Fitness Tips for Overweight Women with PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) to Boost Hormonal Health
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is the most common hormonal problem among women of childbearing age (Jean Hailes Foundation, 2024). Here, these women may not ovulate, have high levels of androgens, and have many small cysts on the ovaries. So, overweight women with PCOS may have missed or irregular menstrual periods, excess hair growth, acne, infertility, and weight gain (Cleveland Clinic, 2023).
This condition may feel like an unwelcome guest messing with your hormones, energy levels, and mood. But the right fitness routine can turn the tables around in the life of overweight women with PCOS (Tyler, 2022). Are you ready to reclaim control of your health? Let’s talk about exercises and routines that can combat hormonal imbalances in overweight women with PCOS, all with practical advice.
Why is Fitness a Game-Changer for Overweight Women with PCOS?
Do you know that controlling your PCOS is like juggling a dozen things at once? These include insulin resistance, hormonal imbalance, inflammation, and more. The good part of this is that exercise addresses all these issues at the same time (Tyler, 2022). Some workouts are designed for your hormonal balance in PCOS, and you should not ignore them. Your quetsion might be, how can PCOS be managed through fitness for overweight women? Now let’s see how your workout routine will handle all these issues:
- Regulates Insulin: Exercise improves your insulin sensitivity, helping to control blood sugar levels and reduce your PCOS symptoms. So, exercise can help in reducing your risk of diabetes
- Balances Hormones: Regular workouts help you to lower testosterone levels, easing symptoms like acne and hair growth by increasing endorphins while decreasing estrogen and insulin.
- Reduces Inflammation: Chronic inflammation can worsen your PCOS, but physical activity combats it effectively.
- Improves Your Mood: Women with PCOS usually suffer from hormonal imbalances and PCOS symptoms and may have depression, which exercise can control due to the release of endorphins (happy hormones).
- Aiding Your Weight Loss: When you have PCOS, trying to lose weight might be discouraging. You can lose weight by engaging in daily exercise that you love.
- Improving Your Sleep Quality: Exercise can promote restful sleep by reducing snoring, sleep apnoea, and other issues that are usually caused by obesity.
- Helping to Manage Your Cholesterol: Overweight women with PCOS are more likely to have elevated cholesterol. But this increased cholesterol can be decreased with some health related actions such as exercise and a good diet.
- Lowering Your Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases: High blood pressure and cardiovascular disease are both more likely in overweight women with PCOS. So, your heart’s health will improve with exercise (Aster DM Healthcare, 2024).
Tips for Overweight Women with PCOS to Stay Motivated with Their Exercise
There are some fitness tips for overweight women with PCOS that you need to use to get fit. When you follow them you woll find joy in what you are doing and at the same time, remain healthy. So let’s go through weight loss tips for women with PCOS:
- Set Your Realistic Goals: Your target should be on progress and not on perfection. So, ensure you celebrate all small victories. These may be like completing a week of workouts or holding a plank for 10 more seconds.
- Find Your Tribe: Join online or in-person fitness groups for women with PCOS. When other women share their experiences and how they are coping with their situation, your journey will be made easier. You can also find a partner who you are going to exercise with.
- Track Your Progress: Plan of how to measure your success as you exercise on daily basis. You can keep a journal of your workouts and how you feel afterward. When you see improvements, you will be motivated. So, you can track your progress by using fitness trackers and taking progress photos. Hence, taking your body measurements is important. Also, you should pay attention to how you feel (Result Sport, 2024).
- Reward Yourself: Don’t forget to reward yourself regularly. This may be like treating yourself to new workout gear or a relaxing bath. Also, you can even binge-watch a session of your favourite show.
- Be Kind to Yourself: Remember, it’s okay to have off days. PCOS is unpredictable, and listening to your body is part of the process. So, there will be some days that you will not feel like exercising, or you may have some symptoms that may not allow you to continue. It is okay to have rest on these days.
Best Types of Exercise for Plus-Size Women with PCOS
Not all workouts are rated equal when it comes to PCOS in overweight women. Here are some top PCOS exercises for your hormonal health and joint strength:
1. Strength Training:
Building muscle increases your resting metabolic rate and improves insulin sensitivity. Start with body-weight exercises like squats, lunges, and push-ups, and graduate to dumbbells or resistance bands. It is advised to engage in at least 30 minutes of exercise for PCOS treatment, like aerobic physical activity, each day (Aster DM Healthcare, 2024).
