How to Train According to Your Menstrual Cycle
It’s not what you do, it’s how you do it. This is as true a principle of life as it is in how you physically train, whether for health or sports performance - your approach matters. This means that the change you want is harder than just finding the right “program.”
When it comes to fitness training for women, the industry is lacking. Women were first introduced to the Olympics in 1900 and although we’ve learned a lot in 2000 years, sport continues to be largely a man’s world. In professional sports, women consistently receive less compensation than men. But the issue isn’t just about pay; it’s about education - the wage gap simply illustrates the leanings of an industry.
Let’s face it - men and women are different, and beautifully so. When it come to physical performance, the fact is that female-born athletes, on average, are not as physically fast or as strong as their male counterparts. To attempt to argue otherwise results in the blurring of biologically clear lines. It comes down to this: the strength of women versus the strength of men are not equal standards. One is not more or less than, it is simply different.
Feminine nature tends to be stronger in empathy, nurture and creativity. More strongly associated to “right-brain” thinking, the strength of women is often most notably different in unique aspects of childbirth, protection over loved ones and artistry. This is not to say that women are not also capable of immense physical strength, because indeed they are, but the process by which they arrive at peak physical health should not be regarded in the same way as men. It is precisely this approach that has lead to the unfortunately common acceptance that athletic women should or will lose their menstrual cycle.
Let’s change that perspective.
It’s how you do it. As a female, knowing how your hormones impact your physical state as well as how to adapt generally male-centric training protocols and recommendations is particularly important to restoring or maintaining healthy hormonal balance. It’s not about what exercises that you do, but your approach to them.
Whether you do yoga, CrossFit, boxing, powerlifting, jazzercise or pickle-ball, here are some principles to apply into your own practice health and fitness that will maximize your strength as a woman:
Menstrual Phase
Your period is considered ground zero of your “cycle.” A healthy period will typically last between 3 to 6 days. During menstruation is a time to be creative, restorative and “in flow” - in fact, artistic activity, listening to rich music or time in nature are especially helpful during this time to even your physiological wellbeing. When it comes to physical activity, you can and definitely should keep moving! Your uterus needs to pass something through that is no longer needed, so gentle motion should be a friend. This is a good time to focus on nasal-breathing through your workouts and only go at a pace that you can maintain such. This is also a good time to practice intuitive-exercise where there is no set number of repetitions or time-frame for you to follow… pick your movements, weight and domains as you go if you’re up for it. A long run, bike or row would be a great choice during this time or carries, pushes and pulls for longer distances. If you’re in a martial art or combat sport, this is a good time to practice movement flows and lower-intensity training sessions focused on mental acuity.
If you are within 24-48 hours of expected menstruation, or you’re late, a single attempt of any exercise to muscle failure can be particularly helpful to release any residual emotional “luggage” not processed in the previous cycle as well as to physically release the uterine lining.
Follicular Phase
This phase overlaps with your period, starting with the first day of menstruation and until ovulation. This is a time to let your energy and sense of expression build, taking some higher risks in terms of total weight lifted or level of relative intensity. Your ovaries are producing a higher level of estrogen at this time in order to build cellular structure, so use that “stress” in a positive outlet with a focus on growth and excitement! Volume strength sets, explosive exercises and higher-intensity workouts focused on muscle hypertrophy will be to your advantage at this time, peaking as you approach ovulation.
Ovulation Phase
Ovulation is when you will typically experience the highest state of arousal and will feel most empowered to take any course of action - both physical and mental. Go for a personal record if it feels right, try something new, add a weight vest to your normal exercise routine, get loud and let yourself experience the struggle that comes as a result, knowing you earned that! Take the courage to try the hardest thing you’ve done in awhile - even if you might fail.
Luteal Phase
The luteal phase of your menstrual cycle is a time to be task-oriented with as minimal room for risk or creativity as possible. In the same way that this can be a good time to come up with “to-do” lists of chores at home or work tasks, it is most beneficial to your body to focus on predetermined expectations in terms of sets, reps, weight, etc. to minimize unknown factors. This means that bodybuilding-type routines and EMOM’s or specific interval training are best in this period leading back to menstruation. Movements that draw you inward and toward center line are preferred to those that move you upward and outward into extension - such that a sandbag squat would be preferred to a barbell squat and sit-ups would be preferred to box jumps. This is also a time to focus on as much nasal breathing as you can.
Your period does not make you weak. Being a female does not mean you are weak. Training different than men does not make you needy or high-maintenance. What understanding your period, being female and acknowledging your unique differences does mean is that you are entirely more capable of understanding how to be the strongest that you can be - in more ways than one.
