Syncing Up Your Work Outs... With Your Menstrual Cycle?!

Story time: a few years ago, I signed up and trained for a full marathon. This wasn’t my first marathon— in fact, it was my fourth. And while I trained quite similarly to my other races, it felt…. so. much. harder.

Typically in marathons, I wouldn’t really feel tired until miles 15+…. but, this one, I remember feeling genuinely fatigued at the 3 mile mark. The paces I was running effortlessly during training runs suddenly felt more difficult. My breathing felt a bit labored. I didn’t feel as much bounce in my stride. and, to just put it simply, my energy just felt… blah. In the end, my race was almost 10 minutes slower than the marathon I had run the year prior with similar training.

The main difference between this marathon and the others I had run?

I was on day 2 of my period during the race.

wait… my menstrual cycle ACTUALLY impacts my work outs!??

Something I constantly talk about here on The Foundation Blog is women’s health — specifically working *with* your hormones.

And while there are so many different ways we can talk about this (your nutrition! your birth control methods! your work schedule! supplements! sex life! energy levels! fertility! social life! so many micro-topics!), what I wanted to focus on today is fitness, and how to work out WITH your cycle.

The truth is… I wasn’t surprised by my sub-stellar marathon performance above. Once I saw that it was going to be mid-period on race day, I had a gentle awareness it may be a little tough. I mean I didn’t expect or assume that it would automatically suck because of my period— but moreso, an awareness that typically running on my period is just… different.

Aside from the mid-race feminine hygiene considerations #TheJoysOfWomanhood, I’ve always noticed a bit of a dip in my runs when I was on my period. They’re not bad, not awful, but they just felt a liiiiiiittle more labored & slower paced than the other runs during the month.

and this isn’t just me or my HoRmOnAL ~feelings~, okay!

…It’s SCIENCE.

WHAT THE DATA SAYS:

• Women showed better performance in jumping-speed efforts in the post-ovulatory phase, and shows the lowest exercise capacity before and during menstruation. ( source)

• Elite athletes self-report decrease in their athletic performance in the menstrual phase and an increase in follicular phase (source)

• Your resting heart rate/cardiovascular benchmarks fluctuates throughout the menstrual cycle (source)

• Physical activity in general has been shown to reduce symptoms of physical PMS symptoms, psychological PMS symptoms, dysmenorrhea, and oligomenorrhea. (source)

• Elite athletes showed a measurable difference in performance of power, jumping and speed based on where they were at in their cycle. There was a measureable increased physical capacity in the post-ovulatory phase in all areas and decreased physical capacity in the bleeding phase (power, jumping ability) and in the luteal phase (speed). source

• IN A NUTSHELL: Our body is SMART, and there is a natural ebb & flow to energy, athletic performance, and hormones with each stage of our cycle— and this blog post talks about how we can leverage our workouts to “match” with the unique seasons of our menstrual cycle .

optimizing your workouts with your cycle

While we all know exercise is good for us, did you know that it can also be a tool in working with your hormones is by aligning your workouts with the different phases / energy levels of your cycle???

While we all may know this intuitively (I mean… who else relates to the I-just-want-to-lay-on-the-couch #mood of their period?!), as discussed above, there actually is science backing it up that we TRULY do have ebbs & shifts in our athletic performance / fitness throughout our cycle.

for example, your athletic performance/desire to exercise may naturally falter during PMS/period times of your cycle— while the ~high vibes~ and more energetic follicular phase and ovulation stage can often have us hitting a new personal best, squatting heavy, & yearning for more intense workouts!

And this isn’t just for us ordinary joes— even olympic medalists report the impact menstruation has on their performance!

the joooooys of womanhood :) :) :) :) :)

….but, honestly, this ebb & flow of your energy isn’t something to be overly bummed about, but moreso just something to be aware of and work with! And by intentionally planning your work outs with your cycle, you can tap into this intuitive cycle and give your body what it WANTS during certain times of your cycle!

Basically, long story short— it’s not “just in your head” and you’re not just “imagining it”. Some work outs intuitively DO just feel better during certain types of the month, and today I am going to tell you which specific work outs best align with each phase of your cycle, hormones, and energy levels.

As someone who used to think EVERY work out had to be super intense, lots of cardio, and very intense effort to “count” or “make a difference”, I can confidently say learning to incorporate different types/intensities work outs with my cycle has been SO empowering & transformative. It’s been freeing.

Because I no longer discount lower-intensity work outs— I KNOW there is a place for them & now just time them during the moments of my cycle where it’s most optimal for my hormones, energy levels, and athletic capabilities to take a lighter day. Learning to work out with my cycle has been a great lesson in rest, recovery, variety, and giving my body what it actually wants (instead of forcing it to do the same intense work outs day-after-day).

As always, this isn’t one-size-fits-all. Of course there will be always nuance based on your situation & needs, but in general these are work outs that align with the energy levels during the different times of the month! Below I outline a simple framework to follow :)

a quick intro: the four phases of your menstrual cycle

Many women know 2 basic things about their cycle— when they’re on their period and when they’re off their period, but there are actually four distinct parts of your cycle: the menstrual phase, the follicular phase, the ovulatory phase, and the luteal phase.

Your hormones are constantly fluctuating throughout the month, and each of the four distinct phases of your menstrual cycle have a very different balance of estrogen and progesterone— which result in these different “seasons” above..

When things are off balance hormonally, you may notice things like issues with fertility, poor sleep, dramatic bloating, intense PMS, difficulty losing weight, high cortisol, difficulty sleeping, headaches, intense cravings…when our hormones aren’t balanced it can affect A LOT of things in our lives & having a general knowledge of what a cycle looks like can be empowering.

