suddenly, everything’s bananas. When you’re feeling moody or insecure from an acne flair-up, working out may be the last thing on your mind. But exercise for hormones can make a big difference in regulating your hormone health.
Of course, being a woman complicates things. According to statistics, 80% of us suffer from a hormonal imbalance at some point in our lifetimes. Whether it’s due to lifestyle changes, menopause, or a condition like PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), the symptoms are often… unpleasant. Mood swings, unwanted hair growth or hair loss, unexpected weight gain, fatigue, and many more side effects can throw our confidence out of balance.
While everyone naturally experiences periods of hormonal fluctuations as they age, females are also more likely to develop hormonal imbalances thanks to our unique endocrine organs and cycles. All the more reason to pursue healthy habits—like a regular movement routine with hormonal workouts—to prevent or regulate hormone imbalances.
To give you the full scoop on the best exercise for hormones, we turned to Melody D., women’s fitness expert and director of programming at obé.
The best types of exercise for hormones
First, let’s talk about what hormones are. Powerful chemical messengers in the body, hormones control cell and organ functions. Traveling through the body, they help different systems carry out the jobs they’re supposed to do. Your body temperature, reproductive cycle, heart rate, metabolism, appetite, mood, stress, and much more are all affected by hormones.
Sex hormones like estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone are usually the first that come to mind, but they’re not all the stars of the show. Insulin, human growth hormone, cortisol, and endorphins are also key players—and they can all be manipulated with exercise.
Studies show that working out regularly can help decrease excess circulating estrogen in females, relieving symptoms like PMS. A consistent exercise routine can also improve the quality and regularity of menstrual cycles in those with PCOS, according to research.
Both cardio workouts (think: Dance Cardio, Boxing, or Run) and strength training (think: Strength, Sculpt, or Power) can make a positive impact on hormone regulation. While cardio exercise can help pump your endorphins to promote good mood, regulate cortisol levels, and improve insulin sensitivity, strength training packs a lot more bang for your buck.
“Strength training is incredibly beneficial for hormones involved in metabolism,” says Melody. “Time and time again, studies show it enhances insulin sensitivity, dramatically improving how our bodies utilize nutrients, particularly when we push ourselves. That process naturally improves metabolic health and adaptability.”
So while the myth of ‘bulking up’ continues to keep many women from reaching for heavy weights, strength training is one of the most effective ways to counteract hormone-related weight gain or slowed metabolism. Higher-intensity strength training (like what you find in obé’s goal-focused training programs) also helps your body understand how to use cortisol appropriately. “You train to manage more stress with fewer negative effects,” adds Melody.
How strength training benefits female hormones
Thanks to the ‘bulking’ myth, many women also hold the misconception that lifting weights may make them more ‘manly,’ or negatively impact their sex hormones. That couldn’t be further from the truth! When we look at the cyclical fluctuations of sex hormones, strength training is often a great equalizer. (Need more convincing? Read this.)
“Strength training is crucial for managing the different phases of your menstrual cycle and working in harmony with your hormones throughout them,” explains Melody. “We can move in alignment with our body’s needs and optimize our hormonal status.”
Let’s break it down. In our follicular phase, the time in the cycle after a period but before ovulation, our hormonal profile more closely resembles that of a man. Testosterone levels are higher, enabling us to push harder, use heavier weights, and go for power in our exercises.
As estrogen levels rise, strength work can enhance estrogen sensitivity, promoting muscle repair and growth. (And yes, that can give us the body definition we crave from exercise.) Along with these two mechanisms, strength training promotes hormone balance by promoting human growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) production, contributing to metabolism and overall health.
As hormones shift and testosterone decreases, we can adjust the intensity to better serve our changing hormonal profile, Melody says. Being more mindful of training intensity and load while prioritizing restorative exercises helps support our body holistically, leveling out symptoms like PMS or mood swings.
“Doing your strength training throughout the entire menstrual cycle is vital,” adds Melody. “It helps mitigate hormonal fluctuations and supports a more consistent baseline, reducing the drastic shifts in how we feel due to hormonal changes.”
Strength training for perimenopause and menopause
Lifting weights won’t just help smooth out the ups and downs of your menstrual cycle. Exercise for hormones can also make a big impact on your perimenopause and menopause transition, leveling out some hormone imbalances.
Starting around our late 40s, there’s a natural drift in how much estrogen the ovaries produce, which causes changes in testosterone and progesterone levels. In those perimenopause years, women will begin to lose more natural muscle and bone density due to hormonal changes. The remedy? Strength training!
“By preserving and potentially building muscle, we can effectively store glucose,” explains Melody. “This is important because our muscles act as a sink for glucose disposal. In this transitional phase, insulin sensitivity tends to decrease, and we’re more likely to store glucose in fat cells or the liver. If we’re not strength training to maintain muscle mass as estrogen decreases in menopause, that glucose goes to all the places we don’t want it to go.”
When we stop strength training, we’re more likely to experience rapid muscle loss during this life stage, hindering our ability to store glucose efficiently. By scaling up and working to build muscle or gain strength, you’ll optimize your body composition, improve metabolic function, and ensure your hormones aren’t going for a rollercoaster ride.
Maximizing the positive impact of exercise for hormones
Strength training is a powerful tool for naturally supporting hormonal balances in women, but does the type of strength workouts make a difference?
“When it comes to exercise for hormones, it’s all about intensity, and that varies for each person,” says Melody. “Functional strength classes that incorporate compound exercises, target multiple muscle groups, use a heavy load, and push you close to failure make the biggest impact on most individuals.” (If that sounds intimidating, don’t worry, obé’s Strength workout classes and strength-based training programs do the work for you—just follow along!)
But if you’re in a Sculpt or Barre class and you’re reaching peak intensity where you feel challenged (while managing cortisol effectively), you’ll still benefit, she adds.
To get more in tune with your hormones, try cycle insights on obé—found on the Insights tab of the app—or explore the Working Out on Your Cycle class collection. You can also have peace of mind knowing that all obé strength training programs are designed to empower women’s bodies, improving health holistically through exercises that support your hormone health.
And remember: smart recovery is just as important to balancing your hormones as the workouts you are or aren’t doing. Aim for 2-3 weekly strength-training sessions, get 150 minutes of cardio per week (yes, walking counts!), and give yourself TLC in between.
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