Recorded live in Miami, Liz Roman (@thepoopqueen) and Becca Chilczenkowski (@thehormonequeen) sit down with Lindsay Perry, host of the My Gut Feeling podcast, to talk about the training mistakes that quietly wreck hormones, digestion and body composition, and what to do instead.

Full episode transcript

Cold open: is your workout the problem?

0:00Lindsay Perry: A lot of times people think, "Oh, I just need to go sweat everything out," and it can actually be doing more harm than good.

0:06Becca Chilczenkowski: You're dehydrated after a workout so you feel skinnier, so you maybe feel like you look a little bit better. But then I would become more and more inflamed 'cause I wasn't taking rest days. And so my body was just in this, like, perpetual state of inflammation.

0:17Liz Roman: You're not seeing strength gains. You're not leaving any gas in the tank. You're sore all the time, and you think that going back and doing more is gonna be the answer. You're not even noticing all of the negative side effects of the breakdown. And then over time, it's the cortisol belly, it's the irregular periods or the missed periods. And so- Or the

0:35Lindsay Perry: acne, hair growth. I just don't think that people realize that exercise is the most intentional stress that we are putting on our body.

0:43Becca Chilczenkowski: I think a lot of people, "I don't like eating before I go to the gym," or, "I go to the gym at 5:00 AM, and then I get home and I have to get to work, and so I, like, don't eat until lunchtime."

0:50Lindsay Perry: If you're trying to put on muscle and you're the person who works out at 5:00 AM and you're trying to work out fasted, that's when you're actually slowly but surely damaging the hormones.

Why are so many women under-muscled and over-stressed?

1:00Liz Roman: Welcome back to The Health Revival Show. We are in Miami, Florida with Lindsey Parry. One of our best friends, and- Happy

1:09Lindsay Perry: to be here.

1:09Liz Roman: The host of My Gut Feeling Podcast. So you might be listening to My Gut Feeling, you might be listening to The Health Revival Show. Wherever you're listening, we would love if you would tag us and share it. Rate, subscribe, review. That is how we grow the show. And today we're gonna talk about training. We are under muscled. And we have so many people on the GLP-1s

1:33Lindsay Perry: Over-stressed. Under-muscled, over-stressed over-supplemented. Not enough sleep. A lot of those things. But I think this is very, very fun to talk about because we all actually came from a very dysregulated training- schedule in the CrossFit realm, right? You did

1:54Liz Roman: CrossFit. I was not but I was more like the- I did like some

1:56Lindsay Perry: HIIT and-

1:57Liz Roman: It was strength and conditioning strength and conditioning We just don't have the gymnastic aspect of CrossFit, 'cause I would break my neck easily.

2:02Lindsay Perry: I- that was the best part of it.

2:04Liz Roman: I- But you were a gymnast, right?

2:06Lindsay Perry: So- So for people who don't know, Becca was actually my CrossFit coach when I was like, "I wanna go to regionals," in- circa day 2015. And Becca was such a badass athlete. I looked up to her at the time. I still look up to her now. We're just really good friends now. And I was like, "Oh, I'm gonna hire a coach," way back then where $250 was a lot of money for my, for Mm-hmm you know, that point in my life. I was right out of college maybe. I don't know. And I remember she would write the craziest workouts for me. Like, craziest. I remember being in the middle of an EMOM, every minute on the minute,

2:51Lindsay Perry: it's like a different move, and it was like 50 or 75 pound single arm snatch, and I was like, "How am I supposed to finish this in a minute?" I- And I think I texted you being like, "Are you crazy?"

3:03Becca Chilczenkowski: I wrote some stuff, and some of the stuff that I wrote for her I don't think I was even able to do. But because she had, like, the gymnastics background, I knew she was more capable in those ways. And, you know, our, our friend Dane who coaches me now, he used to coach Lindsay as well, he made a post the other day that was like, "CrossFit is literally ruining your body as a female." And Lindsay tagged me in it. And he was like, "I was basically calling Becca out with this post." And I was like, "Don't act like either of you never fucked up your body too." Like, I, I was not the

3:33Becca Chilczenkowski: only one out there doing shit that was awful for me, and I didn't realize it. And like, CrossFit was my first true diet and training program that I stuck to consistently, and it worked, right? Like anyone that does their first, like, really hardcore diet and really hardcore lifting. And I have a little bit of an addictive personality. Thank goodness I found CrossFit and not hard drugs. But what we really wanna talk through today is more so having intentionality with your training. Because I think so many people that come to us, they're very sick, and so training typically isn't the main priority at first. Like, the priority is getting your symptoms under control, getting your

4:12Becca Chilczenkowski: immune system and inflammation calmed down, getting the gut functioning properly, like, all of those pieces. But then once you can get to the other side, I'm not saying you can't- Maybe maintain some muscle during that time and keep training in the loop. But once you are on the other side, you feel like you're in more of, like, a maintenance place. You're in more of a, "I can, I can handle stress again," right? And maybe we should start with what do we find as signs that people can't handle the stress of training?

What are the signs your body can't handle the stress of training?

4:37Lindsay Perry: So I think it's, it's really interesting because a lot of times, and this is where you get, like, the dopamine hit of training as well, right? High. A lot of times people actually see a slight resolution of symptoms initially that then leads to more, almost, like, rebound inflammation, right? So I even think of when I studied abroad in Italy in college, and I definitely, like, didn't go to the bathroom as good and as regularly now, but I was also drinking a lot of alcohol at the time, right? So, like, detoxification was not my body's, like, first priority, but I remember getting off a long flight and being like, "I need to

5:16Lindsay Perry: go running because that's going to stimulate all of these other things." And then all of a sudden I was like, "Why do I feel so bloated and watery?" So it's like I got one thing done and I felt better, right? I went to the bathroom, but then I'm just like, "Oh my God, I'm puffy," right? So I think a lot of times people think that it's going to be helpful. "Oh, I just need to go sweat everything out," and it can actually be doing more harm than good. And they're not making that association because things are not They want that, like, quick, "Oh, I got that, like, really deep sweat."

5:50Becca Chilczenkowski: And then you're, like, dehydrated after a workout so you feel skinnier, and like, you know your muscles are more pumped at that time, so you maybe feel like you look a little bit better. But then for me, it was I felt better after a workout- but then I would become more and more inflamed because I wasn't taking rest days. And so my body was just in this, like, perpetual state of inflammation. And it, like I said, it worked at first- but then once stress compiled, I had a kid, I tried to go back to it, my stress was totally different at that time. It was so much higher, and my body just rebelled basically.

