Just As Well, The Women's Health Podcast - How To Train Around Your Cycle for Maximum Results

Episode Date: August 20, 2020

For a long time, the menstrual cycle was considered a bit of a messy, inconvenient business – a hindrance that women just had to put up with. In both science and sport, the attitude was much the same. But over the past decade or so there’s been a rising tide of interest in actually figuring out how a woman’s monthly cycles impact her performance. Now, from Megan Rapinoe’s World Cup-winning US football team and the Chelsea women's squad to the elite dancers of the Scottish Ballet, female athletes at the top of their game are using the insights of endocrinology (that's the science of how hormones work) to train around their cycles in order to perform better - and this week, we’re looking at how you can, too. Women’s Health’s fitness writer Morgan Fargo is joined by Dr Nicky Keay, a sports endocrinologist who conducts clinical research into this very area and applies those findings to her work with athletes. From knowing when to push yourself and when to ease off the intensity to the best cramp-quelling exercises for when you’re actually on, here’s what you need to know in order to get the most out of your workouts – all month long.  Follow Dr Nicky Keay on Twitter: @NickyKeayFitness Follow Morgan Fargo on Instagram: @morganfargo Follow Women's Health on Instagram: @womenshealthuk Topics   Your menstrual cycle, explained How to choose a PMS-friendly workout The time of the month when your hormones support challenging workouts  Why period tracking is important for monitoring fitness goal progress  Your choice of contraception and how it impacts your performance What the perimenopause means for your fitness levels Like what you’re hearing? We'd love if you could rate and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, as it really helps other people find the show. Also, remember to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, so you’ll never miss an episode.   Got a goal in mind? Shoot us a message on Instagram putting ‘Going for Goal’ at the start of your message and our experts could be helping you achieve your health goal in an upcoming episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Hello, everyone. You are listening to Going for Goal, the weekly women's health podcast. My name's Rochene, I'm Senior Editor on Women's Health and this is your weekly chance to plug in, be inspired and get expert advice on how to achieve the health and wellness goals that matter most to you. Given that we're women's health, I can't believe it's taken us 35 episodes

to devote a whole one to discussing periods. Yep, here we are. For a long time, the menstrual cycle was considered a bit of a messy, inconvenient business. A hindrance, basically, that women just needed to put up with. And across science and sport, the attitude was much the same. But over the past decade, there's been a rising tide of interest in actually figuring out how the menstrual cycle impacts women's performance.

Now from Megan Rapino's US football team that won the Women's World Cup last year to the Chelsea squad here in the UK and the elite dancers of the Scottish ballet, female athletes at the very top of their game are using the insights of endocrinology. That's the science of how hormones work, by the way, to train around their menstrual cycles and ultimately elevate their performance. Today's guest knows a lot about this topic. Her name is Dr Nikki Kaye. She's a sports endocrinologist who conducts clinical research into this very area.

On today's show, she tells women's health's fitness writer Morgan Fargo all about how you can apply this science to get the most out of your training all month long. Over to Morgan. Hi, Nikki. Welcome to the podcast. I am so excited to have you here and to chat all the things for mental cycles. How are you doing? Well, thanks very much for the invitation, also looking forward to it. I wanted to start with getting a little bit more background about you and your work and how you came to be the doctor and eventually specialize in fitness and particularly in sports androchronology.

Well, I was always very keen about sport, playing tennis, swimming competitively as a youngster and also ballet was my main thing. So I was always involved in exercise. and therefore very interested in the human body, how it works. Why do you get better at ballet or swimming or what's going on? So that sort of inspired me to study medicine. And then the objective was always to apply my medical knowledge, go back to my dancer friends, I'm an athlete, and try and apply that knowledge to them.

I offer medical advisory service to athletes, dancers, and I'm also involved in lots of research. I have been for many years to do with athletes, hormones, and equally dancers and their hormones. Looking at hormones specifically for women, they change throughout the month in regards to our menstrual cycle. Could you talk us through a little bit about how our bodies move with our mental cycle through the month, what this means for our exercise and also if we should be talking how we are exercising because of it. Yeah, sure. Well, I mean, first of all, just to say that hormones are invisible chemical messages running around in our body and our blood and pretty much controlled a lot of what's going on inside our body internally and also mood-wise and cognitive function as well. So they're super

important, but they're quite complicated when it comes to women. because most women, the average age of starting menstrual cycles periods, is average is about 12-ish, give or take a couple of years. And, you know, we're going to have those periods up until the age of menopause, which is 51, on average, give or take a few years. So there's a loss of your life when you're going to be having, you know, these fluctuations in hormones. So, you know, it's really important as women that we understand what's going on.

