Frances Bavin Fitness

Frances Bavin Fitness Face to face PT, Online Coach & long time Zumba queen 💪🏋🏻‍♀️💃🍌🥑 https://www.francesbavinfitness.com/ For booking & more info www.viasession.com/francesbavin

09/09/2026

Everyone's talking about a "nervous system reset" right now, and it's something we all seem to need!

This is it. This is what it looks like for me.

The students are back so the gym's rammed, and I'm still the calmest I'll be all day. Music on, breathing steady, just me and the bar and the next rep.

That's the bit people miss about lifting. It's not all gritted teeth and shouting. When you've got something to concentrate on — the breath, the tempo, the count — your brain gets a break from everything else it's been carrying. And your body reads that as safe.

You come out steadier than you went in. Not just stronger.

Anyone else find the gym is the quietest place in their day?

07/09/2026

One of the things I'm here for....

06/09/2026

Part 4 — the follicular phase. Days 6 to 13ish, after your period and before ovulation. This is the fortnight to do the things you've been putting off.

Oestrogen is climbing back up, which supports the systems behind mood, motivation and focus. Better sleep, better recovery, more patience. This is when to push the intensity, start the new habit, have the difficult conversation, fill the freezer and get the admin done. Build your bad week during your good week.

Women with ADHD often describe this fortnight as the one where their brain finally works properly — and the second half of the month as being a different person entirely. More on that in a later video.

The catch: in perimenopause this window stops being reliable. Oestrogen doesn't just decline, it goes all over the place. So if you feel like you never get a good stretch anymore, that's why. It isn't you failing.

And yes, I'm filming this in bed. It's the one day a week I don't have to get up and do things, so I'm milking it — even if I am technically working.

04/09/2026

Part 3 — the menstrual phase. Days one to five, or thereabouts.

Your hormones have bottomed out and are only just starting to climb again, which is why the first day or two can feel so grim. Achy, crampy, exhausted, and in a bit of a funny frame of mind. Oestrogen also supports dopamine, so motivation and focus can take a hit at the same time — that's a whole video on its own and I'll come back to it.

What helps: rest if you need it and don't feel guilty about it, but don't write off moving altogether. You'll often feel better than you expect. And don't make any major decisions about your life this week — give it a few days and it will look quite different.

And yes, I know some of you finished with periods years ago and none of this is news. But there's no harm in the reminder. It's so easy to spend a week wondering why you feel so terrible before it dawns on you that it's your hormones, again.

I'm on day two right now and I can see how the week just gone with interrupted sleep has made things worse. But we will also come back to this because sleep can be worse in the luteal phase anyway!

03/09/2026

Part 2, monthly overview of our cycle before we get into how we can use this knowledge to our benefit. Don't get me started on why we weren't taught MORE about this at school, that's a whole other conversation!

In the coming videos I want to touch a bit more on progesterone, dopamine, ADHD and PMDD... all stuff that's been coming up with my clients more than ever during perimenopause. I'm no specialist in this area but if this can help a few people to go off and do some more reading and planning then great.

03/09/2026

Part 1

Let's get together a few strategies on how to train and eat well consistently while our hormones have other ideas!! It's a chicken and egg thing but there are always tactics we can use.

Part 2 coming soon

No regrets though, that was an awesome summer, lots of adventures, good times, family and friends, little bit of debauch...
02/09/2026

No regrets though, that was an awesome summer, lots of adventures, good times, family and friends, little bit of debauchery, some really nice uninterrupted spots of deep work. And I do love autumn if it doesn't rain too much.

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