I’ve noticed recently that there is a lot more research and literature rolling out about women working out in relation to their cycle. This is interesting to me because I’ve always taken the approach that no matter where I am in my cycle, I stick to the same workout routine. Sometimes that routine is more high intensity with CrossFit, other times it is consistently lower intensity with barre. But, now that I’ve been doing more research I’m looking forward to experimenting with rotating through workouts based on my cycle. Here are the highlights of what I’ve discovered so far!
The Phases
There are two phases to the female menstrual cycle, the follicular and luteal phase. Your hormones are at different ratios during and between these two phases. It makes sense that this can affect how your body responds to physical exercise. I’m starting to notice points during the month where my workouts seem much easier or much harder than my baseline. It turns out, those do actually coincide with these two cyclical phases! Below are some details on each.
The Follicular Phase
The follicular phase starts day 1 of your cycle. This is typically when a woman’s body has the lowest level of hormones. With that lower hormonal level, this is usually the half of your cycle where higher intensity or heavy lifting workouts feel the best! The body is also able to best utilize carbs, which we know helps with tougher workouts. For me, this means I’m doing more Orange Theory during this part of my cycle since that’s my higher intensity workout option.
The Luteal Phase
The luteal phase of your cycle is the second half in which your hormones typically run at a higher level. This is the point in time where our body would be preparing to get pregnant. That means a lot of energy is dedicated to just that! This part of the cycle is when dehydration can show up, and you might feel like you need additional carbs for energy. Because of this, lower intensity workouts that are easier on your overall energy level, tend to feel best and get better results. For me, this means more yoga, Pilates, and barre during the luteal phase.
How To Track
Now that we have this information, you might be wondering about best tracking methods for your cycle. Personally I own an OURA ring which tracks my period for me through my body temperature and an ongoing calendar. I know there are other apps like Natural Cycles and Flo. You could always go old school and track in your phone calendar too! However you chose to do it, I would suggest making sure it’s something easy, convenient, and trustworthy. I love my OURA ring for many reasons, but the period tracking is at the top of the list!
If you want a discount on your own OURA ring you can follow my link here and get $50 off!
My Experience
I am very new to cycling my workouts to coincide with the two phases of my cycle. What I can say already is that I feel more dialed in to the workouts I’m choosing. Whether it’s high or low intensity, now I’m working with, instead of against, my body. I can remember running on a treadmill one week feeling like an Olympic athlete, and the next feeling like I’ve never done cardio in my life. That can be defeating! Now that I am paying attention and learning from new research, I haven’t felt that defeated feeling in my workouts.
Final Thoughts
As women, we know we’re complex and have a lot going on. The last thing we need to be doing is beating ourselves up over a workout. This science isn’t always going to work perfectly for everyone, and that’s also important to remember. But, I would challenge you to try rotating your workouts along with your cycle for 3 months like I have. If you notice a different, awesome and if not, at least you have focused on trying to better yourself and your health in a new way!
If you have any research related to working out following your cycle, please link it in the comments below!