Women Are Seasonal: How Hormones Change the Way We Need to Move

There is something I keep coming back to in my work with women. We discuss it, well sometimes i have to be honest I rant about it!

We are not linear. What works for us in our 20’s will most likely not work for us in our 40’s!

We are not all ,human woman designed, machines.

We are not meant to move through life in one straight, predictable line, following the same fitness rules from twelve to seventy-five.

Women are cyclical. Not just month to month, but across the whole arc of our lives.

We have spring bodies, summer bodies, autumn bodies, winter bodies and deep winter bodies. There are seasons when the body is opening, building, bleeding, creating, feeding, grieving, changing, softening, strengthening, burning, remembering and becoming wise.

And yet, for decades, women have been handed exercise advice as if our bodies are just smaller versions of men’s bodies. Lift this. Run that. Eat less. Push harder. Tone up. Bounce back. Don’t get bulky. Don’t lift too heavy. Do more cardio. No, do less cardio. Squeeze your pelvic floor. Flatten your stomach. Get your body back.

Honestly, it is exhausting.

And I know that this massively misses the point.

The female body is responsive.

Our hormones shift across our lives. Oestrogen, progesterone, testosterone, cortisol, insulin, thyroid hormones and all the other chemical messengers that keep us alive are constantly communicating with our bones, muscles, fascia, brain, bladder, pelvic floor, blood vessels, mood, sleep, appetite and nervous system.

So when women say, “I don’t feel like myself anymore,” I believe them, because it is true.

When they say, “What used to work doesn’t work now,” I believe them, because it is true.

When they say, “I’m doing all the things and my body feels different,” I believe them, because oh my days I am living this alongside them.

Because it is different.

And that does not mean that our human machine is broken or that it needs fixing.

It just means the season has changed.

Spring: the girl body, the wild body, the body beginning to bloom

Girlhood is spring.

Before puberty, the reproductive hormones are relatively quiet. Then, gradually, the brain begins to speak more clearly to the ovaries. Oestrogen rises. Breasts develop. Hips widen (did you know that there is some evidence that pelvis’s get narrower as we age). Body shape begins to change. Periods arrive, often irregularly at first, as the body learns its own rhythm.

This stage matters so much, and not only because girls are building bones, muscles, coordination and cardiovascular fitness. It matters because this is the stage where a girl begins to form a relationship with her body.

She is learning whether her body is a home or a problem.

She is learning whether movement is joy, freedom, play, power and expression, or whether movement is punishment for having flesh.

And I think we have to be so careful here.

Girls need to run, jump, climb, dance, tumble, swim, throw, lift, fall over, get back up, laugh, sweat, take up space and feel what their body can do. They need movement that helps them build bone strength, rhythm, balance, confidence and coordination. They need strength, but not the kind wrapped in body shame. They need sport, but not the kind that teaches them to ignore pain, periods, hunger or exhaustion. Which so often happens with elite sports and through media pressure on a day to day level.

They also need a new language.

They need to know that periods are not dirty. That changing shape is not something to hide (have you seen those shoulders draw in, I know I have). That energy may shift. That the body is not betraying them when it bleeds, cramps, grows or asks for rest.

This is the season where movement should feel like discovery.

Not discipline.

Not shrinking.

Discovery.

The girl body needs to learn: I can move. I can be strong. I can rest. I can listen. I belong in this body. I can and I will celebrate every part of it!

Summer: the maiden body, the cycling body, the body in rhythm

The maiden years are summer.

This is often the season of the regular menstrual cycle, although of course not for everyone. Oestrogen tends to rise in the first half of the cycle, often peaking around ovulation. Progesterone becomes more dominant in the second half. These shifts can influence temperature, sleep, appetite, mood, tissue feel, recovery, motivation, coordination and energy.

This is why I think it is ridiculous that women have been taught to train as if every day of the month should feel exactly the same.

Some days the body feels bright, outward and powerful. Some days it feels inward, heavy and sensitive. Some days you want to lift heavier, sprint harder, go further, speak louder, wear the red lipstick (if that’s your thing) and take on the world. Other days, the thought of a burpee makes you want to throw a dumbbell through a window, to be honest burpees always make me feel like this. Maybe not my best analogy ever.

That isn’t being inconsistent or not disciplined enough.

That is very much your biology.