6:21Becca Chilczenkowski: And I think I look back now, and I tell people this all the time that are, like, in CrossFit, I look back now at all the top competitors in CrossFit. I was like, "They're all swollen."

6:30Lindsay Perry: They were very swollen. They're swole. And if you- Like Like, let's take the CrossFit world right now. You look at people like Jessica Griffith and Amanda Barnhart who are coming out and saying, "Oh my gosh, I had so much inflammation. I'm not gonna train that way anymore," and this and that. And, like, I think there's a very much a mental aspect to it, right? And a lot of females who love CrossFit at s- such a high competitive level are type A business women, are entrepreneurs, are They need to channel that aggressive energy into something, and I personally found CrossFit to be that. And I do think it's really interesting that when I met my husband I

7:08Lindsay Perry: was just like, "No. No," right? And then I put all of my energy into business and, and growing myself in, in a different way, but I wasn't like, "Oh, I'm going to pound on my body." anymore,

7:22Liz Roman: I think another thing for those who are listening who aren't as competitive in, in CrossFit as you guys were is, at least this is what we saw when we owned our gym, the mental aspect of I'm sitting all day and so I need to do this really hard, rigorous, as fast as I possibly can as many reps as I can. So there's the mental component of that, but it's also from a under-recovery perspective, where you're noticing that you're not seeing strength gains. You're coming in and you're not leaving any gas in the tank. You're under-recovered. Your muscles are breaking down. You're probably stuck in sugar burning mode.

7:54Liz Roman: You're sore all the time, you know, and you think that going back and doing more is gonna be the answer for you to get better results. But the reality is we would see women coming in, at least the way we structured it, strength training, progressive overload four days a week, Monday, Tuesday, rest Wednesday. Thursday, Friday. You got your weekends to recover or you might swap one of those days out for a weekend day. But you're not training six, seven days in a row. You're not doing two-a-days. You're not doing HIIT all the time. And you are leaving space for mobility and doing a lot of the recovery work so that you can come back and get stronger.

8:29Liz Roman: And I think that so many people, if it's that endorphin high they want- hundred right, like, "I did the thousand meter row and I beat her," 'cause like you would have these competitions. And that's really where what we're talking about, the dopamine hit, that endorphins that you get it can become addictive. But then it's almost to the point where you're not even noticing all of the negative side effects of the breakdown. And then over time it's the cortisol belly, it's the irregular periods or the missed periods, right? And so-

8:55Lindsay Perry: Or the acne, just like acne, hair growth. Mm. Like all of those things, androgen wise. But I also think it goes to, back to the dopamine hit, think of like Orange Theory. You're literally hooked up to a screen getting points. And I was, I started as an Orange Theory coach, so like- I mean, come on, Orange Theory and CrossFit, like we've come a long way. And I always say, you know, if you, if you're g- if it's that or nothing, okay, fine. But then, um, the OPEX C- CCP actually did a really, really good job at teaching people how to pace. So I still, like Hyrox, CrossFit, all those things, I don't necessarily

Are CrossFit, HIIT and Orangetheory bad for your hormones?

9:35Lindsay Perry: wanna like say anything's bad, right? Like, I don't wanna also call like food's bad or good, or like workout's bad or good because movement overall is good. I think it's the dose.

9:42Liz Roman: Anything is the dose. Is

9:43Lindsay Perry: the dose. But like a good coach is also gonna teach you how to pace. So it's not just balls to the wall every single day. And I remember when I was in, here in Miami coaching and I was trying to say like, "Hey, this is how this workout should be done." And then I had s- you know, someone come in and step over me and say, "No, it's just balls to the wall." And I'm just like, we are ruining health, right? And at, at that point I was like, okay, we're, like I think we are exiting this stage of our life. But to all of our points here- I think when you're trying to fix a health

10:19Lindsay Perry: issue, most people start the supplements. They start the peptides, they try a different di- diet, low FODMAP, all of these other things. If you have a lot of these issues, the training has to be concurrent with that. Otherwise, it's not You're, you're gonna have a missing piece, and it's not going to work.

What does “I lift three times a week” actually mean?

10:38Becca Chilczenkowski: Especially if you're still trying to train at full capacity doing high-intensity workouts, and you're trying to heal, and that's a conversation we have with all of our clients. It's like what do your workouts look like? And they're like, "Well, I lift weights three times a week." I'm like, "No, send me exactly what you're doing because does that lifting weights mean you're doing a HIIT class, or does it mean that you're taking a two-minute rest between sets? You're going to failure on a couple of these sets. Does it mean that, like you're walking out of the gym unable to go downstairs? Like, what does it look like?

11:04Becca Chilczenkowski: Because it has to be adjacent to what we're doing right now. And so what I would say is, like, also after you get to maybe a better place health-wise, and now you're, "I wanna change body composition," right? Let's talk a little bit about both nutrient timing because I think a lot of people do, "I don't like eating before I go to the gym," or, "I go to the gym at 5:00 AM," and you know, and then, "I get home, and I have to get to work, and so I, like, don't eat until lunchtime," or those types of things. And then also, let's explain again what progressive overload is and how it

11:37Becca Chilczenkowski: should look, how maybe it shouldn't look. This is just me, but I think that there needs to be a focus body-wise because it can be really hard to completely change the entire body all at once. Like, what are, what areas are we focusing on, right? Is it lats? Is it glutes? Is it qui- like, what are we trying to shift? Mm. Because sure you can do full body, but I think that- I think, I think in general it needs to be somewhat of a focus and then you can build from there. But let's start first with nutrient timing.

Should you work out fasted if you want to build muscle?

12:05Lindsay Perry: Nutrient timing. Well, first off, let's just talk about diet as a whole because I think there are some people who are like trying to jump on intermittent fasting or keto or something like that, and then we're also trying to build muscle and, and we can't do that, right? So first and foremost, what is the goal of what I'm doing? Is it I am trying to heal my gut? Is it I am trying to put on muscle? Is it I'm trying to get into a more metabolically flexible state? I think we have to ask those things. Second, I do think there is a time and a place for some fasted light training

12:42Lindsay Perry: for a period of time, like if you're trying to get blood sugars to move. But again, then the training is very prioritized and structured in a way where it's not-

12:53Becca Chilczenkowski: Hit

12:53Lindsay Perry: it's not hit. It's not l- it's not killing you. Fasted LISS of course is can, can be good. I have done in the past when I was doing some more fasting, some fasted lifting, but it was not, I'm not taking- Heavy. You're not maxing

13:07Liz Roman: out

13:08Lindsay Perry: not, not, not taking these to failure. So I always like to say if you're trying to build muscle, you need, you need to have something small in your body before you're heading to the gym.