And so we feel empowered and we can, as you say, adjust maybe what we're doing or we recognize certain things that are going on inside us. So each menstrual cycle is roughly 28 days, so a lunar month. And it starts at the beginning of the menstrual cycle, you have your period, your menstrual bleed, which on average lasts for about five days, more or less. and then from then until about the midpoint of the cycle, roughly 14. These are, by the way, this is, I'm just giving you ballpark numbers for the cycle. We won't be slightly individual, so don't get worried if you're 29 days or something, but this is just easier to divide up in mathematical terms. So if we say that 28 is an average length, the first five days of the cycle will be the menstrual bleed.

and then from then until about day 14 or the time of ovulation, we call that the follicular phase. So the little follicle in your ovary, the egg is developing, getting a little bit bigger and ready to be ovulated. And then that's ovulated at day 14, more or less, or mid-cycle roughly. And then thereafter, from that time of ovulation until the start of the next menstrual bleed, that's called the Luteal phase. Okay?

So those are the sort of the key terms. You need to be aware of as a woman. Your menstrual cycle, the total length. The first bit is the bleed. Then you're building up to releasing the egg of ovulation in the middle, more or less. And then from then onwards, it's the luteal phase. So that is the pattern. That's what's happening inside you.

And that is accompanied with big changes in hormones. So, for example, in the follicular phase, estrogen tends to be the dominant hormone. I think everyone heard of estrogen, the female hormone. But then off to ovulation, progester. own starts increasing, along with the estrogen. So there's a lot of flux, there's a lot of things going on inside your body. So it's not surprising that some women are more aware of this than others. I mean, some women, and I'm sure we all know, some friends, you know, they just sail

through and they have no problem with the menstrual cycles and they're like, what's all this fuss, there's no problem. So if that's one of, if you're one of these people, great. But there are others who, at the other end of the same. spectrum can, you know, notice these changes in hormones, either because the actual levels are fluctuating quite a lot. There's a range of how much the hormones fluctuate, or just you personally or body tissues are particularly sensitive to these changes in hormones. So, I mean, the classic times when a woman might have problems or feel she's having an issue, obviously

the menstrual bleed itself. I mean, you can get stomach cramps, as we know, and of course, you know, blood can mean that your iron might be a bit low and you need to keep well hydrated. And during that time of the cycle, if you are suffering with some cramps, then actually it has been shown in studies that doing something gentle, such as yoga, Pilates, I used to find swimming as well, also sort of stretching out the body. So doing something is better than nothing, because I know if you're in pain, you'd feel like you don't want to move. But actually, just doing something gentle just to keep things moving would be a good idea during menstruation itself. Then we have the follicular phase when the little eggs getting ready to be ovulated.

And typically, this actually can be a good time to exercise. For some women, I don't want to, you know, these are just very generalizations. Everything will be personal to the woman. and then just before ovulation, we know that there can be a slight increase risk of ACL, anterior cruciate ligament injury. So if you are doing some sort of exercise that involves rapid change of direction, you know, like football or something, again, just be aware. You know, obviously it doesn't mean you shouldn't go and train or do what you want to do, but, you know, you should have, hopefully already you're doing some strength and conditioning and pro preceptive work. So it won't be an issue,

but it's just to be aware that that has been reported as a potential risk time. And then probably the Luteal phase is when, if you are going to have a problem as a woman, that might be when. I think we've all heard of premenstrual syndrome. And that is because the progesterone goes super, goes high. It reaches its highest point at around A-21. And then it rapidly decreases. And it's thought to be this rapid change.

of the progesterone from high to low that can trigger some symptoms in a woman. I mean, we know for a fact that after you ovulate your body temperature goes up. I think, you know, that's one of the things that people can have ovulation thermometers and measure the body temperature going up a little bit. So especially in this hot weather, it doesn't help, does it? So you might already be having problems sleeping or just feeling a bit hot, but actually, so that could be one issue. and you know the progesterone can also affect your mood and that's that's all part of the premenstrual

syndrome symptoms that you can experience so again I think really in terms of exercise so going back to your original question what about exercise recommendations I think the first thing to say it's very very individual so you might be one of those women that don't have any problem so just carry on what you're doing if this is sounding for me familiar, that, oh, yes, actually, I do get a lot of cramps during menstruation, or actually, I do feel a bit moody, a bit off, maybe a little bit fluid retention just before my period, then, you know, just be aware that actually this is unfortunately normal for some of us. And really, it's more a case of tailoring your exercise.

