Estrogen and How it Affects Athletic Performance

Many individuals have a goal of being a top performer when it comes to athletic activities. This can take a lot of time, dedication, training, and sweat to achieve, but it is possible. No matter what gender you are, you will need to make sure that your hormones levels are ideal in order to perform at your best. One hormone in particular, estrogen, has been known to play a specific role in performance and help athletes in several ways.

What is Estrogen?

Estrogen is a hormone in the body that is often perceived as more important for women than for men. However, both need the hormone in order for the body to be as healthy as possible. However, at times estrogen levels can get a bit out of control and lead to estrogen dominance.

What’s Estrogen Dominance?

When this occurs, estrogen levels increase while progesterone levels in the body decrease along with testosterone therapy in some cases. Certain factors can exacerbate estrogen dominance and contribute to its development, such as:

• Excess fat on the body: Fat is where testosterone is converter into estrogen, which can cause a snowball effect as estrogen also increases the storage of fat on the body which causes more estrogen to be produced.

• Being in a constant state of stress: Stress is a response to things that may threaten your survival, but many people experience this response even when actual danger isn’t present. This can result in developing health conditions and lowering progesterone.

• Exposing the body to pseudo-estrogens: Some substances, natural and artificial, can mimic estrogen very closely. These substances are often present in plant-based food items like soy and materials like plastic.

Benefits of Estrogen on Athletic Performance

Estrogen has a direct effect on several areas of the body when it comes to your athletic performance. Two of these benefits are increased muscle mass and bone tissue.

Increased Bone Tissue & Muscle Mass

Estrogen promotes the mineralization of bone and increases the presence of hormones that lead to muscle gain. A good balance of estrogen can also decrease the risk of bone fractures in men when combined with resistance training.

Optimize Estrogen Levels

If you’re interested in enhancing your performance and achieving peak performance, you should work with professionals that can measure your hormone levels and recommend a regimen and treatment that is most beneficial to your athletic performance.