How Hormones Can Affect Your Workouts—and Your Progress
Have you ever done your usual workout and wondered why it suddenly felt harder? Or noticed that your energy seems to change even when your routine stays the same?
Hormones can be part of that picture. They help regulate energy use, stress responses, reproductive function, and bone health. But a difficult workout or a plateau does not automatically mean something is wrong with your hormones.
Understanding the evidence can help you make thoughtful adjustments—and recognize when it is time to seek support.
Your menstrual cycle: notice your patterns
Estrogen and progesterone fluctuate throughout the menstrual cycle. Some people notice symptoms that affect their exercise experience, while others notice very little difference. Does that mean everyone should “cycle sync” their workouts?
A systematic review and meta-analysis found that average differences in exercise performance across menstrual cycle phases were very small. The evidence was generally low quality, and results varied considerably between studies. The authors recommended an individualized approach rather than a universal training schedule.
What this means for your workouts:
Track symptoms, sleep, and how challenging your workouts feel over a few cycles. If you notice a repeatable pattern, use it to plan flexible adjustments. That might mean fewer sets, longer rest breaks, or an easier session on a symptomatic day.
You do not need to automatically avoid strength training or challenging exercise during your period. Let your experience help guide the plan.
Perimenopause and menopause: your plan may need to evolve
During the transition to menopause, changing hormone levels can bring hot flashes, night sweats, and sleep problems. Lower estrogen after menopause also contributes to bone loss. ACOG
These changes can affect workouts indirectly. After a night of disrupted sleep, your usual session may feel less manageable. That is useful information when deciding how much to do that day.
Weight-bearing exercise and resistance training remain valuable for supporting bone health. Exercise selection should reflect your health, experience, and fracture risk. ACOG
What this means for your workouts: Keep strength work in your routine, allow flexibility after poor sleep, and discuss disruptive menopause symptoms with your healthcare provider. Your exercise plan and medical care can work together.
Cortisol: an essential hormone
Cortisol is often discussed online as though it is something we should eliminate. In reality, it helps regulate blood sugar, metabolism, inflammation, and blood pressure. It is also part of the body’s normal stress response. Endocrine Society Feeling stressed or having a disappointing workout does not tell you what your cortisol level is.
What this means for your workouts:
Look at the demands surrounding your training. If work is especially busy, sleep is disrupted, and you are squeezing in every workout, consider temporarily shortening a session or reducing its intensity.
That adjustment is a practical way to manage your workload. It does not require assuming you have a hormone disorder.
Testosterone and growth hormone: a workout “spike” is not the goal
You may have heard that certain workouts are better because they produce larger increases in testosterone or growth hormone.
These temporary increases do not necessarily translate into better results. In a study of healthy young men, training under conditions that produced larger post-exercise hormone increases did not lead to greater muscle growth or strength gains in the trained arm muscles. PubMed
The study does not mean hormones are irrelevant, and its findings should not be generalized to every population. It does challenge the idea that chasing a brief hormone spike is the key to progress.
What this means for your workouts:
Evaluate your program by what it helps you do over time: lift more, complete more repetitions, walk farther, or feel more confident during activities you enjoy.
Under-fueling can affect hormones and performance
Your body needs energy for exercise and for the basic functions that keep you healthy.
When too little energy remains available after exercise, prolonged or severe under-fueling can contribute to Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport, or REDs. It can affect people of any sex and impair reproductive function, bone health, recovery, and performance.
Warning signs can include menstrual changes, reduced libido, persistent fatigue, declining performance, and bone stress injuries. These symptoms have multiple possible causes and deserve evaluation. bjsm.bmj.com
What this means for your workouts:
Avoid responding to stalled progress by automatically eating less and training more. A healthcare provider and registered dietitian can help assess whether your intake supports your activity.
Thyroid health: persistent symptoms deserve attention
Thyroid hormones help control how your body uses energy. An underactive thyroid can cause fatigue, muscle or joint pain, cold intolerance, and weight gain. An overactive thyroid can cause fatigue, muscle weakness, heat intolerance, and a rapid heartbeat. NIDDK
These symptoms can affect exercise, but they cannot diagnose a thyroid condition. Persistent or unexplained changes are a reason to speak with your healthcare provider rather than pushing through.
Build a plan that can adapt
A useful starting point is to:
Notice patterns in energy, symptoms, sleep, and workout effort.
Adjust a session when needed while keeping your longer-term goals in view.
Seek medical guidance for persistent fatigue, menstrual changes, or unexplained performance decline.
At Kinetix PT & Wellness, I help people build strength, confidence, and a movement plan that fits their lives. If pain, uncertainty, or a changing routine is making it difficult to stay active, a personalized PT or wellness plan can help you find your next step.
Ready for guidance? Book a 15-minute discovery call at kinetixptandwellness.com
Sources
McNulty KL, et al. Menstrual cycle phase and exercise performance: systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Medicine. 2020;50:1813–1827. Read study.
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The Menopause Years.
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Osteoporosis.
Endocrine Society. Adrenal Hormones.
West DWD, et al. Exercise-induced hormone elevations and muscle hypertrophy and strength. Journal of Applied Physiology. 2010;108:60–67. Read study.
Mountjoy M, et al. 2023 IOC consensus statement on Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2023;57:1073–1097. Read statement.
NIDDK. Hypothyroidism and Hyperthyroidism.
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