Exercise & Your Cycle

We all know that regular movement is essential to our health and wellness. The best workouts are the ones that get your heart racing and leave you completely wiped at the end, right? Well, if you have a menstrual cycle, then the answer is probably NO!!

As a cyclical being, the energy levels of your body wax and wane with your changing hormones. As such, the type of exercise you should be doing changes as well. By looking at our hormones, we can optimize our exercises, setting us up to experience an easier cycle and better results.

Let's take a look at how we should be exercising during each cycle phase!

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The Menstrual Phase

If you remember from one of my earlier posts, the menstrual phase marks the first part of your menstrual cycle. During this phase, your hormones are at their lowest point, so you're likely to experience a decrease in energy levels and poorer exercise performance.

From a metabolic perspective, our bodies are less capable of accessing and utilizing our stored energy (glycogen) due to the lack of estrogen during this time. Estrogen increases your body's sensitivity to insulin, a hormone that regulates blood sugar levels. Because of this change, we will have a harder time using glucose to fuel our muscles and power our workout (4).

When it comes to strength training, one study found a significant decrease in strength during the menstrual phase compared to other parts of the cycle. Additionally, it noted an increase in delayed onset muscle soreness (5). Essentially, this means that our bodies are going to be weaker and take longer to recover from the muscle damage that intense exercise induces.

This is a time for rest and restoration within your body, so opt for lighter loads, decreased intensity, and increased recovery times.

Here's some specific ideas for how to exercise during this time:

• Slow walks

• Gentle pilates

• Stretching

• Yoga

• Tai Chi

• Breathwork

• Take a nap (a.k.a. don't exercise!)

  
  

Because our menstrual cycles are SO unique, it's important to assess how YOUR body reacts to exercise during your period. Some might find that they feel great after some gentle movement, and others, not so much. If you feel that exercise (even gentle ones like walking) leave you feeling depleted during your period, skip them! There's nothing wrong with taking some time to rest and recharge. Your body will thank you for tuning in and listening to its cues!

The Follicular Phase

After your period ends, you enter the follicular phase of your menstrual cycle.

During this phase, your estrogen levels begin to gradually increase, peaking just before ovulation. Additionally, cortisol will increase during this phase as well, creating more energy in our bodies (1). As if that wasn’t cool enough, estrogen also increases our insulin sensitivity, allowing us to better utilize glycogen, our muscles preferred energy source (3).

Because of these biological changes, our bodies are better equipped to adapt and handle more strenuous activity compared to our menstrual & luteal phases (4). This means we can up the intensity of our workouts and expect bodies to perform and recover better.

This is a great time to engage in mild to moderate cardio movements, as well as light to moderate strength training.

Here’s some more specific ideas:

• Walking

• Jogging

• Cycling

• Swimming

• Hiking

• Strength Training (light to moderate)

One REALLY important step when adjusting your workouts in this phase is to take it slow!!! It should be a gradual transition from more gentle movement to more intense ones as you approach ovulation. Without this step, you risk overloading your body and causing more harm than good.

The Ovulatory Phase

Building off of what we know about the follicular phase, we can also identify the best way to exercise during your ovulatory phase. Although this phase itself only lasts about 24 hours, you’ll likely notice an increase in energy and motivation as estrogen surges in the days prior to ovulation.

As I mentioned in my post on the follicular phase, estrogen increases your body’s sensitivity to a hormone called insulin. This allows us to better access and use our carbohydrate energy stores. One study found this to be true, particularly when looking at short-duration, higher intensity exercise (4).

Additionally, cortisol will remain higher during this phase of your cycle, so you’ll feel full of energy (1). Use it to your advantage!! This is a great time to partake in cardio-based training. Also, because testosterone peaks at ovulation, you may notice increased strength as well. Feel free to increase your weight loads, since muscle recovery will be improved and soreness lessened (5).

Here’s some specific ideas to try in the days leading up to ovulation:

•  Running

•  Dancing

•  Cycling

•  Zumba

•  Strength Training (moderate to heavy)

•  Aerobic Sports

•  Kickboxing

•  Cross-Fit

•  HIIT (interval training)

As always, keep in mind how your body feels during this phase. Use this time of heightened energy to push yourself a bit more and strive to reach your performance goals. However, if you notice some negative effects on your cycle, try scaling the intensity back a build and experiment to find what works for you.