13:18Liz Roman: Or- Pre-gym

13:20Lindsay Perry: Or even like whatever it is for you. For me, I like my rice and rinds and, and a banana, right? Like just get something going because the middle of the workout you're gonna, you're gonna tap out. That's Right? And that's not gonna help muscle growth. So to me, I really think before the workout, directly after w- the workout, and kind of like that next bigger meal of probably your main focus. The rest of the day it's like, okay- Where, where are we fitting in your macros, your micros, those types of things. But that is like, okay, that's what I'm laser focused on and what needs to be-

13:55Lindsay Perry: done.

13:56Becca Chilczenkowski: And we're not talking like a rice cake or a banan- Like you guys, I was taking in probably 80, 90 grams of carbs pre-workout, an hour before workout. I did- I would, I remember I would text Lindsay, I'd be like, "I'm so fucking full. I feel awful. Like, I don't wanna go lift right now." But I know that that's what's going to fuel lifting heavier and getting the muscle development that I want. And then the focus can be peeling back pulling back inflammation, pulling back body fat, and getting the appearance. But like, if you never do the push, you never do the eat more build

14:26Becca Chilczenkowski: more muscle, you're never gonna get the other look on the other side. Like- you have to do it. And sometimes being full is okay. Let's just put that out there. Like feeling full after a meal sometimes can be normal. I think you're not bloated. If you're not having stomach pain, you're not having like extreme distension, sometimes you're gonna hold more water because you're typically taking in more carbs. And sure, as a female, that's not comfortable. But for a means to a bigger end, like do it during the wintertime so you don't have to be in a bathing suit and feel super-

14:57Lindsay Perry: Unless you live in Florida. Well, then it's just like, you know, puffy all around. I, Dane naturally, Dane and I actually planned coming off birth control, like in the winter because I was like, "I'm gonna, I'm gonna puff up for a, a second here because I'm gonna have to have food higher." And he's like, "Okay, we can wear big baggy T-shirts and and kinda get through it," right? But prepping to even come off birth control, fix some gut issues, metabolic flexibility, that type of thing, feed up, pull the birth control, I mean, that took, with my travel schedule, so that was partly on me, right, and my timing,

15:33Lindsay Perry: that took a year and a half in itself. Like, I am just now at the point where I am training, training, training, like to failure, heavy sets, that type of thing now. But I took a long time where I was still in the gym, but I wasn't I wasn't doing what I would need to be doing to put on muscle. So

Is it bloating, or are you just full?

15:51Liz Roman: I think- And maintaining, going in mental, emotional health as well. Just getting that, doing that. 100%. Can we touch on a little bit before we move on, you mentioned it's okay to feel full. And you mentioned bloating. And I think that there's a lot of women, especially if you've been through maybe a season of fasting or where you're in a cutting, you're like leaning out season, that you start to mistake this feeling of fullness as- That bloating distension, and there's a very distinct difference, right? So the feeling and the sensation that you have a lot of food in you- to me is not that bloated, I'm uncomfortable, and I'm gassy, and I feel

16:28Liz Roman: like, you know, I need to take something to, like, help push this gas out or I need to go to the bathroom. It's just simply that you've gotten used to the sensation of not having food in your stomach. And now, and I would even say from a liquid standpoint for some people. Like, I know when I go back into kind of push seasons, protein's a heavy focus. I pull back in protein shakes or things that I wasn't necessarily doing before, and it's like, oh my gosh, like, it's just the volume of liquid. So just know that it's not that you are going to, especially for people who've

16:57Liz Roman: had, like, chronic gut issues or SIBO or whatever, it's your gut is always adjusting to what you are putting in. The inputs change. You're gonna feel different. This is where you have to match that goal mentally with the season that you're in and know that we will get back to a place, or maybe, hey, I should pull back on my fibers, carbohydrate sources that are, you know, lower mm-hmm uh, fiber to give me more fuel for my training, and then I'll worry about, you mentioned earlier, the micronutrients later on in the day away from that training. So I just think that's really important because some people

17:29Liz Roman: will wanna back out too quickly. It- it's uncomfortable, right?

Why does eating more cause gas at first?

17:34Lindsay Perry: But I do think there's something to be said with the gut, right? I was actually looking at a competitor's GI map and she's kinda coming out. She's, like, feeding back up post-show and things like that, and stomach acid was tanked out, and pancreatic enzymes were tanked out. And, you know, they- she told me, "Oh, well, this is what I was focusing on with my coach," and she did have commensal insufficiency, right? Food diversity, spore probiotic. Get, get that in there. Start moving. But as you're building up food, you're adding more and more food. If the digestive capacity also isn't there and it's neglected, you're gonna feel worse, right?

18:12Becca Chilczenkowski: And that's where I think it is strategic. As you pull people out of fasting periods, this is something that we focus a lot on, too. Like, I'm bringing in thyroid support. Your thyroid's probably tanked right now. I'm bringing in more digestive enzymes more bile support, more stomach acid support, and I'm typically using things that are denser foods, maybe not as high fiber. Because when I'm trying to push calories for myself or someone else, they're like, "Well, sh- what should I eat before the workout? Like, you know, should I do oatmeal and banana?" And I'll, and I'm like, "No. Like gluten-free bagel or, like maybe some

18:40Becca Chilczenkowski: ri- I like rice and rinds, too. I think those can Or, like, protein pancakes that you can make with, you know some gluten-free flour that's dense, that's not gonna sit in your stomach, too.

18:49Lindsay Perry: Can help. Or like banana. Banana, egg-type of pancake situation. And, you know, I, yeah. I definitely- I think there's a, a way to do it, but I think if you're trying to put on muscle and you're the person who works out at 5:00 AM, and you're trying to work out fasted, it's like as a female, we wanna play the hormone card all the time, right? Well, that's when you're actually slowly but surely damaging the hormones. Like, th- something needs to buffer- the stress that you're about to put on your body. Because I know exercise makes us all feel so good, and everyone's like, "Oh, I

19:26Lindsay Perry: wanna work out. I wanna do this," right? And even if you do a flush-style diet and you pull someone's exercise and they, like, lose their mind when it's, like, two weeks, right? Um, I just don't think that people realize that exercise is the most intentional stress that we are putting on our body. So it, we have to food-wise take that with, with a huge grain of salt.

19:48Liz Roman: And I think it's important to walk into those seasons j- the, the way we would walk into a fasting season, walking out of it and walking into the build is even more important. 'Cause like you said- I worked with some individuals that were bodybuilders, right? And they, uh, "I can't handle more than like 13 grams of fiber," or just even, you know more constipated. I'm like, by the time we are done, I guarantee you, and it, I, exactly what she's eating 35, 40 grams of fiber, feeling great, digestion's moving, bile supported. But we had to go slow. We had to diversify the fiber sources.

