REBUILD: FOLLICULAR

MOVE.

Time to put that BIG energy to good use when it comes to your workouts during the follicular phase!

So, what movement/exercise does your mombody love to do right now?   The answer is cardio! It’s a great time to kick those weight loss goals into high gear.  

This phase is special because your mombody is set up for a massive calorie burn and those sweaty, high intensity, bone-building workouts will actually feel good to you right now. Later in the cycle, this won’t be the case so make sure to move that mombody now while you have this special hormonal advantage.

Activities like running, biking, hiking, and jumping rope are great options. (Pro tip: sweating-it-out in a high intensity workout is an amazing way to detox your mombody, but just make sure you shower within 30 minutes of finishing up. Otherwise, your body reabsorbs those toxins through your skin).

There are two important things to keep in mind while exercising your mombody:  

1). always be sure you are exercising in a way that makes sense with which phase of the menstrual cycle you are in, and

2). you are supporting your mombody core in your movements. (You will learn how to do this as the program progresses).

So let me back up for a second. You know the saying, “go hard, or go home”? It’s time you ignore it because that advice no longer applies to you and your mombody health. Especially when you are trying to rebalance your mombody hormones. As it turns out, your body will actually fight back and pack on the pounds (or refuse to let go of any stored fat) when you over-exercise. Say what?! This news is music to my ears because all we’ve ever been taught is you must exercise harder and eat less if you want to lose weight - especially, when you get older. But this is simply not true. Women especially need to exercise to support their adrenals, which means not overdoing it. Exercise should feel exhilarating and if it doesn’t, you are overdoing it.

In order to keep your mombody hormonally happy, you actually need to exercise in partnership with your hormones. Your mombody is not the same every single day (like a man’s body) so exercising intensely every single day will backfire and cause you to gain weight (or refuse to let go of it).

Turns out, you will exercise differently in each phase of your 28-day cycle all the while taking advantage of your mombody’s maximum hormonal advantage. Yes, that’s right, your cycle provides a clear roadmap of how you should be exercising throughout the month. So just like food sequencing is really important in each phase, now you understand that exercise sequencing is also important too.

Let’s break this down:

In the follicular phase of your cycle, you burn fat more easily and gain lean muscle. And with normal blood sugar levels, your body more easily accesses carbohydrates for fuel. You also have higher testosterone levels in this phase which helps your body build muscle more efficiently. Your weight loss goals are easier to achieve right now.

IMPORTANT: If you are imbalanced (and most of us are), then you must NOT exercise intensely for more than 30 minutes a day. If you do, your fat storage mode is turned ON and you will not lose weight.

Pretty cool because this means your mombody doesn’t need to exercise longer and harder to see results. This is definitely taking advantage of your mombody’s hormonal advantage. Think of it as the goldilocks of exercise - about 30 minutes is JUST right!

Ok, so 30 minutes is the golden rule to stick to when you are trying to establish balance in your mombody.  (If you already have balanced hormones, then you can exercise longer if you want to).   But if you exercise hard already and aren’t seeing the results you would like, I recommend working out no longer than 30 minutes and see if you can kick on your fat burning power.  “This time limitation will prevent excess cortisol production and adrenal fatigue and will gradually lead you to an energizing cycle.” (Excerpt from In the Flo by Alisa Vitti).

Additionally, there is one more clear sign to look out for so you know you are doing your mombody right - you should feel energized after working out, not drained and have that dreaded feeling of pushing through a workout that feels painful. Exercise is stressful to your body - if you feel drained then it’s time to dial it back. You will notice right away that doing cardio during follicular actually feels good - which of course, makes it more fun too.

THE CARVE TECHNIQUE

Aside from cardio workouts during your follicular phase, let’s also start the inside-out transformation of REBUILDing your strong mombody core at the same time. This program teaches you a technique called CARVE, which we build over time, week by week. By week three, you will have this nailed!

So, let’s talk about your mombody core for a second.

As you are aware, all mombodies are different once we have children. Specifically, our mombody core is different because it’s been stretched and strained and pulled apart in the name of growing and birthing children. This process has changed your core and pelvic floor and special attention will bring it back to its fullest potential. Look good AND feel good.

Throughout your postpartum years it is entirely possible to have a leaky bladder, a distended mompooch, a muffin top, lower back pain, abdominal separation, pelvic pain, tight shoulders, etc. These things make your mombody look and feel older than it is.

The crazy thing is these issues have a way of haunting your mombody in both our postpartum years and then again in our menopausal years (just ask your mom if she has a leaky bladder!) because 1) it’s hormonal and 2) most exercise we do in real life is NOT doing any favors for your mombody core. I always tell my moms, no jumping jack, no burpee, no bootcamp, and no intense cardio workouts in the world are going to fix your mombody core. That’s because they aren’t designed to. And in reality, some exercise is actually doing HARM to your mombody core.

BUT NOT ANYMORE. All of that changes here.

You are going to learn exactly what to do to protect your mombody core. We are going to be lengthening and strengthening your entire mombody core - the front, the sides, the back, and even underneath where your pelvic floor muscles are located. Because ALL of these muscles work together.

Remember: the lengthening is just as important as the strengthening.

Plus, who doesn’t love a gorgeous, slim waistline? It truly makes a woman more confident in her skin. Your mombody is going to look and feel amazing.

Learning the technique that fixes your mombody core takes some time. To start, we teach you the BAB breath and get those core muscles loosened up. This week’s lesson will build onto next week’s lesson and so on, until we get through the information. Stay with me!

BAB BREATH (AGAIN IF YOU MISSED IT) & FIRST MOVES TO GET STARTED