If you have any flexibility in your exercise schedule, doing what you feel comfortable, I think is really the most important thing. Absolutely. And I think it's so interesting how individual everyone finds their periods, because I have some friends who will work out with the same consistency all month. They've got no cramps. They just sail through. I've got other friends who are really miserable before their periods, both anxiety or just falling down. But if you were to exercise during your period in a gentle way or perhaps doing something a tiny bit more strenuous, is that going to put any extra stress on the body whilst you are bleeding? No, no, not really. I mean, actually, that's why I'm saying doing a gentle exercise, and like I mentioned, swimming, sort of stretching out the body can actually help those cramps and let the, help the muscles relax a little bit. So it's certainly not going to do any harm.

In fact, actually, as I said, it would probably help if you, someone that gets cramps. So I think the main thing is how, is to a certain extent, how you feel, like you say. If you are someone that has menstrual cramps, you know, just work out what works for you. but probably trying to go off for a sort of a 10K run would not be, well, you probably won't feel like that. But going for a gentle swim, if you can get to the swing pool, or doing some gentle stretching, some gentle yoga, Pilates, that would help. And similarly, you know, the premenstrual issues that some women get in the two weeks lead up before their menstrual bleed. Again, tailor it for you. If you don't have any problems, don't go looking for them. But if you do

feel like you say a moody a bit down and sometimes actually doing some exercise. I mean, this is okay if you're a recreational exerciser or an amateur. But I suppose, you know, for professional athletes and dancers, this becomes a little bit more tricky because you can't just turn up at the studio and say, well, actually, I don't fancy doing a class today. So, but nevertheless, so whatever is possible and what flexibility there is, is whoever you are in your training schedule, take it into account for you and knowing your own body, you know, knowing, making a note of it somewhere, you know, what's going on and how you feel and what's works, what doesn't is the other thing. You know, if you try this thing and it's like,

actually that Pilates really helped, then, you know, make a note of that. And so that's really knowing your own body and seeing what's possible. Check out the big stars, big series and blockbuzz. Movies. Streaming on Paramount Plus. Cue the music. Like NCIS, Tony and Ziva. We'd like to make up our own rules.

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Wolf. Absolutely. I wonder, you mentioned that there were times in the month you might be more pre-disposed injury, or perhaps there are times when you should be lowering the intensity and getting ready for bleed, for example. But when are the times in the month that women should be capitalising on perhaps pushing their bodies that tiny bit further, going for a goal or attempting a new challenge? When would you say the best time for women

to do that in their cycle would be? Well, sorry to sort of sound a bit boring, but first of all, it depends on you, but in general terms, most women say the sort of The later bit of the follicular phase, i.e. after the bleed and before ovulation, some women say they feel really they're ready to go. And equally, some people, after they have ovulated, before the progesterone gets very high or higher, you know, some women say that, oh, yes, they really feel like they're ready to do something. So those would be the general indicators. But I think it's really a case of find out if that's true for you. So if you make your own sort of notes and, you know, some sports teams and certainly Scottish

ballet, for example, there's one, we are asking the dancers to record their menstruation, where they are in their menstrual cycle together with, you know, how they're feeling and how they're feeling in class, and then you can work out for the individual what's going to work for them. If you don't have the luxury of deciding when you're going to do your goal, for example, if there's a performance of Swan Lake, that's it in the diary. Well, when theatre's open, you know, and if there's a match, then that is fixed. You can't change it. And anyway, every woman will probably be at a different phase. So how are you going to say when the date is?

