Episode 27: The Big Red Umbrella
What do red umbrellas have to do with helping you get more out of your training and understanding your cycle?
Think of the big red umbrella as your nervous system.
There are silver prongs that hold the umbrella up, that gives its shape and allows for it to do its job.
Your cycle is a prong of that umbrella, as is training. Other prongs are hormones, food, sleep, gut health and metabolism, emotional stability, relationships.
If one or more of those prongs isn’t working right, our umbrella isn’t working.
Our ‘state’ is off. This causes problems…..irregular and painful periods, irritability and emotional instability, pain, fatigue, weight gain.
In order for us to feel well, healthy, balanced and be able to get results in our training we need a BIG full umbrella, with strong prongs.
I am fascinated about two prongs in particular: the menstrual cycle and training. I believe when we know our cycle, we know our body. When we know our body we can build trust with it, when we trust it we listen to it. It’s here that we learn about our prongs.
Let’s have a look at a case study, now this is just one. And I want you to remember the big red balloon rule: that there is no such thing as a normal cycle and every cycle is different. This is also my big red umbrella rule: there is no such thing as a perfect umbrella.
Emma was 28 years old when she came to see me. She was experiencing migraines, painful cramps, anxiety, fatigue and diarrhoea 7 days before every period. She couldn’t train 5 days before her period due to no energy and lower back pain ....and had she no sex drive, most of the time
Emma drank 2-3 coffees a day and alcohol most nights of the week. She ate well, but not often. Her eating was sporadic. And she didn’t drink enough water. She did spin 4-5 x a week, ran 1 x a week and tried to get to the gym 1-2 x a week. She trained a lot, but wasn’t seeing results. She didn’t feel strong, she couldn’t lose weight and she was always sore for days after training
Her doctor offered her to try a different birth control to help with her PMS symptoms. That’s when she connected with me. This is a very common story I see in so many women I start working with
So let’s look at how I start when working with women who have a similar story to Emma
I sent her to a naturopath who determined her current hormonal state and implemented a clear plan to help balance her hormones
Sugar, alcohol, blood sugar imbalances and inflammation were driving Emma's estrogen levels up, she was estrogen dominant. We made some nutrition changes, the naturopath had her take some supplements and we supported her liver in detoxing the excess estrogen
We implemented a daily walking goal of 15,000 steps (I've written about 15,000 steps to connection before)
http://www.amykatebowe.com/new-blog/2019/4/4/sjms2oadwz1trfoz5ohkhmoscuovln
She started a cycle tracking protocol that helped her understand her cycle
Emma shifted her ‘why’ for training. And we implemented a training program that honoured the changing needs of her body during her cycle. She trained less, but smarter. She did only bodyweight strength training and walking.
The changes were simple really, but the results were impactful — within two cycles her PMS symptoms were reduced and she had more energy, and on her third cycle she didn’t experience a migraine or cramps, and felt less anxious
After 9-months she had no PMS symptoms, experienced a healthy 30-day cycle and started to see results in her training and body.
I created the Embodied Warrior Woman program as I saw so many women over-training and under-nourishing themselves, which always resulted in hormonal imbalances, irregular cycles, metabolic damage and gut problems, emotional instability, injury, weight gain and they could never get results they wanted, sustainably.
The embodied warrior woman is a 6-month program for women to help them finally get the results they want in their training through understanding their cycle.
I hop