2. Low-Impact Cardiovascular Exercise:
Activities such as walking, cycling, or swimming are gentle on your joints. Also, they will help improve your cardiovascular health without stressing your body.
3. High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT):
Short bursts of intense activity followed by rest periods can help regulate insulin levels and torch calories. Keep sessions under 30 minutes to avoid overtraining. Interval training is a means to exercise at various intensities. Although not always to your maximum heart rate as you would with HIIT (Aster DM Healthcare, 2024).
4. Yoga Exercise routines:
Yoga reduces stress which can increase your PCOS symptoms, improves flexibility, and balances your hormones. You may include yoga exercises, which are a mind-body workout. This can not only burn calories but also lower your stress levels (Aster DM Healthcare, 2024).
5. Pilates Exercise:
This low-impact exercise strengthens your core, improves posture, and enhances your flexibility, which are all beneficial for PCOS management.
A PCOS-Friendly Weekly Workout Plan for You to Follow
There are some PCOS fitness programs for overweight women that you can follow. Here’s a beginner-friendly plan to get you started in a fitness journey that will help you cope with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome:
- Day 1: Strength Training: This involves doing body-weight squats (3 sets of 12 repetitions), modified push-ups (3 sets of 10 repetitions), dumbbell rows (3 sets of 12 repetitions per arm), and plank hold (30 seconds, repeat twice). You must not do all of them a day; just do as much as you can; even if it is one, it is okay.
- Day 2: Low-Impact Cardio: Do 30 minutes of brisk walking or cycling to help you remain fit and control your symptoms.
- On Day 3: Yoga: Try poses like Child’s Pose, Cat-Cow, and Warrior II for relaxation and strength.
- Day 4: High-Intensity Interval Training: Engage in 20 seconds of jumping jacks, 40 seconds of rest (repeat 8 times). Also, perform 20 seconds of mountain climbers, 40 seconds of rest (repeat 8 times)
- On Day 5: Pilates or Light Stretching: Focus on core work and flexibility on this day.
- Day 6: Active Rest: Take a leisurely walk or do some light yoga. This kind of rest involves slight activity to help you recover gently from stress.
- On Day 7: Rest Day: On the seventh day, you need to give yourself an adequate rest. You may even give yourself some time to sleep well. So, rest is crucial for recovery and hormone balance.
Maintaining an exercise routine can be difficult sometimes for anyone, especially with people suffering from PCOS. But involving fun activities and going for workouts you love can help you continue and make exercise enjoyable. So, try to get joy in what you do.
Common Fitness Myths for Overweight Women with PCOS
Before we jump into some fitness routines that will help you control your PCOS, let’s burst some myths that some people have about exercise and your condition:
- Myth 1: You must go hard with your exercise if you want results.
Reality 1: Women on PCOS workouts should maintain their fitness program, and it should not go to the extreme. Overdoing it can spike your cortisol levels, which can lead you to more stress. - Myth 2: A cardio workout is the only way you can lose weight.
Reality: You should know that strength training and low-impact exercises can be just as effective, if not more, for managing your PCOS symptoms. Also, if you do muscle-strengthening activities on two non-consecutive days per week, you can lose weight (Jean Hailes Foundation, 2024). - Myth 3: Exercise will fix your PCOS completely without the need for other remedies.
Reality 3: While fitness helps you significantly, PCOS is a complex condition that requires a multifaceted approach, including the use of diet and stress management to control your symptoms.
The key to controlling your PCOS is creating a sustainable fitness routine that works for your body and your life. Whether you’re lifting weights, flowing through yoga poses, or simply walking around the block, every step counts. So, lace up your sneakers, grab a water bottle, and make some moves and stretches.
REFERENCE
- Aster DM Healthcare (2024). Exercise For PCOS: Best Plan, Types of Exercise, and Effects. Retrieved January 14, 2025, from https://www.asterdmhealthcare.com/health-library/exercise-for-pcos#
- Cleveland Clinic (2023). Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). Retrieved January 14, 2025, from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/8316-polycystic-ovary-syndrome-pcos
- Jean Hailes Foundation (2024). PCOS and physical activity. Retrieved January 14, 2025, from https://www.jeanhailes.org.au/resources/pcos-and-physical-activity
- Result Sport (2024). PCOS Workout Plan That You’ll Love to Follow. Retrieved January 14, 2025, from https://resultsport.com/pcos-workout-plan-that-youll-love-to-follow/
- Tyler, O (2022). How exercise can help with PCOS. Retrieved January 14, 2025, from https://www.nuffieldhealth.com/article/how-exercise-can-help-with-pcos