How to exercise with PCOS

If I have to put a number to it, I would say atleast 30% of the women I consult or train have PCOS, me included. So I can provide a first-hand report about how exercise affects my condition or rather how my condition affects my exercise. There is so much information out there regarding what is the right way or the wrong way to train with the condition. But ditch the fitness influencers for a sec, and read what the science says.

From a purely physical standpoint, there is NO right or wrong way to train if you have PCOS. In fact, if you were diagnosed with the condition, your doctor probably told you that exercise is in fact highly beneficial to manage your condition. Having said that however, while there is no right and wrong, there is a “best” and “worst”. Here’s the  411.

Corstisol is a hormone that is released in our bodies when our bodies are under stress. For the large majority of us, our lives are stressful enough. When you put your body through extreme over training, your body physically goes into survival mode and will cause your body to release even more cortisol. A spike in cortisol will have a negative impact on your body, your fitness goals and more importantly it will exacerbate your PCOS tremendously. So, the worst exercises for women with PCOS are any types of training that can cause a massive spike in your cortisol levels. Overtraining in any of the methods listed below will have this effect on your body.

If you have PCOS, this is what you should be doing:

• High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) – This means short bursts of energy paired with short breaks.  According to one study, the primary reason to include this type of training is because it controls insulin resistance and high insulin is linked to an increase in testosterone (causing things like acne and hair growth) and impaired ovulation (leading to things like infrequent or heavy periods).
• Low Intensity Steady State Cardio – Like walking for example.
• Strength Training – Lifting heavy stuff will help decrease your testosterone levels and will also cause your body to burn through a lot more calories healing your torn muscle fibres.
• Pilates / Yoga – Mind-body, or low intensity training will help you meet your fitness goals, keep your muscles strong and healthy and keep you active without causing your cortisol levels to rise.

As a coach this is the advice I live by and give to my clients too – work with your body, not against it. Do what makes your body and mind feel good and do it with intent. Choose some of the things you enjoy doing from the list above, pair that with a good diet, valuable rest days, and regular doctor check-ins and you are good to go.

For anyone interested, this is my personal current PCOS friendly workout schedule:

Monday – Pilates

Tuesday – HIIT (Boxing) + Strength  

Wednesday – Pilates

Thursday – HIIT (Boxing) + Strength  

Friday – Yoga (Active Recovery)

Saturday – Rest

Sunday – Rest

If you have PCOS and are struggling to find the right workouts that suit you, contact me and I am happy to provide you with more information.

Your sister in strength

Nasira