You’re training consistently. You’re eating well. You’re doing all the things that should be working.
And yet… You feel tired, wired, holding onto belly fat, and not seeing the results you used to.
This is where cortisol comes into the conversation.
Cortisol is your body’s primary stress hormone. It plays an important role in energy, focus, and performance, but like most things in the body, it’s about balance.
When cortisol is chronically elevated, it starts to work against you…
During perimenopause, this becomes even more relevant. Fluctuating estrogen levels make the body more sensitive to stress, meaning the same lifestyle and training load you handled in your 20’s can now tip you into a state of under-recovery.
As highlighted by Stacy Sims, women are not small men, especially during perimenopause. Hormonal shifts change how we respond to intensity, recovery, and overall load. Similarly, Mary Claire Haver emphasises that elevated stress hormones can drive fat storage (particularly abdominal), disrupt sleep, and worsen metabolic health in midlife women.
What high cortisol can look like:
- Stubborn abdominal fat
- Poor recovery between sessions
- Increased cravings (especially sugar)
- Energy crashes or feeling “wired but tired”
- Disrupted sleep
And here’s the trap, many women respond by pushing harder. More HIIT. More cardio. Less rest. But if your body is already under stress, this approach can backfire, keeping cortisol elevated and preventing the very adaptations you’re working for.
So what actually works?
At Holixir, we take a more strategic, hormone-aware approach to training.
- Strength training as the foundation
Progressive strength training helps improve insulin sensitivity, build lean muscle, and increase metabolic rate. It also supports bone density, critical during this life stage.
- Athletic strength (done intelligently)
We do include short bursts of plyometrics and interval work to support power and VO₂ max, but the key is in the dosage. Short, controlled efforts, plenty of recovery, ensuring no chronic flogging of the nervous system. This gives you the benefits of intensity without driving excessive cortisol or fatigue.
- Reformer Pilates for nervous system balance
Reformer isn’t just “light work”, it plays a crucial role in:
- Stability and control
- Core and pelvic strength
- Downregulating the nervous system
It helps shift your body into a parasympathetic (rest and recover) state, where real progress happens.
The big picture – Results don’t come from doing more, they come from doing what your body can actually adapt to. When your training supports your hormones, rather than fighting them you’ll start to notice:
- Better energy
- Improved body composition
- More consistent progress
- And a body that finally feels like it’s working with you again
Because the goal isn’t just to train hard. It’s to train smart, especially in this phase of life.
References & Further Reading
- Stacy Sims – ROAR; research on female physiology, stress, and performance
Mary Claire Haver – The Galveston Diet; education on menopause, cortisol, and metabolic health