So, but in advance of that, knowing how you are doing what you can do to arrive there, feeling confident that you were in the best possible shape you can be, that's probably the most important thing, isn't it? So your work with the Scottish Ballet, you mentioned that you asked the dancers to record how they're feeling or they're experiencing and where this falls in their cycle. What can people record in terms of measurements that can help them understand themselves? Is it how tired they are, if they've got any breast tenderness or cramping, for example? What would you suggest people keep a track of at home? The sort of the start point, remember day one of the menstrual cycle is the bleed. So the first thing is you record, okay, I've started bleeding today. By the way,

what this discussion we should make clear is for people who aren't on hormonal contraception. You will get to bleed if you're on a combined oral contraception, but that's withdrawal bleed. It's not your own natural hormone. So anyway, so we are starting to ask the dancers to do that simple thing just so we know we can see when the how long their cycle is. So that's the first thing. And then already they were already recording wellness scores, perceived exertion, how they're feeling. So then you can match this up. You can put all those bits of information together because at the moment there are apps and things for recording your menstrual cycle and then there are also on the other hand places where you record your training.

I think probably the training things were designed by men because not many of them have the facility to tack on there, you know, your menstrual thing. So it's a bit annoying that they have information in different places anyway. So we're trying to change that, for example, at Scottish ballet to try and put all the information in one place. So it makes it easier for the dancer. So yes, they would record any particular menstrual symptoms like breast tenderness or cramps or something like that during the menstrual bleed, but also just the wellness will catch any other symptoms, you know, feeling fatigued or, you know, feeling really tired or things like that. But you can make, you don't have to have, you know, the monitoring that we're using at

Scottish ballet. I mean, listen, I've got nothing against the good old-fashioned pen and paper, you know, if that works for you or whatever works for you or recording it on your phone. I don't, you know, just as you say, because it's strange. You know, you're going to have cycles from like 12 to 51. It's like, oh gosh, I'm feeling really tired today. And it's like, oh, yes, that's how I felt last time. You know, so making those connections for yourself, informing yourself so that you're aware. I think I agree with you.

I think that's really the way to go. I think it's interesting as well that when it's for you. you, you don't have that perspective. So I used to call my mum, floods of tears, same day every month. Oh, really? She'd say, oh, is your period coming? And I say, no, you don't understand. And then, of course, my period would come.

So, like you say, monitoring it and just keeping you track of it can, for me, less than anxiety as well, which has been a huge win. Yeah, yeah, exactly. We touched briefly on the fact that this would be different if you are on hormonal contraception. And I did want to talk a little bit about. reproductive contraception and the impact it will have because you've got things from the combined pill, to the regener and the implant and then you've got the coil. How do these contraceptive tools impact our hormones and our cycles and what do we need to be aware of because of it? Yeah, sure. Well, the first thing to say, of course, it's every woman's choice to choose what form of contraception they have.

So I'm not making any judgment. So this one's better than that. Or you are, you shouldn't do that. So that's the first thing to say. but broadly speaking, the contraception divides into barrier methods and hormonal methods. So the barrier methods, condoms, as you said, the copper coil, that's non-hormonal. So those, and of course that won't in any way interfere with your own menstrual cycle in terms of its hormone production. So those are those on that side. And then, as you say, then there's a vast array of hormonal contraception available. And I would broadly put them into two categories, either the combined oral, so the pill. In America, they tend to call it the birth control pill or all the progesterone things.

And the progesterone things include tablet. It can sometimes be called the mini pill. It includes the marina coil, like you say, that's a coil with progesterone in it that's slowly released. It can also be an injection or an implant for the progesterone, okay? So, and the differences between those, the combined oral and the progesterone only. So the combined oral, as the name suggests, combined, it means it gives you estrogen and progesterone, okay? But quite high doses so that it suppresses your own production of your own hormones.

That's how it works as a contraception. It stops you doing all those fluctuations I've talked about with the estrogen progesterone. It stops you ovulating. Okay? So that's, and listen, that's actually sometimes a very good measure. choice. Some women with medical conditions, such as PCOS, such as endometriosis, or just really, really struggling with menstrual problems, really heavy bleeding, you know, those sorts of people, then actually that the combined oral can be quite a good choice because it sort of,

