Working out during your period is possible. You just need to know the best time to do it. It’s important to know when to move and when to relax. Do you ever notice shifts in your energy, mood, or desires throughout your cycle? I know I do. While extreme shifts can be a sign of an underlying condition, it’s completely normal to feel some changes throughout your cycle. Physiologically, our hormones shift throughout the month, so why wouldn’t we notice changes in ourselves?
Whichever way you like to move your body, the timing of your cycle can impact what types of exercise you should be doing. Oftentimes, we’re told that we should keep our workouts consistent and intense, but this type of advice is typically based on research done on people who are born male. If you are born female and have a uterus and ovaries, this advice may not be the best for you.
YOUR CYCLE'S HORMONES
Before we jump into how to sync your movement with your cycle, let’s run through an explanation of your menstrual cycle and the hormones involved.
As most of us know, a typical menstrual cycle lasts 28 days (and can range from 25–35 days), with three to seven of those days being menstruation.
If your menstrual cycle is shorter than 24 days or longer than 34 days, it may indicate an underlying health condition.
Menstruation is the medical term for your period. Day one of your menstrual cycle is the day you start bleeding. Based on a 28-day cycle, ovulation should occur around day 14 of your cycle.
Your menstrual cycle is split into two phases: follicular and luteal. Four main hormones control your menstrual cycle. These are LH (luteinizing hormone), FSH (follicular stimulating hormone), estrogen, and progesterone. As seen in the illustration below, each of these hormones are more dominant at different times of your cycle. Their roles are all different, but important!
We start in the follicular phase, where FSH is released from the brain and stimulates an egg to mature in the ovary. This ovary then begins to create estrogen. The role of estrogen is to build the endometrium (i.e., the inner lining in the uterus), and to create mucus secretions needed for its health. LH is released by your brain and peaks right before ovulation. Its purpose is to stimulate the release of a mature egg out into the fallopian tubes, where it can be fertilized.
We then move into the luteal phase, where progesterone is dominant. Progesterone’s role is to help thicken the endometrial lining to allow for the implantation of a fertilized egg, or for pregnancy to occur. The drop in progesterone at the end of the luteal phase triggers our endometrium to shed (i.e., our period), and we’re back to our follicular phase.
If you are experiencing short cycles, low progesterone could be the culprit!
In our follicular phase, we feel more energized and confident, and our libido increases—overall, we feel good! In our luteal phase, we slow down and can feel more introspective, anxious, and have low moods when PMS symptoms start to appear. The main players that affect how we feel are estrogen and progesterone. We’ll focus on these two next to explain why we may feel differently throughout our cycles.
If your period is irregular, painful, or preceded by spotting, intense mood fluctuations, significant breast tenderness, or significant acne, this could indicate an underlying condition. Please consult your healthcare provider.
FOLLICULAR PHASE
During the follicular phase, estrogen rises after our period and peaks right before ovulation. This rise in estrogen can make us feel more energetic, stronger, and it can give us more endurance. Your follicular phase is a great time to do those higher-intensity workouts, whether it be strength-based or cardio-based. During this phase, your body can create more muscle—even on your period! However, it is still important to rest, as your body is prone to more injury during this time due to the increase in estrogen.
OVULATION
Around ovulation, we typically feel our best. Use this power to push yourself because the rise in progesterone can help us to feel less pain.
LUTEAL PHASE
In your luteal phase, you can see that progesterone is more dominant, which might lead you to believe that this is the best time to work out (based on what I just mentioned about feeling less pain). However, when levels of progesterone rise above estrogen in the luteal phase, this can cause us to feel more fatigued, slow, introspective, and even sad and irritable. Also, our body temperature, breathing rate, and heart rates are all higher during the luteal phase, making intense workouts more difficult.6 The types of exercise that are best suited to the luteal phase are low to moderate-intensity strength training, yoga, Pilates, and walking. We want to take it easy during this phase.
Bottom line: if estrogen is giving you extra energy, use it to your advantage! If progesterone is making you feel like you need to slow down, listen to your body and take some time to rest and relax.
Please consult a healthcare provider before starting any new exercise regimen or making changes to your current one.
