Estrogen Struggles & What to Do!

Estrogen… Its what makes you a woman! Inevitably an untimely reduction in your favorite female sex hormone is coming as you age. I would be remiss if I didn’t admit that I’m not an expert when it comes to female sex hormones, nor am I a doctor! The purpose of this blog is to shed light on effective, well studied tactics for continuing to build strength and muscle well into your 40s, 50s, 60s and beyond!

First lets look at what estrogen is responsible for in regards to building muscle:

Muscle stem cell support:

Estrogen directly impacts the activity of muscle stem cells (satellite cells), preventing their premature death and allowing for efficient muscle repair and regeneration after exercise.

Muscle protein synthesis:

Studies suggest estrogen may positively influence muscle protein synthesis, the process of building new muscle tissue.

Muscle strength and quality:

Estrogen can enhance muscle strength and force production beyond just increasing muscle mass, potentially by influencing the function of contractile proteins within muscle fibers.

Surely there are far more fantastic qualities of estrogen, but for the sake of writing a novel, we will keep it muscle building 🙂

Now that we know the fantastic benefits, lets take a short look at how aging impacts estrogen production and the downstream impacts:

Ovarian decline:

The primary reason for decreasing estrogen is the gradual decline in the number of follicles within the ovaries, which are responsible for producing estrogen.

Menopause:

The most noticeable drop in estrogen occurs during menopause, when menstrual cycles cease and the ovaries no longer release eggs regularly.

Hormone receptor sensitivity:

With age, cells will also become less sensitive to estrogen, further impacting its effects.

I think now its safe to assume that the down-regulation of estrogen due to the above effects will be detrimental to how well women gain and retain strength and muscle tissue. Here’s why:

*Without estrogen muscle protein synthesis becomes down regulated

*Now that you aren’t creating enough estrogen, your ability to stimulate anabolism ( the ability to create new and regenerate muscle tissue ) becomes negatively impacted.

Morale of the story, Mother Nature is undefeated. So now you might ask, what the heck can I do to prevent the down stream effects of having less estrogen, and still get incredible results!?!

The fix is in!

So now the big question is “how should you train to continue getting results for the unforeseen future”. Well in practice, the answer is pretty simple: You need to strength train! Yeah I know Its really not that easy! We have to understand that the way you train, and the modalities that you use will in fact have a much larger impact on your results then just lifting weights alone.

Loading and rep schemes are critical!

The most important thing to understand right now is what worked in your 20s and early 30’s probably isn’t going to cut it anymore unless you’ve been away from the gym for many years. Of coarse I also understand that for anyone starting out on a new fitness journey, anything is better than nothing. Now that I’ve provided some context on this matter, lets look at what optimal rep and loading schemes are:

Reps, intensity, and load

Reps by themselves are meaningless numbers floating through space and time without the proper load. The advanced trainee can pick up a 10lb dumbbell and do curls for an hour without any positive or negative impact on muscles because they have adapted over time to handle that amount of stress. Load and intensity are meaningless without understanding the critical impact of how many sets and reps it takes to create a positive growth stimulus within the muscle.

Now, before I dive in, its important to know that initially everyone will respond differently to various rep schemes. When I propose reps, sets, intensity, movements, tempos and rep intervals, I’m using the law of averages ( 90% of the population ) to determine first steps. Once I have a week or two of accurate data from my clients I’m able to make adjustments based on strengths, weaknesses and limitations. Alas! you should do the same with your training!

Alright Justin we get it, so what are we supposed to do! Lets peek first at utilizing compound movements ( movements that require your entire physical being to move an object ie: Squat, Bench, Deadlift, Overhead press ). When it comes to compound movements I would exclusively stick to a rep range of 4-6 with a minimum of 2 of those sets taken 1-2 reps shy of failure, safely. Using the RIR( Reps in reserve of failure) scale will be your best friend. Keep in mind this isn’t quite a max, but close.

You are already thinking, he must be crazy, that’s going to be incredibly heavy! Why not use sets of 8-10 or 12-15.

First and foremost I would argue for anyone, that higher reps with compound movements like squats or deadlifts can be incredibly dangerous when using a weight that gets you close to failure, due to substantial fatigue. Proper form is likely the first thing to go before you even get close to failure. More is usually not better!

Secondly, Function. We want muscles that are not only lean, but functional. Lower rep ranges with heavier loads creates myofibrillar hypertrophy. This type hypertrophy increases the number of myofibrils in the muscle cell positively impacting muscle size, strength, and power. AKA FUNCTION.

Third, and most importantly: With the decline of satellite cell signaling, mitochondrial function, and muscle protein synthesis, the signals we send to the muscle must be very loud and powerful! Unfortunately most of the higher rep ranges will not provide enough of that noise ( like it did when you were younger ) to promote anabolism!

NO this does not mean there isn’t a place for higher reps, you just need to be strategic with how you use them, and most importantly the intensity placed in each and every rep.

I prefer to program higher reps sparingly for: 1. Unilateral exercises 2. lagging muscle groups and 3. Connective tissue regeneration.

For Unilateral exercises use rep ranges of 7-12 with sets of 3-4 for the harder varieties: IE Rear foot elevated split squats, rowing, or pressing. For the less taxing varieties: tricep extensions, bicep curls, or leg extensions you can push the range from 8-20. Typically all of the above would apply to building lagging muscle groups. For connective tissue regeneration the reps applied need to be far higher than for muscle. Use ranges of 30-50 with sets of 2-3 to feed fresh blood to connective tissues for recovery!

Take homes:

1. Don’t overthink it. Pick movements you are comfortable with and progress them!
2. Use the RIR scale to drive how close to failure you go
3. Track your results. If you don’t log anything how do you know if you are improving.
4. Stimulate not annihilate. Train smart. Training should add to your day, not take away from it.
5. Listen to your body. There is a time and a place to push. consistency over time is where the real magic happens!