Restart. Reset. Refocus. You are your own greatest project.
This is my mantra this year as I launch myself back into weight training. It had been over 20 years since I pulled or pushed a bar, but this past October, thanks to a friend, I got back into lifting by starting in his garage. I felt great, but I got hurt a couple of times and because it was cold outside, I took time off over the Holidays and then in January, I found my way to Athletic Lab on the Morrisville/ Cary border.
This time, I decided to use my Meyer’s Briggs and my Enneagram to help me predict any obstacles that might get in my way and overcome them. If you are not familiar with the Enneagram, it can be helpful to pin point your tendencies or personality trends to better understand yourself and to know where you need to grow. I am a classic Enneagram 3, and although “The Achiever” may sound like I am bragging – the truth is that I feel balanced and healthy when I am enjoying the journey, staying curious and patient with myself, rather than singularly focusing on the goal. I have learned that patience is needed when you are trying to lift heavy stuff. In fact, this journey of weight lifting is teaching me to be present without over analyzing, to accept challenges without trying to fix everything, and so far to just have more fun.
Protein:
I had a DXA body composition test done mid-February and learned that my lean mass is about 100 pounds, so I need to consume about 100 grams of protein per day. (No surprises here). I added pumpkin seed powder, Collagen, Creatine, Glutamine and Leucine powder to my arsenal of powders that I can add to smoothies, water or coffee daily to help me get enough protein and specifically, enough Leucine. I find that batch cooking proteins helps to get enough chicken, pork, fish, shrimp and beef throughout the week.
Bone Strength:
My goal is to gain bone density in my lumbar spine and my hips in the next 6 months. This means I also need to test my Vitamin D, Magnesium levels and Estrogen every 2-3 months. Historically, my estrogen has stayed low, and seed cycling has helped me here. I also started drinking Nettle tea and focused on getting more calcium rich vegetables.
Hormones:
I cancelled my period tracking app because it kept getting predictions wrong and giving me totally irrelevant, borderline fear mongering, medical advice. Instead, I am using a black notebook to track my health updates and I am listing the date of the first day of my period there, noting headaches – which I tend to get around day 2-3 of my cycle – and any insomnia or lower back pain that I might have. Month after month these symptoms are improving, which is helping me to see that my hormones are balancing out.
Sleep:
I continue to get in bed early, around 8:30PM during the winter months, even if I’m just resting and reading a book, to teach my body it is time to wind down. We sleep in a “cold cave”. It is dark and cool in my bedroom. I don’t have an Oura ring or watch tracking my deep sleep, because I prefer to note how rested I feel the next morning. I created a few cozy spots in my home, bought a sea salt lamp and a few battery operated candles, and now I can unplug and listen to records or read actual books. This is a huge detail in my daily routine because I tend to “go, go, go” doing things at home and at work and I never sit my butt down.
Hydration:
I aim to drink four 24 ounce water bottles daily between meals and I start the day with 12 ounces of water with electrolytes. I have been working on this since last summer, so this is getting easier the longer that I do it. I find that for me, perimenopause means that I really need to hydrate, and if I don’t drink at least 100 ounces of water daily, I tend to have joint pain, brain fog and increase muscle soreness.
Who can help?
I asked around and found a trainer at The Athletic Lab in Morrisville. Sims replied to my emails quickly and we spent the first two sessions going through the movements I have been doing in the fall, but he listened to my concerns and my previous struggles and came back with short, effective, feedback. I have only praise for Sims Setser, especially if you are looking for a strength and conditioning coach who really knows how to prevent you from getting hurt. I know some women prefer female strength and conditioning coaches, and while I have heard great things about Jennifer at Think Holistic Fitness in Holly Springs and about Samantha Moschella of EverFitNC, Jennifer’s gym was full when I reached out and Samantha is exclusively working with clients online. I was really motivated to continue to use the dead lift, overhead press, bench press and squat as my core moves and I don’t yet have a squat cage or bar at home.
The environment at the Athletic Lab is clean and airy with high ceilings and the music is on but no one is yelling or throwing stuff. I noticed the NC Courage soccer team working out one day and felt at home and comfortable being in a gym that supports female athletes. People there are friendly without being nosey and a few sessions in I felt like Sims was genuinely interested in catching up during our warm ups but he is a very calm, grounded presence. I think we all need more of that in our lives.
The main reasons I decided to focus on the four core moves:
I read Mark Rippetoe’s book and some of the science is pretty compelling. Mainly, I want to be able to build bone by carrying heavy stuff and I want to carry heavy stuff without getting hurt. I also want to be an elderly person who can get up off the ground when they fall or choose to sit on the ground well into my 80s. I also find that these four core movements give me energy and I leave weightlifting sessions feeling happier and energized but sleepy at bedtime. Alternatively, I can tell when my cortisol is elevated from a workout as my tinnitus gets louder and I feel strung out. This is not the case with the so-called “Texas Method”.
However, I do not think that Mark’s research touches on the unpredictable nature of perimenopause. Women in their luteal phase, as we know from Mindy Pelz , and Stacy Sims , need more carbs, more salt and more rest, than during their follicular phase.
When we honor this natural cycle and train accordingly, the hormones– high Progesterone during that week before your period, high Testosterone during menstruation and high Estrogen right before ovulation, magically balance themselves. I can feel my mood stabilize, along with my blood sugar, when I honor what my body needs during the luteal phase. I even joked with the team last month when we held a team building day during my luteal phase, that I would not make that mistake when planning next year’s team building day. The problem with perimenopause is that estrogen can spike randomly, ovulation can stall out for a month, progesterone can stay low and testosterone can also just decide when and if it is going to rise. If you overtrain or under fuel during perimenopause, you end up feeling miserable, being sore constantly and gaining fat due to rising blood sugar levels. Your bones become more brittle, in response to high cortisol and osteoclast activity. If you are a similar personality type to me, you have to be careful adding weight and you may only increase by five pounds per month during the follicular phase – but you also have to listen to your body and know when it is telling you to push. There is definitely research that we need to lift to “failure” . The problem is that my failure may be different depending on the day and what wacky things my ovaries and adrenal glands are kicking out.
My point is that I am tempted to over complicate things and analyze them – but in the case of building bone and building muscle, during this fourth decade, instead I’m honing my intuition and utilizing the tools that I have in my community. (And hopefully continuing to build this community for you all.)
Goals:
I go back for a DXA scan in 6 months and this deadline is keeping me motivated. (Again, the personality type in me is The Achiever – You may need to find other ways to motivate yourself.) It turns out, like every other hard thing I have ever done in my life, this, too, is one day at a time. I remind myself to stay in it for the long haul and surround myself with people who are also in it for the long haul. I have learned to keep on with this “project” of getting stronger. If I miss a session due to illness or snow, I simply Restart, Reset, and Refocus. I gift myself more love, more joy and more patience. And it feels good.