Train with Your Cycle, Not Against It
Periods & Fitness: A Simple Breakdown
For women, it’s important to keep menstrual cycles in mind when planning workouts and meal preps. Staying in tune with your body will ensure that you maintain your routine and continue seeing the results you’re looking for, even when you may not feel up to doing so.
Based on the phase of your period, you might be more greatly affected by changing hormones resulting in fatigue, sickness, headaches, and lower energy levels. But that doesn’t mean it has to derail your workouts and trips to the gym.
So, how can you work with your period and continue workouts effectively?
In this post, we’ll go over a simple breakdown of how our cycle works, different caveats you may experience, and how you can adjust your workouts based on the phase of your cycle. Let’s get started.
How Does Your Cycle Work?
Your menstrual cycle begins when your uterus sheds its lining, usually once a month over a duration of 4-7 days. The entire cycle lasts anywhere from 24-38 days and operates in 4 phases: menstruation, the follicular phase, the ovulation phase, and the luteal phase. Each cycle is different, but the process remains the same.
Let’s break down the 4 phases a little further:
Menstruation (Days 1-5): This begins the first day of your period where your uterus begins to shed its lining since pregnancy hasn’t occurred. You’re likely to experience cramping, bloating, fatigue, and mood swings.- Follicular (Days 6-14): This spans from the first day of your period until ovulation. The brain releases follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), which stimulates the ovaries into developing immature eggs and elevates estrogen levels, thickening the uterine lining. You’ll usually start to feel more energetic, positive, and a boost in mental clarity.
- Ovulation (Day 14): Around day 14, your body increases in another hormone called luteinizing hormone, or LH, which causes your ovary to release its egg. During this time, you’ll experience increased energy, confidence, and a higher sex drive.
- Luteal (Days 15-28): During its final phase, the egg leaves the ovary and travels through the fallopian tubes to the uterus. The hormone known as progesterone rises to prepare your uterine lining for pregnancy. If it becomes fertilized by sperm, the egg will attach itself to the uterine wall and result in pregnancy. If not, estrogen and progesterone levels decrease and the thick outer lining of the uterus will shed during your period. This triggers premenstrual syndrome (PMS), cravings, and overall irritability.
Next, let’s go over some common limitations of working out while on your period.
Common Caveats of Exercising with Periods
With periods come certain limitations around working out, such as:
- PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome): PCOS is a hormonal, metabolic disorder that includes irregular periods, excess body and facial hair, weight gain, acne, and reduced fertility, to name a few. Treatment usually includes birth control, medication, and lifestyle changes.
- Postpartum: Postpartum is the period of time directly after giving birth, usually up to 6-8 weeks. This is a crucial period of recovery where your body readjusts to non-pregnancy, and deals with hormonal shifts and potential physical complications. Exercising postpartum has shown to relieve stress, improve sleep, and reduce symptoms of postpartum depression.
- Menopause: Menopause is the biological process marking the end of experiencing periods and the possibility for pregnancy. It usually impacts older women over the age of 50 but can occur younger as well. Women with menopause may experience weaker bones, hot flashes, vaginal dryness, mood swings, and brain fog, which no doubt can make it more difficult to stay consistent in the gym. Strength training as well as low-impact activities, such as walking or swimming, can help to improve posture, reduce hot flashes, and reduce fall risks in older women.
If you experience any of these caveats, it’s understandable that exercising might be more difficult to stick to. Consulting with your doctor first and foremost is the safest way to ensure safe exercises and reduce pushing your body past its limit. Simply listening to your body goes a long way and is crucial to ensure you don’t cause unnecessary strain or harm.
Should You Adjust Your Workouts Based on Your Cycle?
Just because you’re experiencing your cycle doesn’t mean you need to forfeit your workouts. There are several ways you can modify your exercises to accommodate how you’re feeling and where you’re at in your cycle.
- Lower the intensity
The easiest way to feel better about working out around this time is to lower the intensity of your exercises. Avoid high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and prolonged cardio. This will better your chances of experiencing fatigue, dizziness, and shortness of breath.
2. Prioritize lighter modalities
Instead of doing high-impact exercises that require lots of movement, you can opt for lower-impact activities like yoga, stretching, or pilates. These release tension in the body and can also help reduce bloating. You don’t want to over-exert yourself and possibly worsen your cramps or back pain.
3. Avoid excessive bleeding
Certain movements are sure to increase your blood flow, making it difficult and even painful to work out. Avoid any exercise that requires intense and prolonged abdominal pressure, such as deep crunches, planks, and running. Instead, opt for low-impact movements like swimming, walking, or cycling.
4. Stay hydrated
Increasing your intake of water will help you stay away from headaches, give your body energy, easing cramps, and fighting fatigue, which will also keep you motivated to continue your workouts. Proper hydration will thin your blood flow and flush excess sodium from your body.
5. Listen to your body
Not all days of your cycle will look or feel the same, and that’s totally normal. What’s most important is that you always listen to your body and exercise as you see most appropriate for your needs that day. Some days you might need more fuel with less movement, while other days you’re able to take on more high-impact activity. As long as you work with how you’re feeling, you’ll be more motivated to stick to it.
Truth or Myth: Must You Stop Working Out on Your Period?
You might be wondering how much physical activity you really should partake in as you go through your cycle; perhaps you don’t feel well enough to exercise or that you’re putting your body through too much amidst the chaos.
The truth is, however, that light movement can actually help alleviate cramping while boosting your mood and reducing pain. Exercise boosts endorphins and improves circulation, so even though you might not mentally feel up to the challenge, just getting started could leave you feeling much better than before.
Don’t let your period stop you from getting in the gym and still experiencing a vibrant, feel-good workout. Your body will thank you for your dedication to feeling good even when you may not feel 100% up for the challenge.
To get more in touch with your physical health, consider booking with our
Nutrition and Wellness Coach, Katie Sayad Alvarez. Our Nutrition programs focus on maximizing wellness, clean eating, detoxing, creating health assessments, and much more.
You can also
book a personal training session with one of our coaches to see how best to train based on your body type and fitness level during that time of the month.
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