The thing is, many of us have NO clue about these different stages (because we are NEVER taught it… I could go on a whole ramble about that), I like to introduce it with a simple comparison to the seasons to help you learn the 4 phases of your cycle better.

THE “SEASONS” OF YOUR MENSTRUAL CYCLE:

• Winter (your period): This is your period, or approximately days 1-5 of your cycle. It’s helpful to think of this phase as winter because you’re probably naturally feeling that urge to “hibernate.” This is a bit of a slow-moving and lethargic time, lower-energy, etc. so it’s the perfect phase to stay home, be a bit more inward, and take things easy.

• Spring (right after your period): Spring is the follicular phase. As hormones rise again after your period, you’re feeling more energy, more confidence, a stronger desire to be social…basically just kind of a *high vibe* time. Just like a warm day after a long winter, you’ll be feeling more like yourself and ready to be out and about. 

• Summer (the days surrounding ovulation): Ahhhhhhh, summer. The ovulation phase only lasts for a few days, but this is really the peak of that ~fertile energy~. You’ll be feeling energized, confident, motivated, and overall just really GOOD.

• Fall (the time before your period/PMS): Fall is the luteal phase, when it’s time to slooooooow down again. As your hormones shift again, you may naturally feel a pull to turn inward and get organized before you start “nesting” for the winter hibernation of your period. 

There’s so much intuition in your cycle, and getting to know these four phases is a great way to understand the “why” behind why you may feel a certain way at different times of the month. While I could (and am happy to!) dig into ALLLLL the speicifc hormone fluctuations and physiology considerations of this cycle^^ if you guys want, I think the “seasons” are a great way for the beginner to get to know their cycle.

Personally, I use this four seasons key to help feel more steady and in control when it comes to the highs and lows of my cycle, and I hope it helps you too! Because it doesn’t necessarily change how you feel— but having an awareness around these fluctuations can be really comforting and empowering!

And while there are a lot of ways to help support hormone balance (one of my fav topics!), today we are going to focus on one in particular— aligning your exercise with your menstrual cycle.

how to cycle sync your workouts with your menstrual cycle!

Below is a general framework, divided by phase of the cycle. I gave broke it up chunk-by-chunk with specific exercises. While this framework seems to work with a lot of women, I’d like to remind you this doesn’t have to (and shouldn’t be) SUPER rigid! As always, everyone’s cycle looks a little unique to them— so just use this as a general framework & an awareness to which exercises/energy levels seem to correlate with your cycle. Take the exercises below and see what makes sense for YOUR life & cycle!

menstrual phase on your period / “winter” (approx. days 1-5 of your cycle)

Menstrual (winter): This may feel intuitive already, but this is the time for slooooow, gentle movement. This would be a great time to take a rest day, go for a walk, or do some gentle stretching. More low-intensity movement is what your body craves during this time! You may feel some energy gradually come back around day 3-4 of your cycle as your estrogen begins to surge again, and at that point you can intutively increase intensity as you head into the follicular phase. But during those extra slow days of menstruation, you could try things like:

• Rest days

• Outdoor walks

• Stretching

• Slower-paced yoga classes (hatha & yin)

• Bodyweight strength exercises

• IN A NUTSHELL: whichever type of exercise you choose to do (even if it’s not on this list above), just make it a lighter / lower intensity day.

follicular phase / “spring” (approx. days 6-14 of your cycle)

Early follicular (spring): This is when your energy is starting to bounce back after your period! you’re feeling more “like yourself”, more energy, etc. so it’s a great time to increase to moderate-intensity workout plan by doing things like the following. 

• Jogging / power walking

• Walking at an incline / stair stepper

• Cycle classes

• Pilates / more intense yoga classes

• Weight-lifting with moderate weight

• Resistance band or dumbbell strength exercises

• IN A NUTSHELL: whichever type of exercise you choose to do (even if it’s not on this list above), just make it a moderate-to-higher intensity work out

late follicular ovulation phase / “summer” (approximately days 15-20 of your cycle)

Late follicular/ovulation (summer): This is the “peak” of the follicular phase. You will likely have a lot of great energy here thanks to your higher levels of estrogen, so you can really amp up to moderate to high-intensity workouts during this phase. You’ll may find you can tolerate higher intensity, quicker paces, faster recovery, higher weights, etc. during this time. This would be a good time for: 

• Interval work outs

• Running

• Higher weight/more intense weight lifting

• Jogging, cycling, speed walking, more intense cardio, etc.

• Shorter recovery between sets/reps when doing work outs

• Sculpt yoga

• HIIT workouts

• IN A NUTSHELL: whichever type of exercise you choose to do (even if it’s not on this list above), just make it a higher intensity work out. this is a great time to push yourself!

luteal phase / “autumn” (approximately days 20-27 of your cycle)

Luteal (fall): You may know this as the “PMS” time, but the week or so before your period it is time to start slowing things down and decreasing back to moderate intensity workouts. You may still really want to be active during this phase (which is fine!), but perhaps to a lesser degree.This phrase is perfect for workouts like:

• Hot yoga (vinyasa)

• Resistance band exercises

• Bodyweight / lighter weight strength

• Incline walking

• Stairmaster

• Pilates

• IN A NUTSHELL: whichever type of exercise you choose to do (even if it’s not on this list above), just make it a moderate intensity.

and there you have it!

A guide to working out with your cycle, with specific work outs to cycle through during the month.

Just being aware that the way we workout can fluctuate with our hormones is sooooooo beneficial, and can really influence the way our bodies respond to the exercises we choose to do.

These tips are a great thing to keep in mind, but you also don’t have to rigidly follow this! Your cycle and your body will feel intuitive to YOU. What I really hope is that this post inspires you to learn about, listen to, and work WITH your body and support your hormones during your workouts.

Enjoy that intuitive movement, my friends!

XX,

Kate