Hypothalamic Amenorrhea and How To Exercise

I get asked this question A LOT. Especially
since Sarah Wilson kindly posted my story on her blog. I think, inherently, we
are all a little voyeuristic. A little pervy. Wanting to know the intricate
details of other peoples’ lives. Or perhaps we just want a little guidance or
confirmation that we are doing the right thing. Either way, I have decided to
share how I approached exercise as I was healing from hypothalamic amenorrhea.

Peeping Toms in Tokyo, 1951. Image via pinterest by sahua d

First, know this: hypothalamic amenorrhea (also
referred to as the Female Athlete Triad) is often a result of over-exercising
and/or under-eating, which leads to an overall negative energy balance for an
extended period of time. The body senses that you are, essentially, starving
and says “Righteo, no energy for reproduction, then” and bids farewell to
your monthly lady holiday.

So, taking this into account, you can see
that exercise is perhaps contraindicated in the treatment of hypothalamic
amenorrhea. Right? Right!

Chronic exercise = no good. BUT movement = good!

Prior to actually deciding to do something
about my infertile situation, this is what my exercise looked like:

Monday: Body Attack (1hr) followed by Body
Pump (1hr). I might have walked ~1/2 -1hr too
Tuesday: Maybe a walk, maybe a weights
session (maybe both), maybe a cardio session
Wednesday: Body Attack (1hr)
Thursday: Body Step (1hr), ½-1hr walk
Friday: Body Attack (1hr), weights (1hr)
Saturday: Body Step (1hr) – every second
Saturday
Sunday: Body Step (1hr)

Holy crap. I am exhausted just looking at
all of that! So much time wasted in the gym! Granted, it was my job, which made
it more “legitimate”, I suppose, albeit no less damaging to my health and
fertility.

I realised that this was unsustainable and
would leave me in my infertile state if I were to continue.

Yes, thank you for your wisdom, Albert. For a while, I was insane. I thought I
could just throw herbs and vitamins at the situation and it would sort itself
out. But, after spending thousands of dollars (literally), I realised this approach was no
bueno. So here is what I did…

I progressed quite gradually, and it helped
that it coincided with my dietetics placement, so I had an excuse to no longer
teach a lot of my classes.

Monday: Body Pump
Tuesday: Walk
Wednesday: Weights (functional training
1hr)
Thursday: Yoga
Friday: Weights (functional training 1hr)
Saturday: Body Step (every 2^nd
weekend)
Sunday: Body Step

A considerable change, but probably not
enough. Cue stage 2.

Stage 2

Monday: Body Pump
Tuesday: Walk/yoga
Wednesday: Weights (8 minutes – YES, you
read right EIGHT minutes – 8 sets of 3 clean and presses; sets 1 min apart)
Thursday: Walk/yoga
Friday: Walk/yoga, maybe a Tabata session
(4mins of cardio)
Saturday: REST
Sunday: REST

Although it was tough (mentally), I stuck
to this routine for quite some time (until my period returned), gradually
adding in more yoga (vinyasa/yin/hatha NOT bikram/ashtanga) and taking out the
Body Pump. As I have previously mentioned, I found the yoga incredibly
beneficial to the healing process as it allowed me to focus more on my body’s
ability, rather than its aesthetics.

So, now that my cycle is getting back on
track, how do I exercise? Well, it depends. I try and get outside as much as
possible for a gentle walk/hike, as I now live in the nature-lover’s playground:

Image by Lake Wanaka Tourism

But if it is raining outside, and I feel
really good, and my stress levels are low, my week might look like this:

Monday: Weights (1hr – 10 min mobility warm
up, 30 min weights, 20 min stretch/yoga)
Tuesday: 1hr yoga
Wednesday: Body Pump
Thursday: Tabata
Friday: 1hr yoga
Saturday: Hopefully the rain has stopped by
now and I can go for a hike!
Sunday: Rest

Note: I do at least 30 minutes of yoga every day in the morning. It grounds me and sets me up for an awesome day.

Now please note, this was MY journey. This
gives you a general idea of what worked for me. It may or may not work for you.
Listen to your body. If you have exercise/stress/lack of food-induced
amenorrhea, then you probably need to pull right back on the exercise to start
with, then take baby steps along the way, depending on how everything is
tracking along.

If this is all too overwhelming for you, I
get it. My hubby (who is a PT and peak performance coach) helped keep me on track. Everyone needs someone. Feel free to shoot me through an email via my website if you would like
to book a consultation for some more structured, personalised guidance that
will help you get your sexy back.

Final note – as always, be kind to
yourself. x

Source link