The Luteal Phase

The luteal phase is the last phase of your menstrual cycle, occurring 10-14 days before your period starts.There is a MASSIVE difference in what your hormones are doing during this phase compared to other parts of your cycle. So, your exercise needs are also going to change.

Cortisol is naturally lower during the luteal phase compared to the follicular, so your body is LESS equipped to handle the stress of high-intensity exercise (1). In fact, pushing your body to do strenuous activity during the luteal phase can actually worsen PMS symptoms!!

As if that wasn’t enough, your body’s energy sources also change. During earlier parts of your cycle, your body is better able to use glucose as fuel (perfect for cardio-based exercises). But, during the luteal phase, our bodies actually prefer to use fat for energy (8,4). This means our metabolism is better suited for lower intensity, slower exercises that use energy over a longer period of time (4).

Finally, because of the presence of progesterone, our ligaments are stronger during the luteal phase. This means we are better able to handle mechanical loads (like weights), decreasing our risk of injury (2).

So, when choosing how to exercise during this phase, opt for movements like these…

• Strength Training

  • Moderate in the earlier half of this phase, and lighter later on.

• Walking

  • Take it slow, the goal is just to get some movement in.

• Stretching or Yoga

  • Yoga has specifically been shown to improve PMS symptoms (7).

• Rest

  • Your body actually burns more calories on its own during this phase, even with no exercise (6).

Like in all phases, it's important to listen to how YOUR body reacts to exercise during this phase. Some women may find that moderate intensity still feels good in the beginning of this phase, whereas others may need a more abrupt switch to low intensity after they ovulate.

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What's Next?

Confused on how to know which phase your in? Check out my posts on cycle tracking on the blog and on my Instagram! Give these exercise suggestions a try and see if you notice any positive changes. Happy Healing!

References

1. Hamidovic, A., Karapetyan, K., Serdarevic, F., Choi, S. H., Eisenlohr-Moul, T., & Pinna, G. (2020). Higher Circulating Cortisol in the Follicular vs. Luteal Phase of the Menstrual Cycle: A Meta-Analysis. Frontiers in endocrinology, 11, 311. https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2020.00311

2. Iwańska, D., Kęska, A., Dadura, E., Wójcik, A., Mastalerz, A., & Urbanik, C. (2021). The effect of the menstrual cycle on collagen metabolism, growth hormones and strength in young physically active women. Biology of sport, 38(4), 721–728. https://doi.org/10.5114/biolsport.2021.107314

3. Mauvais-Jarvis, F., Clegg, D. J., & Hevener, A. L. (2013). The role of estrogens in control of energy balance and glucose homeostasis. Endocrine reviews, 34(3), 309–338. https://doi.org/10.1210/er.2012-1055

4. Oosthuyse, T., & Bosch, A. N. (2010). The effect of the menstrual cycle on exercise metabolism: implications for exercise performance in eumenorrhoeic women. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 40(3), 207–227. https://doi.org/10.2165/11317090-000000000-00000

5. Romero-Parra, N., Cupeiro, R., Alfaro-Magallanes, V. M., Rael, B., Rubio-Arias, J. Á., Peinado, A. B., Benito, P. J., & IronFEMME Study Group (2021). Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage During the Menstrual Cycle: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 35(2), 549–561. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000003878

6. Solomon, S. J., Kurzer, M. S., & Calloway, D. H. (1982). Menstrual cycle and basal metabolic rate in women. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 36(4), 611–616. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/36.4.611

7. Vaghela, N., Mishra, D., Sheth, M., & Dani, V. B. (2019). To compare the effects of aerobic exercise and yoga on Premenstrual syndrome. Journal of education and health promotion, 8, 199. https://doi.org/10.4103/jehp.jehp_50_19

8. Willett, H. N., Koltun, K. J., & Hackney, A. C. (2021). Influence of Menstrual Cycle Estradiol-β-17 Fluctuations on Energy Substrate Utilization-Oxidation during Aerobic, Endurance Exercise. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(13), 7209. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18137209