20:18Liz Roman: We had to bring in different types of fruits and veggies that she was comfortable with, and then slowly layer things. Because when your commensals are so low, your short chain fatty-acids are probably really low. You don't have the microbes that you need to break things down, so there's the gas, right? Like, people are like "Why do I have such crazy gas?" Well, because it's all fermenting here. You don't have anything. So that would be where I would say go back through a cycle of maybe titrating with your stomach acid. You mentioned, you know, pancreatic enzymes. All these things can be helpful, and then r- easy-to-digest

20:48Liz Roman: foods as you sprinkle in things. I love when people are just like, "I'm gonna just go full-on keto," and they completely change their diet, and they wonder why there's such a diversity or, um, a digestion, right, reaction. It's gonna take three, four, five days, maybe even a little bit longer for some people. So especially with the fermented foods, I just wanted to kinda caution that if you are coming out of one of those seasons and you're walking into the next season, be mindful of that. And even when you are doing more of a fasting season or a keto season, still try to diversify as much as you can with like

21:22Liz Roman: those micronutrients, the different types of fats, right? Not eating chia seed all the time. What about pumpkin seed, flax seed, basil seed? A lot of these things just bring a little bit different fiber sources, and then maybe supplement where it's appropriate to keep the gut and the gut lining supported. Again because fasting is a stress, right? We know too much fasting- breaks down the gut barrier. So it's all of this, it's complex. And it's, it's a delicate balance, and it's very individualized as to what you're gonna feel good with. Some people do feel good training fasted, right? But if you're doing that, you have to understand the outcome

21:56Liz Roman: isn't, like you said, I'm gonna be training to failure, training to max, or I'm hitting PRs. And then I would say, if we can, let's talk about cycle syncing with your training. 'Cause I know for many women-

Should you sync your workouts to your cycle?

22:06Lindsay Perry: I think this is g- we're, I feel like we're gonna have differing opinions here.

22:09Becca Chilczenkowski: I have differing opinions. I think everyone's different. I think everyone is so different. And I, I think that if you are trying to accomplish the goal, the end goal of building muscle mass and changing body composition, you can't- completely shift training the second half of your cycle. Like, maybe you realize you're not gonna feel as strong at certain points in your cycle, and I think that's fair. But I, I personally don't feel any different, actually, leading into my cycle. It's, like, very minimal strength de- like, decline for me. Um, I actually, the only times that I ever feel really blah is, like, maybe the second day of my cycle, and that's, that's about it.

22:44Lindsay Perry: I'm kinda similar to you in that I don't necessarily believe in full cycle syncing because it's just like then we're getting back into the thought process of, same thing with Orange Theory, F45, the workout is changing every single day. And so to progressive overload, it is boring, right? So boring. It is so boring. You can do the same workouts for eight to 12 weeks and get that progressive overload stimulus, and if you are adapting, okay, that's when, you know, small things t- have to change. Rest periods, weight, tempos, you know.

23:21Becca Chilczenkowski: Maybe a deload week in there.

23:22Lindsay Perry: Deload week in there, of

23:22Becca Chilczenkowski: course. Use this, you know, leading into your cycle as, like, a deload. Yeah, that's

23:25Liz Roman: what I was saying. In terms of like- So, you know, ovulation, for most women, at least I feel this way and I've heard many feel, I feel strong. Like, I'm ready to go in and crush. And maybe that's the time where I'm peaking with I'm going for a new PR or I'm going to failure.

23:40Becca Chilczenkowski: I think he-

23:41Liz Roman: And then I'm

23:41Becca Chilczenkowski: slowly hormonal women experience that. I think androgenic women don't- Well experience the shift as much.

23:46Lindsay Perry: So it's really interesting that we're having this conversation because I, again, I feel like I've gone through puberty at 30 in the past year, right? Yeah, me too. So, like, I've, I've just been kind of like every month it's been a new symptom of things. And I remember I started to feel really good when I was coming off the pill, like, month four, and I was like, "I'm ready to go, Dane. Like, I'm ready to push. I'm ready to, like, do all this other stuff." And he's like, "And this is where you screw it up if you, like, if we do that," right? Mm. Exactly.

24:10Lindsay Perry: So he's like, "You need to pump the brakes. Like, we're almost there," whatever. And I did hit a point and I started training more, and I've definitely had probably some cycles where I ovulated and some where I'm like, I don't I feel like that was an anovulatory cycle, right? We're, we're not necessarily consistent yet. So I've felt what you are experiencing, and then I've also felt where I'm like "What is happening with my body," right? Like, I, I don't feel great. Um, and part of that has been kind of messing with progesterone, too. Like, you and I have had that conversation of like-

24:45Becca Chilczenkowski: I just pulled progesterone two months ago, and I haven't gotten a s- I- my cycle's off right now.

24:49Lindsay Perry: So- And

24:49Becca Chilczenkowski: so, like, my husband last night, he was like, "So have you gotten your period?" And I was like, "No." I'm on, like, day 32, 33. Normally I'm like 26, 27 days. And, and he was like, "Are you g- are you worried? Are you gonna do something about it?" I was like, "I mean, I took Progesteron not two months ago. Like I'm actually not surprised that it's being a little wonky right now." Yeah. I was doing some fasting. We traveled multiple times in the past couple of months. Like- I was like, I don't act unless it's multiple cycles in a row that are

25:14Lindsay Perry: So I think with the topic of progressive overload, and with the topic of cycle syncing and everything else, I go off of RP, right? And so I will be honest, even when I didn't feel my best, I was still trying to take like my last two sets to failure recently, like trying to grow my glutes. But let's be honest, that's luteal phase, my, may look different from ovulation, right? So that RPE of nine may be three plates on hip thrust, and then during luteal phase it might be two. Like-

25:47Becca Chilczenkowski: RP meaning rate of perceived exertion.

25:49Lindsay Perry: Rating, rating of perceived exertion, yeah. We should, we should define that. How

25:53Becca Chilczenkowski: you- How nine out of 10 hard. Nine

25:54Lindsay Perry: out of 10. Two out

25:55Becca Chilczenkowski: of 10 hard.

25:56Lindsay Perry: So if something says RPE seven out of 10, theoretically in your brain you should say, "I have three rep, reps in the tank." That's right. Like that I'm gonna stop. And so during luteal phase, if you need to take it to a six out of seven out of 10, a lot of times what I will do is increase tempo if I'm working out alone to just kind of get more of that mind-muscle connection, but I'll change the workout in that regard. I won't skip the workout or like be like, oh, I'm just doing yoga or I'm just doing this.

