Keeping Hormones Happy with T-Tapp
Do you have a hazy view of how hormones are related to weight gain, especially in mid-life? Teresa Tapp said “in my opinion, lat activation is the secret to menopause management.”
[break][/break]Did your ears perk up? Secret? Menopause management?
[break][/break]Even if you’re not at the age of coping with menopause, as a woman you are dealing with hormones.
[break][/break]Here’s the deal. As adults we don’t often use the muscles involved in balance and we lose internal muscle tone in our core. We use our arms and legs carrying groceries in from the car, but when was the last time you walked one foot in front of another along a curb? Or swung from the monkey bars at the playground? Muscle atrophy begins and we have a decrease in spinal muscle density.
[break][/break]Meanwhile, female hormones fluctuate no matter what season of life we are in. Our bodies are always trying to balance themselves; this process is called homeostasis. When estrogen increases, the pancreas releases more insulin to help the body maintain hormone balance. Then the insulin causes our body to store more fat. Isn’t that special?
[break][/break]Increased insulin can also increase estrogen levels, which in turn can cause even more insulin to be produced. Add menopausal hormone changes and you have a recipe for fat accumulation.
[break][/break]T-Tapp maintains or rebuilds our resting glucose utilization rate (a process that makes your body burn glucose, even when you’re sitting). To do that rebuilding, we have to rebuild spinal muscle density because those core muscles prefer glucose for fuel. To increase core density, spinal muscles have to be activated at both points of attachment and that’s where the lats come in. If you’re not familiar with these powerhouse muscles along the sides of the back, you can find a diagram here.
[break][/break]With this increased spinal muscle density, your body burns glucose even at rest which helps your body maintain better blood sugar balance, which in turn helps your body prevent fat storage from excess sugar in the blood. Sounds like a plan to me!
[break][/break]Everything I need to know about hormones and T-Tapp, I learned in Fit and Fabulous in 15 Minutes by Teresa Tapp. The Menopause Thyroid Solution by Mary Shomon, which contains a special T-Tapp sequence just for thyroid issues, gave me further insight into the effects of aging and hormones on a woman’s body.
[break][/break]Now you know why you keep hearing about the lats in T-Tapp workouts. I’m no doctor. All I know is that I lost all my weight and reshaped my body at an age when most women are struggling with midsection weight gain. I actually found my waist again and have kept it! At the time I didn’t even understand how it worked, but it worked nonetheless.
[break][/break]So now you are armed with knowledge AND a secret. Women of any age want to look and feel good. In my opinion, T-Tapp is one of the secrets to manage the effects of age. Dr. Perricone agreed when he said that “T-Tapp is the ideal anti-aging workout.” I look younger at age 52 than I did at age 42. Excuse me while I do a cartwheel—yippee!
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So well wrtitten, thank you.
You are amazing and beautiful Charlotte! I noticed that every woman who has faithfully and consistently worked out with T-Tapp look so much younger. I thank God for you and Trisch and the other wonderful ladies on the forums. You keep me going and inspired to stick with it. Many blessings to you.
Okay, if lats are the key to menopause management, I would really love to see a study comparing women who DO continue to use their ‘balance muscles’ throughout life, like ballet dancers and gymnasts (do any gymnasts continue after they’re older?) with ordinary women who don’t. It would be great to see if there is a big difference in menopause symptoms!
Personally, I’m not quite convinced. My mother, mother-in-law, and older sister have all sailed through menopause with absolutely no discernible symptoms, and none of them have ever been physically active at all. I, on the other hand, have been T-Tapping regularly through the past several years, and have been struggling mightily with hot flashes for a year now. It makes me wonder if it’s another one of those things that varies with body type or some other unknown that we haven’t figured out yet? Not trying to be argumentative, but I am frustrated that it’s not working for me! …still trying, though. with all the wonderful things T-Tapp has done for me, I keep hoping it will happen!
That’s definitely frustrating, Ronda! I actually had an experience along these lines recently. When I certified for the Ladybug workout Teresa discovered that I wasn’t activating lats and going to my max and it was actually making adrenal fatigue worse. With a few tweaks I felt the effects immediately! So it’s possible that form issues are part of the puzzle, even if we “think” our form is good (which of course I did!). Maybe this will help…
How do I know if I’m really activating my lats?
Have you ever done a Broom workout? The broom forces you to keep lats activated, shoulders back, chest out. The first time I did a Broom workout, my lats were sore because I hadn’t been activating them before.
Here are ways to tell if you’re NOT activating: If traps (shoulder line) are up and activated, lats are not (think hunching at computer). If ribs are sinking down into hips, lats are not activated. If shoulders are rolled forward and chest is sunk in, lats are inactivated. Think Superman!
Stay really tall during workouts (really, all the time). Keep the spine as long and straight as possible. You might feel fatigue along the sides of your back at first, that’s good.
Hope this helps!
Great post! And what’s so funny, a reader sent it to me because she thought I would like it. God keeps bringing us together. <3 Lisa~
Ha! *waving* at ya, Lisa! Thanks for stopping by, dear!
I would love more info in the thyroid menopause ttapp work outs. The link doesn’t work. Any ideas or help with this?Only 36 and into perio menopause. My world has been rocked for a year!