This does not mean we need to become obsessed with cycle tracking (although this can be interesting) or make a woman’s cycle another thing she has to perform perfectly. Some women feel very clear changes across the month. Some do not. Some are on hormonal contraception. Some have PCOS, endometriosis, PMDD, irregular cycles, no cycles, painful cycles or cycles affected by stress, under-fuelling or illness.

So the point is not to create another rulebook.

What is more important is to be aware and to notice.

In the summer body, movement can have real range. There may be days for heavier strength training, running, jumping, cycling, swimming, dancing, lifting and pushing capacity. There may also be days for mobility, breath-work, Hypopressives, TRE®️, walking, pelvic rocking, rib cage release, footwork and the kind of movement that helps the body come back into itself.

This is where pelvic floor work becomes far more interesting than “just squeeze.”

Your pelvic floor does not live in a little private room waiting for instructions. It lives in movement. It responds to breath, feet, hips, ribs, posture, pressure, timing, load, speed and surprise.

So in the maiden season, I would love women to stop thinking, “Am I doing the right pelvic floor exercise?” and start asking, “Can my body respond?”

Can it soften? Can it recoil? Can it absorb impact? Can it generate force? Can it breathe? Can it lift? Can it let go?

That is a very different conversation.

And it is a much more useful one.

The mothering season: the body that carries, gives, opens and holds

The mother stage is not only about giving birth.

Some women become mothers. Some do not. Some mother children, parents, partners, clients, communities, businesses, animals, ideas, classrooms, causes and everyone else’s emotional weather.

So I think of this as the mothering season.

The years where women are often holding everything.

If pregnancy and birth are part of the story, the body goes through an enormous hormonal and structural shift. During pregnancy, oestrogen and progesterone rise dramatically. The rib cage, abdominal wall, diaphragm, pelvis and pelvic floor adapt to a growing baby. Blood volume changes. Breathing changes. Connective tissues change. The body makes space.

Then after birth, oestrogen and progesterone drop sharply. If breastfeeding, prolactin is higher and oestrogen may remain lower. Sleep is often broken. Recovery is not just physical, but emotional, hormonal, relational and deeply human.

And then the world says, “When are you getting your body back?”

No.

Your body has not gone anywhere.

It has carried, opened, stretched, protected, scarred, bled, fed, endured, adapted and reorganised.

It does not need to be bounced back into submission. It needs to be listened back into relationship with itself again, it needs conversation, not bullying.

This is where we need much more nuance around postnatal movement and women’s health. Yes, women need strength. Yes, women can return to lifting. Yes, women can return to running, impact, sport and adventure. But the route matters.

A postpartum body, or a body in a heavy mothering season, does not need to be shamed for being tired. It does not need to be told that six weeks means “cleared”, as if the pelvis, scars, sleep, hormones, nervous system and identity all magically reset on the same day.

This is where the whole body needs to be seen.

Leaking after birth is not always just “weak pelvic floor.” Prolapse symptoms are not always just “too much pressure.” Diastasis is not always just “your connective tissue has stretched.”

Sometimes the rib cage is driving the pattern. Sometimes the pelvis is gripping. Sometimes the scars are pulling. Sometimes the woman is bracing because her nervous system is living on crumbs of sleep and cold coffee.

Sometimes she has no strength problem at all. She has a timing, breath, pressure and recovery problem.

So in the mothering season, movement needs to begin with reconnection.

Breath. Rib cage movement. Pelvic floor awareness without constant squeezing. Scar tissue care. Walking. Rotation. Hip strength. Glutes. Adductors. Feet. Getting up and down from the floor.

Then gradually, and intelligently, we rebuild load.

We lift the baby. Then we lift the toddler. Then we lift weights. Then we lift ourselves back into confidence.

Not because the old body is gone.

But because the new body deserves support.

And for women who have not birthed an actual baby, but who have birthed businesses, looked after others, had alternative demands on their time. Then we learn to listen to our body and what it is asking for. Some days this may look like a gentle walk, a planed yoga class or a full on weights session.

But for these women too because of the stress and demands of the mothering season on our time and our energy, it can look the same as a postpartum body.

Breath. Rib cage movement. Pelvic floor awareness without constant squeezing. Scar tissue care. Walking. Rotation. Hip strength. Glutes. Adductors. Feet. Getting up and down from the floor.

For the woman who just keep pushing through. The conversation with her body is of maximum importance.