What is tempo training and why is it so underrated?

26:24Liz Roman: I think tempo is one of the most underrated- They just wanna rep, rep, rep it out. I, I did- Boom. I did six, right? But when you Like for me, when I think about how I want my training to transition into life, like we're getting ready to move, like I wanna be strong to be able to lift and carry things. It's gonna take me more than three seconds, right, to carry this box down two floors, or to pick my children up, to throw them in the air, to whatever it might be. Especially for people who maybe don't have access to a lot of weight-

26:58Liz Roman: Yeah this can be a really easy way that you are starting to give a different stimulus to the muscle. So what do we mean by tempo? It could be something like where it's three seconds, if you're in a squat, right, from the top, three seconds down, couple second hold three seconds up. You could, you could slice this pie a lot of different ways. But essentially, you're building up that lactic acid a little bit more, and you're burning. I mean, if you are doing six reps, but you've added tempo, that's-

27:25Becca Chilczenkowski: Another tension.

27:26Lindsay Perry: You're going lighter.

27:26Liz Roman: The time under tension is going to be- You're going

27:28Lindsay Perry: lighter, for sure.

27:29Liz Roman: It's definitely just gonna feel a lot different, and you are gonna feel that you need a little bit more rest periods, at least when I've done the heavier tempo, for sure. So that is something that can be utilized, and I think that it's far underutilized even in gyms, right? I haven't been in a gym a long time, but, like, I would-

27:46Becca Chilczenkowski: I never

27:46Liz Roman: learned about tempo

27:47Becca Chilczenkowski: guess-

27:48Lindsay Perry: And now I, now I don't, because I think also if you're someone who has past injuries one of the best things that you can do is, like, heavy, slow resistance- training. And, like, so if you're doing box squats, right, like, you are talking, like, so slow down, so slow up, right? And really getting that tension. That doesn't mean And, and that's for, like, you're getting bracing that happens. It's the bracing.

28:12Liz Roman: That's probably part of how I messed my back up is- you know.

28:15Becca Chilczenkowski: I literally don't squat anymore.

28:17Lindsay Perry: I, I don't do a lot. I, I just started with a new trainer and he looked at me and he's like, "No legs." He's- he goes, "Three days ass, no legs." Like- That's

28:28Becca Chilczenkowski: what Dane said

28:28Lindsay Perry: and- I

28:29Becca Chilczenkowski: literally

28:29Lindsay Perry: can't do any quads he's like, yeah. He's like, "We are not touching your legs. We need to just build the glutes." And he actually in his gym in, um, in Dallas, I'm going to a place called Model Fitness, and it's like a whole wellness center, so I'm like- Cool I'm very excited about it. Um, Justin Mahaly kind of put me in contact with one of his, uh, bodybuilding buddies. But they have a room and it's only glutes. All the glute machines. That's amazing. Like, the best machines, but they did that so that females didn't- didn't feel like they had to be on the floor with, like, everyone else.

29:03Lindsay Perry: Um, but it says Pretty Muscle over it, and he told me about it, like, when, when he was helping me adjust movements and things like that. I think it's really important, and this is great for females, that you wanna f- like, think of when you're watching on Instagram and you see someone do, like, a great Pilates movement, and they're slow, and it's controlled, and it's beautiful. Like, think pretty muscles. Mm. Like, move slow, feel what you're actually doing because if you're just going up and down, up and, like- What are

How do you know if your trainer is any good?

29:30Liz Roman: you- Check your form, too. Like, video yourself. Look at the lines. If you aren't familiar with this, right? Hire a trainer, even it's a virtual one. This is where we would see so many people, and obviously in the world of CrossFit, right? When you're just repping it out, those injuries start to occur because you're moving so fast, you're not braced. And obviously there's different, you know, goals in each of these categories, but I think that checking your form, even for me Same I still need to check my form, right? I see what you're saying. Art is always correcting me, and it's the little tweaks.

29:58Lindsay Perry: It's, it's very small, and honestly, um-

30:00Becca Chilczenkowski: If you've never learned how to move-

30:02Liz Roman: Get a trainer. Get a trainer you have to. I, I- And get a good trainer.

30:05Becca Chilczenkowski: Like-

30:06Lindsay Perry: Yeah, and like-

30:06Liz Roman: Not a rep counter

30:07Becca Chilczenkowski: LA Fitness, I, bless them. They just, it's so bad. I wanna go up to them and be like- You're gonna hurt this woman. You're doing RDLs- I with straight legs. She's leaning forward with the weight, like

30:19Lindsay Perry: I also wanna, like, just a trainer watch-out. If they're having you do, like, 12 things in a movement, right, there's a rate-limiting step. If you're doing, like, a bicep curl and a lunge- right, I would rather you load up the lunge a little bit more, do it correctly. Do bicep curls separately if you wanna do them separately. Like, we don't need to be doing I, I think the craziest thing I saw at a gym once was a angled leg press with a shoulder press. I, I was like, "Why?" Like, what like, you wanna super set it, fine. Why are we doing one and one? Like, that is, that's wild to me.

30:59Lindsay Perry: Like, we-

31:00Liz Roman: I would also say-

31:00Lindsay Perry: But people don't, people don't know better, and so-

31:02Liz Roman: People don't, yeah

31:03Lindsay Perry: y-

31:04Liz Roman: I would also say, just this is coming from having run gyms with trainers. Are they on their phone? I'm not hiring you. Are you counting my reps? I did not pay you 100, $150 an hour to count reps for me, right? Maybe the last, "You got two more," like, "Let's go. You can do it." They're encouraging you but they're not literally just standing there staring at you counting. We're not 12. Um, also just thinking about the intentionality of every session. Are they showing up dressed professional? Are they remembering things about you? Are they looking at your form and technique, walking you through proper warmups and mobility work and range of motion so that

31:42Liz Roman: you can improve these lifts? I just think that there are so many people getting these personal trainer certifications that- don't have a plan for people. They're not showing up professional.

31:52Lindsay Perry: I mean, let's be honest. This i- is kind of the wellness, wellness space entryway. I, like, and that can be the functional world too, right? So you gotta you have to do your due diligence, whether it's your doctor, whether it's your trainer whether it's a nutritionist. Like, there-

32:07Becca Chilczenkowski: I think we were all blessed that we each, like- There are people- As much as a- my CrossFit, uh, he was really good at what he did. Like- he knew how to protect people. Who, um Angelo,

32:18Lindsay Perry: He was

32:18Becca Chilczenkowski: like, we were a CrossFit gym, but there, there were two levels. If you didn't have overhead mobility, no chance you're lifting a barbell overhead. Like, you're using dumbbells. You're do He was very good at understanding the limitations of the general population because a CrossFit gym is, like, the perfect recipe for people to get hurt that aren't pre- you know, prepared to move their body in certain ways. But also, I think the last piece here is rest periods.

