Wise woman workouts
A guide to syncing exercise with your menstrual cycle. Optimize your fitness with these tips!
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Wise Woman Workouts
A guide to syncing exercise with your menstrual cycle
Your body is not the same throughout the month and your exercise routine shouldn't be either.
It’s important for women to know that most of the “expert advice” we get on exercise is geared toward optimizing male fitness. Unlike the female 28 day infradian hormonal cycle, the male hormonal system runs on a 24 hour clock, a circadian rhythm. A consistent exercise routine makes sense for men. For ladies, it’s a different story.
Oh the research!
Women have been grossly underrepresented in fitness research. A 2017 British Journal of Sports Medicine Review of 1,382 sports and exercise related studies from 2011 to 2013 revealed that only 39 percent of the more than 6 million participants involved in those studies were women! AND of those women included in the studies, nearly all of them were in the follicular phase of their cycle, a time when hormone levels favor fat loss. These skewed studies have created a collective misbelief that a healthy, “in-shape” woman should be doing intense fat-burning workouts everyday. But too much exercise can actually be detrimental to a woman’s health, resulting in irregular or missed periods - a clear sign of hormonal imbalance.
Overriding the messages of our body can lead to burnout, hormonal imbalance, fatigue, and injury.
Learning how to work out in sync with our cyclical nature creates sustainable physical wellness. Do you body and mind a favor and let go of the “more is better, harder is better” mentality. Your cyclical nature provides a clear map to plan your best workouts. Don’t beat yourself up for not doing enough!
Read on to get a detailed breakdown of how your exercise can align with the four phases of your menstrual cycle.
Phase 1 - Menstruation (approximately days 1-6)
Rest is best!
The menstrual phase is the easiest to identify - it begins on the first day of your period. Your two major sex hormones, estrogen and progesterone, are at their lowest levels, and so are your energy levels. High intensity exercise during this phase can backfire, turning the body into fat storage, causing muscle wasting and stressing out the cardiovascular system.
Engage in restorative activities. Consider a nap a workout! Sleep helps the body maintain a healthy weight. Other ideal movements for the body include walking outside to get fresh air and enjoy nature, foam rolling, yin yoga, and breath work.
Phase 2 - Follicular (approximately days 7-13)
It’s time to wake up the body with movement!
The follicular phase begins once you’ve stopped bleeding. You begin to feel your energy and mental agility return as estrogen and FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) begin to rise in your body. It’s time to wake up the body with movement!
This is an ideal time to build lean muscle and enjoy cardio. In general, you are more open to experimentation and exercise is a great way to act upon this instinct. Try a new class!
As you move through this phase, your body will gain efficiency in metabolism and hardcore work workouts will be most effective in shedding weight and building lean muscles. Running, biking, dancing, and hiking are all great options.
Bonus tip* The mental focus available at this time of the month makes it an ideal time to plan and commit to all your workouts for the month ahead.
Phase 3 - Ovulation (approximately days 14-17)
You’ve got energy to burn! Work it out.
In the ovulatory phase, estrogen and testosterone meeting their peak levels in this phase, this is an ideal time to crush an intense workout. Group exercise may feel particularly inviting as it feeds the desire to be social during ovulation.
Supportive workouts for this phase include bootcamps, HIIT, interval sprints, indoor cycling, and kickboxing, using weights, stretching resistance bands, and isometric exercise like planks and squats.
Phase 4 - Luteal (approximately days 15-28)
The luteal phase begins right after ovulation and is marked by the breaking down of the unfertilized egg, decreased levels of estrogen, and a spike in progesterone.
We experience a range of hormonal levels during this phase and it can be helpful to consider this phase to be made up of two parts.
Part 1 - At the beginning of this phase, you still have high levels of estrogen and testosterone in your body and progesterone is just starting to make an entrance. There is a solid amount of energy present, though not nearly as much as during ovulation. Focus this energy on lean muscle gain through strength training exercises like weight lifting or intense yoga.
Part 2 - Once you hit the second half of your luteal phase, all three of your reproductive hormones are diminishing, shifting you out of the muscle building opportunity. Align with this shift by choosing workout that focus on flexibility such as hot yoga and pilates.
Taking the time to stretch is imperative to overall fitness and weight goals. Stretching primes our muscles for workouts, prevents injuries, soothes stress to reduce cortisol levels, and supports sleep. Quality sleep is critical for balancing sugar cravings that often show up in the luteal phase.
A final note for all the phases of your cycle
Always check in with your body.
After every workout you should ask yourself, how do you feel? Are you full of energy? Or do you feel drained and depleted?
We should feel energized after exercise!
If it takes you hours to recover your energy, it may be a sign of over-exercise. This can eat up your adrenals and glucose reserves and kick your body into survival and fat storage mode.
Checking in with how you feel after your workouts will give you insight into what your body needs to thrive. Make mental notes without judgment and adjust your fitness regime accordingly. 💞
Learn more about cycle syncing wisdom in Flow State
If you enjoyed the cyclical wisdom of this fitness guide, download my free Flow State guide where I share more insights about how our hormonal fluctuations influence our brain chemistry, communication skills, creativity, and intuition. Knowing these subtle shifts is the key to well-being and thriving in your life and career.
With so much love,
Christina
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