Autumn: perimenopause, wild hormonal weather and the body asking for attention

Perimenopause is autumn.

And autumn is not beige.

Autumn is wind, colour, shedding, heat, chill, storms, beauty and unpredictability.

This is the stage where many women start saying, “I don’t know what is happening to me.”

Periods may become closer together, further apart, heavier, lighter, longer, shorter or completely chaotic. Oestrogen does not simply drift politely downwards. It can fluctuate wildly. Progesterone may decline. Sleep may change. Anxiety may appear. Rage may appear. Joints ache. Recovery changes. The bladder may become more vocal. The pelvic floor may feel less reliable.

The body may feel less tolerant of stress, wine, under-eating, poor sleep, endless cardio and everyone needing something from you.

This is the stage where I feel really fiercely protective of women.

Because so many women blame themselves.

They think they have lost discipline. They think they have suddenly become lazy. They think their body has turned against them.

But often, the body is not asking for punishment.

It is asking for a different strategy.

And this is where my belief is strong.

As we age, we do not need to do less. We need to pay more attention.

We need to stop winging it on fumes and calling it fitness.

We need to lift heavier, but with better preparation. We need short bursts of cardio, not because we are trying to punish fat, but because power, speed and metabolic health matter. We need beautiful long cardio too - the big run, the long cycle, the day in the hills, the long walk with a flask in your bag, the couple of miles in the pool where your thoughts finally have space to untangle.

We need both.

We need intensity and spaciousness.

We need muscle and mitochondria.

We need bone loading and breath.

We need recovery that is not treated like an optional extra.

This is the season where “go harder” and “do less” are both too simplistic. We need metastabilty!

The perimenopausal woman does not need a bootcamp mentality that ignores sleep, pelvic symptoms, stress and recovery. But she also does not need to be wrapped in cotton wool and told to accept decline.

She needs intelligent strength.

She needs cardiovascular range.

She needs mobility.

She needs pelvic floor responsiveness.

She needs nervous system support.

She needs enough food, enough protein, enough rest and enough honesty to stop pretending she can carry everyone else while abandoning herself.

This is where movement becomes less about control and more about wisdom.

The autumn body needs strength, power, recovery and real knowledge.

And yes, sometimes it needs to lift the bloody heavy thing.

Winter: menopause, roots, bones and the body seeking stability

Menopause is officially reached after twelve months without a period.

The ovaries are producing much lower levels of reproductive hormones. Oestrogen stays lower. Progesterone is low. The body is no longer cycling in the same way.

And again, this is not the end.

It is winter.

And winter is roots.

Winter is when the tree looks still, but the underground work matters.

This is where movement becomes less about chasing the body of thirty and more about protecting the body of seventy, eighty and ninety.

Muscle matters. Bone matters. Balance matters. Power matters. Grip strength matters. Pelvic floor comfort matters. The ability to get up from the floor matters. The ability to lift a suitcase, carry shopping, walk uphill, climb stairs, turn your head, recover from a stumble and trust your body matters.

This is where I think women need permission to be robust.

Not reckless.

Robust.

Because there is still a lingering idea that older women should only do gentle things. A little walk. A little stretch. A little sit-down class. And those things can be wonderful. I love gentle movement. I teach gentle movement. I believe in release work, breathwork, floor work, rest and softness with my whole heart.

But softness without strength is not the whole picture.

Women in winter need to lift. They need to pull, push, hinge, squat, rotate and carry. They need to practise balance. They need to feel their feet. They need to train their hips. They need to keep their spine springy. They need cardiovascular work that supports the heart and brain.

And some women absolutely still need big adventures.

The long cycle.

The big walk.

The open water swim.

The mountain day.

The run that is not about calories, but about feeling the lungs, legs and land all working together.

The difference is that winter asks for respect.

Warm up properly. Recover properly. Progress gradually. Notice symptoms. Do not ignore heaviness, leaking, pain, dizziness, unusual breathlessness or exhaustion. Do not make every session a battle.

But do not make your body small just because the world has decided older women should be quiet. That makes me both sad and angry at the same time.

The winter body can be powerful when we train it with respect.

Deep winter: the wise woman body and movement as freedom

And then there is deep winter.

The wise woman.

The elder.

The woman who has lived through cycles, losses, births, endings, beginnings, reinventions, griefs, joys, illnesses, loves, scars and decades of adapting.