How long should you rest between sets?

32:41Lindsay Perry: Because

32:41Becca Chilczenkowski: when you are trying to lift to failure, do not even think that you are going to be able to lift to failure again in 45 seconds. Like, yeah, I have to put my timer on my phone every time when I do sets because I will go too fast. And I know that. Like, two minutes feels like forever when you're waiting in between sets. And so- With single body move- or single joint movements, think like a bicep curl- minimum 60 seconds usually between sets. And then multi-joint movements, so maybe like a leg press, an RDL, uh, things that are moving a lot bigger ranges of motion you're

33:13Becca Chilczenkowski: usually looking at 90 to 120 seconds.

33:15Lindsay Perry: So I wanna add something there- because depending on if you are-

33:21Becca Chilczenkowski: Hypertrophy-ing

33:22Lindsay Perry: or if you're a novice in the gym versus you're someone like me or you, right, or you, honestly, we could, with tempo, make five pounds the heaviest five pounds of my entire life, right? Like, I can, I can turn that on neurologically. A novice in the gym is not going to have that mind-muscle connection yet. So I like to describe this almost as, like, a dimmer, right? So we can turn up our dimmer really high. We can turn on the light bulb really high. So theoretically, we can do less reps, higher weight. Um, for a novice, you're probably going to need some more reps to

34:03Lindsay Perry: get the same stimulus that something that we would be doing. And that's just, that's how you're building, right? And that's how you're getting comfortable in the gym because think about, like, a brand-new person doing, like, bench press, and they're just like-

34:15Liz Roman: Yeah, exactly

34:16Lindsay Perry: There, there, there is no, like, brain connection to the body. Whereas, like, if we are here, like, I could make the air hard at this point in time. So if, if you are new to the gym, I highly recommend getting a trainer. I mean, I'm at a point with growing my glutes that I'm like, I need a trainer to tap into what I need to do. Um, but starting there and really starting to understand what you need to be doing, and move slowly because otherwise, you're gonna need, you're gonna need to do a lot to get the stimulus that I

34:46Liz Roman: want. And I think one mistake that I made for a really long time until I was working with this girl, I forgot where she was from, but she was amazing. She was working with me for, like, power lifting stuff, for, like, building deadlifts and all that stuff. Yeah, she was awesome. So I would send her videos and everything, but she's like- Your warmup sets are three reps. We are not here doing five, eight reps in all of our warmups and then expecting that we're gonna lift- you know, one rep max at 300 pounds. So that was something that I was finding for me, I was burning out too quickly

35:16Liz Roman: because I was doing too much in my, like, warmup sets. So just be mindful of that, too. If your trainer is not giving you the different variations, like I know when my husband would do the progressive overload, it was a 12-week block. The whole gym knew what the purpose and intent was, right? The girls were tracking things. But it was very intentional that the reps were constantly changing and you were typically decreasing as you were increasing weight. But just in that season for me, that was a big eye-opener, and especially in those big lifts. I was like, "Oh, no wonder I can't improve my deadlifts." Yeah.

35:51Liz Roman: "I'm burning myself out before I even get to my max. I got no energy left." Yeah. So I think just knowing that, you know, your progressive overload should be tracked. You should be seeing the progress. You should be feeling it physically right, not just the number on the board, and you shouldn't be straining and breaking your form down just to get the lift, 'cause we'd have a lot of people do that, too. It's like "Well, I, I've squatted 250 pounds." And I'm like, "That was a real ugly squat, and your ass wasn't to grass. So let's go back and let's retrain this and reset." Yeah. Because that's

36:19Liz Roman: how you mess yourself up longer term if you are somebody who's more like, "I just wanna get the weight. I just wanna feel like I'm super, super strong." But then at the same time, you're compensating in other areas. And I'm, just with the back injury, like, going back and kind of rebuilding and relearning out of, like, I'm braced. I don't care if this is 80 pounds or 180 pounds. This has got to feel right and tight in my body. And again, slowing things down. But just know that you can play with those reps a lot if you are really trying to go for that one rep max.

36:48Liz Roman: Don't do what I did, 'cause I burned myself out, and that was a huge, pivotal moment and really changed a lot of my training from that-

36:53Lindsay Perry: It's-

36:54Liz Roman: point on.

36:55Lindsay Perry: That's a big thing. I do think it's interesting, like neurologically, I always PR'd lifts if it was on an EMOM.

37:01Becca Chilczenkowski: I was tired.

37:03Lindsay Perry: I would always like, I, I, and I feel like I needed- Same. I would have the most engagement I

37:06Becca Chilczenkowski: feel like.

37:07Lindsay Perry: I like needed the like, okay, I'm going at this time, but I could get up to 12 minutes and then I would hit a PR, and I was like, "Okay, I should like Sure, fine." But it's, it, it is gonna be different for everyone. The funny, the other funny thing that goes along with what you just said is your body actually doesn't know what weight you're lifting.

37:32Becca Chilczenkowski: Your brain does.

37:34Lindsay Perry: I mean, not really though.

37:35Liz Roman: Mentally. Mentally. If you were to shut it off- and do.

37:39Lindsay Perry: So it's like we're all, we all have these egos of like, "I'm gonna hit the weight," and it's just like, hmm, okay. There's

Why does the scale go up when you start building muscle?

37:44Liz Roman: like- You probably could've hit more if you hadn't known what you were going for. So. All right, we gotta wrap this up. So let's leave the listeners with like your top three things if we're looking at I want to achieve a goal with my training of getting stronger, getting tighter, right? We have to- What is it? Tone? I haven't used that word in a long time. I want tone. I'm gonna be toned. I want tone.

38:05Lindsay Perry: Build muscle.

38:06Liz Roman: Um

38:06Lindsay Perry: Build, build and cut muscle is, or build muscle, cut fat is, is what you want to do.

38:11Liz Roman: What you want to do. You I'm always like, "Well, you can't look toned if you don't spend time building the muscle." So what's

38:17Lindsay Perry: gonna be there? You're, you're gonna have the- What are you

38:18Becca Chilczenkowski: gonna tone?