because it does switch everything off. The situation where it is not, well, I was going to say a good choice, where it shouldn't be a choice at all, is if you don't have regular periods already. And then you take the combined oral because then you have no way of knowing if your own hormones are okay or not. So that's the combined oral. It's pretty heavy duty, but you know, it's obviously very reliable, very good and convenient to take. Can I ask a question about the combined contraception? How will that impact how you should exercise throughout the month if your own hormonal system is being expressed? Well, theoretically, theoretically, it should make it easier, shouldn't it? Theoretically, it should, because all your own hormones are switched off and you're just got these ones. However, there have been recent publications. If you think I've been very evasive, by the way, in this interview, giving hard and fact, oh, you must definitely do strength and condition here. The reason I say this is because recently just out there is a study this year, which has looked at reviewed all the papers there are about the effect of the

the menstrual cycle on performance. And the conclusion was there wasn't anything absolutely concrete, apart from maybe the menstruation itself causing cramps and everything. The reason being, because, well, I'm afraid, sorry to sound a little bit feminist about this, but the research quality is not great for women, okay, and defining exactly when you are, what of the phases you're calling, luteal and follicular, etc. And also, You know, because women are so different. So that's the one thing. And the same argument applies to the combined oral contraceptive pill.

Like I said, some women who have medical conditions, they take the combined oral, they feel a lot better and they can exercise more effectively full stop. But for someone that is taking the combined oral purely for contraception, not because they, you know, they've got a problem as such. then again there is mixed evidence. There is, I mean, for elite athletes, there are a few points to remember that we know that the combined oral reduces

lowers your testosterone level and you could argue maybe for a woman having a little bit of testosterone isn't a bad thing if you were an elite athlete, especially in the more the events requiring that power. And there are some reports saying that maybe it reduces your response to exercise, but I have to, unfortunately, come down by saying there isn't conclusive evidence,

and I have to resort to the thing. It's an individual choice and reaction for the combined oral. So the progesterone, as we said, it's a coil, it can be a tablet, it can be an implant, an injection, all these things. And that maintains a high level of progesterone all the time, okay? And it doesn't suppress your own internal hormones as much as the combined oral. So I suppose you could argue that's a good thing. And generally, the progesterone only, you don't get the bleed from it.

So for some women, that's actually a plus. Because with the combined oral, you get a withdrawal bleed. That's not your own period. So those are the two types of hormonal consternation. But again, if you're going to say, oh, is this an advantage for exercise if I take the progesterone only, I'm afraid we have to go back to the theme of this interview, which is really that all women are individual. And please, to quote the vice presidents of the Royal College of Obstetrics Gynaecology,

don't treat women as statistics. You're all individuals, right? So, you know, just inform yourself, be aware and figure out what works for you. 100%. I love that quote as well. It was like a bumper sticker. And what impact does age or your proximity to going through the menopause or perhaps your experience in pari menopause.

What impact does that have on our hormones and our movement throughout the month? So the menopause is when the over is become unresponsive and they stop opulating. That's what menopause is. It's not that you've run out of eggs, by the way. It's just that the ovaries have enough. It's evolution because after that age, you know, it could be a little bit not so good to become pregnant because you physically as a woman are not ready. And also the eggs have sort of gone off a bit.

be. So that's what happens, but in the lead up to that, it's not necessarily a sort of an overnight thing from on to off. So the lead up to the over is being a little bit sluggish, a little bit recalcitrant. That's the perimenopause. And so that means that you won't have the usual periodic fluctuation of your hormones. And because you've had this fluctuation of your hormones, hopefully, you know, since the age of 12, then of course it's a bit of a shock to the body. And so that's why you feel different. And I think we've all heard about the hot flushes that you get. So your temperature regulation is disruptive. It definitely affects your mood. You know, you can be very really sad one minute for no particular reason in floods of tears. And

the next minute you're shouting at people. So it definitely affects your mood. As you may have gathered, I'm slightly speaking from personal experience, and also brain fog, definitely. You know, even if your person that makes lists, that was me. Then I would forget what I was meant to be writing down on the list. It became ridiculous. So there are definitely, we know, effects of the perimenopause and the menopause. And again, you know, because this is, these are new symptoms, you know, you might be disencouraged from exercising, you know.

You might, it's like if you have pain during your period, your instinct is maybe, or I won't exercise. But actually, again, you know, perimenopause and menopause, you know, it's a good time to keep your exercise routines. Because number one, it will just help, you know, help your brain. But also we know that there's actually physiological reasons for doing exercise because, unfortunately, as you get older, your body composition just change. And so actually you should do more strength and conditioning as you get older to maintain as far as you can your muscle mass. And of course the bones. We know that when you reach the menopause and the estrogen levels really go down, then that can affect your bone health. So that's another good reason why you should maintain your exercise to load the skeleton and for your body composition.