This is the stage our culture often ignores.

But I think it may be the stage we should honour most.

Because movement here is not about aesthetics.

It is about freedom.

Can you get out of a chair without fear? Can you reach the cupboard? Can you walk on uneven ground? Can you breathe deeply? Can you turn to look behind you? Can you get down to the floor and back up again? Can you carry what you need? Can you feel steady in your own bones?

Can you still experience pleasure, play, rhythm and embodiment?

The deep winter body does not need to be trained like a twenty-year-old. But it does need to be trained.

Gently, intelligently, consistently, respectfully.

Strength training is still necessary. Cardio may be more spacious. Balance may become non-negotiable. Power may be practised in bursts. Mobility may be about keeping tissue hydrated and joints nourished.

Breathwork may become a way of supporting the nervous system, ribs, spine, bladder and pelvic floor. TRE®️ and somatic movement may help the body release layers of guarding that have built over years. Franklin Method®️ imagery can help women feel the body from the inside rather than forcing shapes from the outside.

And Hypopressives, taught well, can offer a sense of lift, space, postural organisation and reflexive support without asking women to grip, brace or squeeze their way through life.

This is movement as dignity.

Movement as independence.

Movement as “I am still here.”

Movement as deep wisdom.

You can still be a fit badass. There are so many women out there in the world now showing us that this is absolutely possible.

Ageing does not mean less. It means more attention.

When we talk about hormones, it is easy to make it sound as if oestrogen is everything.

It is not.

But oestrogen does matter. It influences bones, blood vessels, skin, connective tissue, brain, mood, vaginal and urinary tissues, pelvic muscles and more. So when oestrogen fluctuates or drops, it makes sense that women may notice changes in joints, sleep, bladder symptoms, libido, mood, recovery, strength, body composition and pelvic comfort.

But I do not want this conversation to become “oestrogen went down and everything went wrong.”

That is too simplistic.

Women are more than hormone charts.

We are nervous systems. We are fascia. We are breath. We are histories. We are scars. We are stress loads. We are sleep patterns. We are mothers, workers, carers, partners, business owners, athletes, beginners, returners, survivors and women who have spent far too long being told to override ourselves.

So yes, hormones change.

But the deeper question is: how do we meet those changes?

Do we panic and shrink?

Do we punish and push?

Do we give up?

Or do we become more skilled?

That is where I stand.

I believe women need to become more skilled in their bodies as they age. Not more fearful. More skilled.

We need to know how to lift heavy without bracing down. How to sprint without leaking. How to run long without exhausting the system. How to swim without gripping the jaw and pelvic floor. How to cycle without living in hip flexor tension. How to walk with feet that communicate with the pelvis. How to breathe without flaring the ribs. How to rest without feeling lazy.

We need to train hard and recover deeply.

We need to notice the difference between effort and threat.

We need to move with the season we are in.

The thread through every season

The girl needs play.

The maiden needs rhythm.

The mother needs rebuilding and knowledge.

The perimenopausal woman needs strength, power, recovery and truth.

The menopausal woman needs roots, muscle, bone and confidence.

The wise woman needs movement that protects freedom and joy.

And through every season, the pelvic floor is not separate.

It is listening to the feet, the jaw, the breath, the diaphragm, the spine, the scars, the hormones, the nervous system, the hips, the bladder, the bowel and the life that woman has lived.

This is why I cannot separate pelvic floor work from whole-body work.

Because a woman is not a collection of symptoms.

She is a living system.

A seasonal body.

A body that has changed before and will change again.

And maybe the goal was never to get back to who we were.

Maybe the goal is to learn how to move with who we are becoming.

Your body is not asking you to become younger. It is asking you to become more deeply present, more skilful, more rooted, and more willing to meet the season you are in.

References

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Your Changing Body: Puberty in Girls.

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Physical Activity and Exercise During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period.

Endocrine Society. Menopause.

Endocrine Society. Hormones and Menopause.

NHS. Physical Activity Guidelines for Adults Aged 19 to 64.

Dr Stacy Sims. Women Are Not Small Men and public education on female physiology, strength training, menopause and sprint interval training.

Diane Lee. The Integrated Systems Model and education on pelvic girdle pain, urinary incontinence, prolapse and diastasis recti.

Sarah Duvall / Core Exercise Solutions. Public education on pelvic floor function, strength, pressure management and whole-body movement.