Confidently Balancing Your Hormones
By Guest Blogger Ashley Selman
Women in midlife are finally hearing more about the hormones that impact our health and wellbeing - in particular estrogen, progesterone, testosterone. But there is a hormone that is absolutely vital for women as we age that is not a part of the conversation, and absolutely should be: Human Growth Hormone (HGH). HGH is one of the most important regulatory hormones in our body. A peptide hormone, it is the key to human development and responsible for supporting growth stimulation, cellular reproduction and cellular regeneration in humans. As the body ages, less and less growth hormone is produced. HGH is often associated with men, muscles and athletic performance, but the fact is that women actually produce more HGH than men.
For women, HGH has a very unique and important role because it is very closely connected to estrogen levels. The more estrogen a woman has, the more HGH she produces. During menopause, when estrogen levels decline significantly, HGH also declines and women begin to see loss of muscle mass and increased body fat. Women need healthy HGH levels to help maintain vitality, strength, and also cognitive and cardiovascular function.
As a strength coach and trainer, this is where I come in. I work with many women in their midlife years and beyond, a community I also belong to as a woman in my 50s. The most widely discussed wellness and fitness questions for women in midlife today are: How do we slow the loss of bone density and muscle loss? How do we keep our hearts and cognitive brain function healthy? How do we best support our bodies as we age?
Many experts tout lifting heavy weights as the best way for women to stay healthy, increase HGH and counteract - or at least slow - muscle and bone density loss. In theory, heavy lifting is one of the best things that midlife women can do. The challenge is that many women are unable to safely or effectively lift heavy weights for a myriad of reasons, including the fact that we are more vulnerable to injury for the very reasons we are looking to address. Dropping estrogen levels and HGH lead to loss of muscle and the weakening of bones. So how do we women in midlife safely get strong, trim down, gain energy and vitality sustainably in the second half of our lives?
I found the answer after my own journey through chronic pain, surgery and recovery and it’s connected back to human growth hormone. And it changed my life! As a former nationally- ranked track and field athlete and then trainer to top Olympic and collegiate athletes, I was no stranger to injury and pain. I’ve definitely had my share of injuries! It eventually all came to a head and I found myself at one of the lowest points in my life. I had been struggling through years of chronic pain resulting from a hairline fracture to my hip when I was 13. Although I was able to compete in athletics for years, by the time I was in my mid 20’s it began preventing me from being able to do the activities I loved, maintain my strength and even get through more basic activities of daily life. I was a trainer and former elite athlete finding movement challenging – which was incredibly humbling and depressing. I ended up having hip replacement surgery when I was 43, and although I was hopeful that it would give me some relief from pain and restore some function, recovery was slow and challenging. After years of slow improvement, I came across an innovative technique called Blood Flow Restriction (BFR). Founded in Japan as a training technique for its Olympic athletes in the 1960s, BFR is a scientifically proven, medically approved and popular physical therapy approach that helps speed recovery and strength post injury and surgery through the use of lightly pressurized arm and leg cuffs during exercise. I began integrating it into my workouts and BFR not only helped me regain strength in my leg that had been atrophied for years, but it helped me to achieve more strength, range of motion and energy that I had experienced in well over a decade.
The secret to BFR training is how significantly it elevates human growth hormone, even under a very light load - thereby increasing healing and promoting muscle growth, heart health, metabolism, weight loss and energy. When used in tandem with strength training, it acts as a safe accelerator, which means that you will experience faster results with less impact on your joints - absolutely key for us at this stage in our lives. When you use the BFR cuffs, you want to use them for no more than 20 minutes, and there are some specific protocols to follow to maximize results, but you can do almost any type of exercise with them on - walking, cycling, cardio and all types of strength training, as long as you adhere to using a very light load (30-50% of your normal weights). And because the cuffs decrease oxygen to your working muscle and cause fatigue to happen much more quickly you don’t have to work out as nearly as long. It’s more for less with BFR! Sounds pretty appealing, right?
Frontiers in Physiology Magazine released a study in 2023 stating that BFR training outperforms light weights alone for boosting bone growth and density, especially in older adults or those with injuries. Walking with BFR cuffs also benefits bone health, according to the same study.
My experience with BFR combined with the research and expert endorsements I’ve encountered motivated me to bring it to my own gym, Evolution Trainers. The results I have seen with clients, especially women in midlife-plus, were so impactful that I recently launched a virtual coaching community around BFR called SeliStrength designed for women around the country who want to feel better and stronger as they age. Through this platform, my trainers and I provide a step-by-step program specifically to safely optimize BFR Training for our clients, offering pre-recorded and live classes. We also provide access to a range of supportive information and the benefit of a personal coach for accountability and connection. It’s been an incredible experience with so many resulting success stories.
One of my clients experienced such a dramatic health transformation, I have to share. A woman in midlife, she had really been through a hard time with her health. She was diagnosed with low thyroid and Hashimoto's, which led to struggles with energy shifts and weight gain. Later, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, had a mastectomy, and was put on estrogen blockers - which not only meant that she was not able to take estrogen to support her in menopause, but she had even less estrogen in her body than someone typically in menopause. She was at the gym religiously, doing everything to keep herself healthy and strong, including heavy lifting and cardio - but she continued to gain weight gradually over a ten-year period. She tried dieting, different combinations of exercise, but nothing worked. She also had a family history of heart disease, which only made her more stressed and concerned about her health and future.
We started working BFR into her training and the results were life-changing! In just four months, she lost 22 pounds, which is quite significant for someone who is 4'11. She also experienced improved mental clarity, energy and profound healing in her knees. For decades, she struggled with chronic knee pain from past athletic injuries and years of working out. Since starting BFR training, her knee pain has completely disappeared. It has been such a joy to see her journey; to see how she feels like herself again – stronger and more confident without the fear that was once there about her future. She is a powerful example of how BFR training can make a significant impact on someone's life and health.
As a woman in my mid-50’s with young kids, two businesses and another recent joint replacement surgery, I understand firsthand the importance of investing time and energy into one’s health as we age. No one else can do it for you. It’s been such an incredible experience to share my knowledge and experience with other women in midlife-plus who want to stay vibrant, strong and well as they move into the next chapters ahead!
If you’re interested in learning more and joining me on this journey, you can reach us through https://www.selistrength.com/, as well as through the following social media platforms: Subscribe to SeliStrength on YouTube for exercises and more info: https://www.youtube.com/@selistrength
On Instagram you can find me at https://www.instagram.com/ashleyselman/, our SeliStrength Coaching Community at https://www.instagram.com/selistrength/ and my gym, Evolution Trainers, in Mountain View, CA at https://www.instagram.com/evolution.trainers/ Find and follow us on Facebook at Evolution Trainers at https://www.facebook.com/evolutiontrainers and SeliStrength at https://www.facebook.com/Seli.Strength/ Finally, connect with me on Linked In at https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-selman/.
Named a “Top Trainer” by Men's Health magazine and the San Francisco Chronicle, Ashley Selman is a former NCAA track & field champion, a leading fitness trainer and highly respected coach in Northern California, whose clients have ranged from world class Olympic athletes and leading collegiate track & field teams, to personal training clients looking to improve their strength, energy and vitality. For over nearly two decades, she has owned award-winning Evolution Trainers in Mountain View, California, a 14,000 sq ft private personal training and wellness facility, and is now focused on harnessing the most effective longevity tactics to help clients rewrite the narrative of aging.