38:19Lindsay Perry: You're gonna have to fluff a little- A little bit a little, just tiny bit. And I think just nutritionally people have to understand that water follows carbs. And so when you increase carbs, and also you're probably increasing salts a little bit, water is going to follow that. And it's also very normal when you're trying to put on muscle for you to hold water after training. Like, even one to two days, and longer than that it's like, okay, maybe we're getting a little bit too much inflammation. But it's those things combined, right? You may have a weight shift. You may feel a little bit bigger

38:56Lindsay Perry: and bloated, and that's

38:58Liz Roman: So do it in the off season of bikinis. Depending upon where do you live, right? Depending on where you live. Do like you said you did in the season where you can feel a little bit more comfortable. 'Cause I think that's a, a big piece too, and that's really where people will quit too fast, right? They're just like, "Ah, this is uncomfortable. I don't like it. I back out." And I would say a minimum of probably eight, maybe 12 weeks for a cycle. Sometimes it can be longer. Sometimes it can be shorter in terms of the, the muscle building.

39:26Lindsay Perry: The training. I think it- And take photos. I think it also depends though too on, like, how long have you not eaten enough, right? Oh, yes.

39:32Liz Roman: true.

39:32Lindsay Perry: Very Like, because, I mean, I've probably been at maintenance, I'm not gonna lie, like six months at this point, right? So when I come home from France, I'm like, let's, let's dial in and let's try to roll here a little bit. But if you haven't fed up right, then that's another That's a, a-

39:48Becca Chilczenkowski: That's a whole nother thing that has to happen.

How long does it really take to build muscle?

39:50Lindsay Perry: So we n- we have to understand the timeline, I think.

39:52Becca Chilczenkowski: If you're coming in and you've been eating 1,400, 1,500 calories consistently, like, your body is in survival mode at this point. We have to do both feed up and see your capacity right now. And that's gonna take time. And so, like, there can be a messy period where you're figuring out your system, figuring out how much you can push, figuring out how much you can train. And that's okay, but- What I usually try to remind people of, so I have a client that hasn't really done a whole lot of like organized training that just started. I told her, "Your dream body is probably three to five years away."

40:24Becca Chilczenkowski: Like- It's realistically- That's a

40:26Lindsay Perry: really hard conversation

40:27Becca Chilczenkowski: to have It's a super hard conversation to have To

40:28Liz Roman: cycle things the

40:30Becca Chilczenkowski: way you

40:30Liz Roman: want.

40:30Lindsay Perry: Well, even, um, I even look at my husband, taking this from a male standpoint, right? Like, you, you talked to David when me and him first met. And I think you sent him to, like, Cody Broome or Or something like that. And David was like, "I wanna be 190 pounds, and muscle, and everything else," like, and I'm like, "Babe, it's gonna take time," because you had a college sabbatical where you, you partied a little harder than I did. Like, I have been, I've maintained this, you know, consistent athletic-ness across. Not that he's not an athlete, but he definitely partied harder in, in college than I did.

41:05Lindsay Perry: Um, and so I'm like, "This is gonna take years." Like, this, this muscle development takes years. And one of my best guy friends, he was a regional-level CrossFitter. He was, you know, so like he already ha- like he already- He had the development. Yeah he's been doing this. He was a college athlete. Like and so I think it's really hard. Sometimes you look at other people's training ages and you're like, "I want that." And it's like, okay, realistically, what did their life and their training look like for a long period of time? Because I can maintain my muscle, truthfully, s- lifting two days a week.

41:38Lindsay Perry: Someone who's just starting out- You are both

41:39Liz Roman: very blessed in terms of your hormones and- Well, we spent years

41:43Becca Chilczenkowski: But

41:43Liz Roman: we spent

41:43Becca Chilczenkowski: years. We spent years. I was in college-

41:44Liz Roman: But also

41:44Becca Chilczenkowski: in

41:44Liz Roman: terms of your, your androgen, you know.

41:46Becca Chilczenkowski: We're very androgenic females. For sure.

41:49Lindsay Perry: We'll see on a, on a test if we are. We'll see

41:51Becca Chilczenkowski: soon.

41:51Lindsay Perry: We'll see soon. We'll let you know. But, um, yeah. But it's Uh, so I feel like sometimes, especially the internet sells this fake, um, timeline, right? Mm. That you're, "Oh, you, you can get my abs, my butt in like, you know three months." It's just where are you starting from, and did you do anything before? Because also it's gonna get, it gets harder as we get a little bit older, right? For me to start something when I was, like, 18, of course, did I wreck my hormones? But did I put on a crap-ton of muscle? Okay, well now I, now I can cut back on that.

42:28Lindsay Perry: So it's, that's super, super important.

Do peptides help if the foundations aren't there?

42:31Liz Roman: I think that's a good thing. And the, the last thing I wanted to say here is in the world of peptides, right? I was telling Becca this the other day. It's like, h- again, you have to be in a place where you understand your lifestyle, your dietary strategies need to match the goal. You could take growth hormones. You could put some IPAM, some sermorelin, tesamorelin, whatever. If you're not eating enough protein, you're not going to the gym, you're not n- looking for failure or progressive overload, consistently increasing your weight- That's not going to do much for you, and you're probably just going to waste the money.

43:04Liz Roman: So why don't you set the foundations first. Feel it out, right? If you are somebody Like, I've been low testosterone since my 20's. I have testosterone in. I feel a little bit better with it. It's not been a dramatic thing. I'm going to do testosterone. I have it. I've got IPED and CJC, but there's no point in me doing it right now. I'm not in a season. We're in the middle of moving across the country. Like, yeah, I'm going to the gym. Maintaining, lifting a few days a week, feeling good, but it's not a muscle growth season for me to be like, "Let's do growth

43:34Liz Roman: hormone five days a week." Yeah. And then add a bunch of stress on already, you know having a lot of stress. So just being realistic about when you choose to do this. There is never going to be a perfect time. I think that you should start something, but before you start adding in the, let's call it the bells and the whistles or the shiny object stuff get the foundations in. Maybe get some creatine in. Arginine. Amino. Whatever it is that you need to get in to support. But if you're not eating, like we just talked about, the carbs and the protein too, don't be wasting hundreds of dollars on peptides.

What happens when you stack stress on stress?

44:07Lindsay Perry: Well, that and just talk about, like, the stress for a second. Like, you and I are both going through a move at, at the same time. Texas move. Texas. Um, so we're going through a move at the same time. So, like, if I were to cut food, like I even did a, a little bit of fasting with the move. Part of that was Easter. I wanted Dave and I were trying to do an Easter fast, and I was texting you guys being like, "I'm ex" Uh, like, this was dumb, right? Stress was high. This was dumb, but at the same time I didn't have any

44:33Lindsay Perry: food, like, at my apartment. So it, I was like, in my head it was a good idea at the time. Just fast. Just fast. Well, guess what? My period came early. Lot of stress on the body. Moving, sickness, everything else. Probably should have just kept calories the same. Shouldn't have done anything. The only good thing that I did was pull back on training. So if you're trying to go stress, stress, stress, stress, stress, trainings, stress. It's not going to bode well for you.