And just, you know, so you feel your, I don't want to use the word normal, but, you know, it is a it's not a medical condition it's normal physiology your periods will stop everyone your periods will stop at some point and now that we're all living longer you know up to a third of your life as a woman might be spent in the menopause so you know um it's like everything in life it's a new challenge a new chapter all those things um an exercise definitely should certainly feature in that chapter there are people like myself who have it's rucciating periods and the first have the hot slacks and I feel awful and I'm so tired and I can't write more than a hundred words in an hour or something ridiculous like that. I normally find by the second day and the third day

that a few of my symptoms have alleviated and my ego really wants to do some form of hard, tough exercise because I feel like I've just got over this pain and I want to go for it. Exercising in that way, because my brain wants it rather than perhaps my body is ready, I know is hard-headed, but is it doing our bodies any damage or any extra stress that we really shouldn't be imposing on it? I don't think so. I think, you know, there's a lot to be said for going on how you feel, right? I mean, what's happened? Have you, have you gone out and exercised hard? What, what's happened? Do you follow that instinct? So previously, I never did. I never exercised on my period. I would go through walks, we'd do a little bit of yoga, but nothing hard. I would normally

wait until I was very light and using one time. One, perhaps, something in and then done. But this cycle that I've just finished, I was in so much pain in the first day and the second day, I just wanted a hard workout. And I did it and I felt amazing. I felt so strong. Well, there you go. And that's the answer to your question. If you feel like it, you know, trust your body. I mean, there's, listen, nothing dreadful, you know, unless you do something really, I can't think of something really super crazy. I don't know. Climbing up there, nevis or something, I don't know, whatever it is.

Unless you do something really extreme that you would never normally do, if you suddenly decided you'd run a marathon and you never run more than 1K before, of course, that would be foolish in any situation. But if I think your example is very good, if you felt that's what you wanted to do and you pitch it to the level where it's something you've done before, you know you can do it, if you sort of mean. Don't overshoot it. And it works out fine.

I mean, I suppose the only sort of little words of warning there would be, if you're still having your period, number one, you'll be losing blood. So, of course, especially in this hot weather, make sure that you're prepared, you know, that you've taken on board some food beforehand, a snack or meal, whatever it is, and that you well hydrated.

And that if you are going outside to do this, whatever exercise you want to do, then make sure you've got water with you, and also in terms of your dart, you know, you will be losing blood. So make sure that you're taking on board sufficient iron in your diet. Okay, so I think that's a brilliant example. You did it and you felt great, right? So what did you do, by the way?

I did a strength training workout. I'd seen it on Instagram the day before when I was scrolling. I was lying on the bed with a hot wolf bottle and it was 29 degrees outside. It was so hot. Yeah. Well, there you go. That's great. So I think if you really like you, describe there, if you feel you want to do it and you don't pitch it too stratospheric,

something that you know you can do and you're prepared and you know you have your water and all this sort of thing, then I think that's absolutely fine. I mean, when I was saying, oh, it's a good idea to do yoga and stretching. That's for the, you know, that's probably for the, you know, the day one, when you're really feeling like absolutely the hot water bottle, you don't want to do anything. But if you feel ready to do it, then fine. Please do.

You won't do your body any harm because your body will naturally tell you. You know, it's like, no, that was too much. No, I don't want to do that. So I think going on feel is a very important thing. Yeah. Brilliant. Well, thank you so much for your time, Nikki. It's been illuminating.

And I've also asked some personal questions for my own personal inside. No, that's fine. That's fun. No, well, I think that's the point, though. Because if you're, as an individual woman, don't be afraid. Oh, and thank you very much to Morgan for that one. I really hope you found it useful. So much insight in there.

Like the more you find out about hormones, just the more fascinating they are. Anyway, if you enjoyed this episode, please remember to rate and review on Apple Podcasts because it really helps other people find the show. And remember to subscribe wherever you get your podcast so that you never miss an episode. And if you have a goal in mind, let us know what it is.

You can either drop us an email or DM us on Instagram. we're at Women's Health UK, letting us know your name and what your goal is, and we could help you get there in a future episode. I'll be back next week. Take care, guys. Bye.