45:03Liz Roman: You're going to end up watery, inflamed puffy. Wa- and you're just not feeling good. Energy's going to tank. Like you said your period came earlier. So remember that everything we do has a cost, and this is why you hire coaches and professionals who've been through it. Certainly you are more of the experts in this area than I. It's not a big passion for me to want to take people through training and write training programs. No, that is not my expertise. So even someone like Dane, right? Like, I think all of us have the ideal client that, you know, we would like to work with and attract.

45:32Liz Roman: So Dane is a, a really great coach. He's a great trainer. And he has coached both of you guys as well.

45:37Lindsay Perry: Super good.

45:37Liz Roman: So with that, thank you so much for listening. This has been fun. This has been good. We are getting ready to go. On both sides. We are getting ready to go, uh, speak on stage, so we need some time to go chill, maybe have a little snack, and-

45:50Lindsay Perry: Apply some straps rock it out. In a different way.

Frequently asked questions

Why am I working out more and getting puffier instead of leaner?

According to FitMom's Becca Chilczenkowski and guest Lindsay Perry, training hard without rest days can keep your body in a constant state of inflammation. You feel lean right after a sweaty session because you're dehydrated, then the swelling rebounds. Signs you've crossed the line: no strength gains, soreness that never fades, a puffy midsection and cycle changes. More intensity makes it worse; fuel and recovery fix it.

Is it bad to work out fasted at 5 a.m. if I want to build muscle?

If muscle is the goal, FitMom's team says training fasted at 5 a.m. works against you. Guest Lindsay Perry explains that something needs to buffer the stress you're about to put on your body; without it you tap out mid-session and, over time, strain your hormones. Light fasted walking or easy cardio is different. Heavy lifting to failure needs a small, easy-to-digest meal first.

What should I eat before a workout to build muscle?

FitMom's Becca Chilczenkowski recommends dense, lower-fiber carbohydrates that won't sit heavy in your gut: rice with a bit of protein, a gluten-free bagel, a banana, or banana-and-egg protein pancakes. High-fiber options like oatmeal can cause gas when you're training hard. Eat something small before training, a real meal after, and save your high-fiber, micronutrient-dense foods for later in the day.

How do I tell the difference between bloating and just feeling full?

Liz Roman of FitMom explains that fullness is the simple sensation of food in your stomach. Bloating is distension with discomfort, gas, pressure or an urgent need for the bathroom. Women coming out of a fasting or dieting season often mistake normal fullness for bloating because they've gotten used to an empty stomach. If there's no pain or real distension, fullness is fine.

Should I sync my workouts to my menstrual cycle?

FitMom's Becca Chilczenkowski and guest Lindsay Perry don't recommend fully changing your program by cycle phase if you want to build muscle, because progressive overload needs consistency. Instead, keep the same workouts and adjust effort: in the luteal phase you might lift lighter at the same perceived effort, slow the tempo, or plan a deload week before your period. Skip the workout? No. Scale it.

How long should I rest between sets to build muscle?

FitMom's Becca Chilczenkowski recommends at least 60 seconds between sets for single-joint moves like bicep curls and 90 to 120 seconds for multi-joint lifts like leg press or Romanian deadlifts. If you're training close to failure, 45 seconds isn't enough to do it again. Use a timer; two minutes feels endless, which is exactly why most women cut it short.

Why does the scale go up when I start lifting and eating more carbs?

Water follows carbohydrates, explains guest Lindsay Perry on The Health Revival Show. When you raise carbs and salt to support muscle building, your body stores more water with them, and it's normal to hold extra water for one to two days after training. Longer than that may point to too much inflammation. Expect a temporary weight shift and plan build phases for seasons you feel comfortable.

How long does it take a woman to build noticeable muscle?

FitMom's team plans muscle building in eight- to twelve-week training blocks, but visible change usually takes years, not months. Becca Chilczenkowski notes that women who have eaten around 1,400 to 1,500 calories for a long time are often in survival mode and need a feed-up period first. The internet sells a three-month timeline. Your starting point, training history and age decide the real one.

What are the signs my body can't handle my training right now?

FitMom's practitioners look for: no strength gains despite consistent training, constant soreness, feeling better right after workouts but more inflamed overall, a growing cortisol belly, irregular or missed periods, acne and unwanted hair growth. These signal that training stress is outpacing recovery and fuel. The answer is usually fewer high-intensity sessions, real rest days and more food around training.

Key terms

Progressive overload

Gradually increasing the demand on a muscle, through more weight, reps, slower tempo or less rest, over a planned block of weeks so the body has a reason to adapt and grow.

RPE (rating of perceived exertion)

A 1–10 scale of how hard a set feels. RPE 7 means you finish with about three reps left in the tank. It lets the load flex with your cycle, sleep and stress while the effort stays consistent.

Tempo / time under tension

Controlling the speed of each rep, for example three seconds down, a pause, three seconds up. It makes a lighter weight far harder and builds control, which helps anyone with past injuries or limited equipment.

Deload week

A planned lighter week inside a training block that lets the body recover. FitMom's hosts suggest placing it where your cycle tends to feel hardest.

Nutrient timing

Organizing food around training: something small and easy to digest before, a real meal after, and fiber- and micronutrient-heavy foods later in the day.

Cortisol belly

The puffy, stubborn midsection many women notice when chronic stress, including over-training and under-eating, keeps stress hormones elevated.

Androgenic

Having relatively higher androgen (testosterone-family) activity. Hosts note androgenic women often feel less strength change across the cycle; excess androgens can show up as acne and unwanted hair growth.

Commensal bacteria and short-chain fatty acids

The beneficial gut microbes that ferment fiber into short-chain fatty acids. When they're depleted, adding fiber fast causes gas, so fiber is increased slowly and diversified.

Metabolic flexibility

The ability to switch smoothly between burning carbohydrate and fat for fuel, one of the goals that can shape whether fasted training has a place.

Sources

• Mountjoy M, et al. 2023 International Olympic Committee (IOC) consensus statement on Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs). Br J Sports Med. 2023.
• Schoenfeld BJ, et al. Longer interset rest periods enhance muscle strength and hypertrophy in resistance-trained men. J Strength Cond Res. 2016.
• Fernández-Elías VE, et al. Relationship between muscle water and glycogen recovery after prolonged exercise in the heat in humans. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2015.