Training With Your Menstrual Cycle Not Against It

Hey Just Tri babes!

Have you ever noticed a shift in your energy or motivation across your cycle? Like you feel great, absolutely crushing your goals one week and then the next week you feel flat? I know it can be frustrating but you're not alone. Every woman experiences the ebb and flow of drive and energy because of the cyclical nature of our menstrual cycles. Our bodies change across the phases of our cycles due to the interplay of key hormones - estrogen and progesterone. So don't blame yourself or your fitness level... blame the system.

Historically, female athletes have been coached and compared to our male counterparts. And because there has never been any differentiation between the sexes the message females have been receiving is, "You can/should be able to train/perform the same all month long." Well, we now know this isn't true.

Once you learn how to work with your physiology and not against it, you'll notice an almost immediate impact!

Okay, before we get into the cycle syncing... you need to understand that we're not reinventing the wheel. You can still apply any set of exercises or training program to your cycle by making small adjustments that suit your unique needs. The most important thing to remember is YOU are YOU and that girl (or person) you might be comparing yourself to isn't you. You have your own natural rhythms and once you start acknowledging them, you'll be unstoppable on the field, in the gym, and in life!

Cycle Syncing - Steps you need to take:

1. Understand the cycle and lengths of each phase.

An average menstrual cycle is about 28 days in length. Normal cycle lengths can range from 21 days to 40 days and are influenced by stress levels. The menstrual cycle is divided into 4 parts: 1. Menstruation (bleeding) 2. Follicular phase 3. Ovulation 4. Luteal phase. The one phase that extends in response to elevated levels of stress is the low hormone phase (aka follicular phase) because your body is attempting to cope and manage the stress before releasing an egg. 

If you haven't read my 4th blog post, "How We Talk About Menstruation Matters", I recommend that you reference it for a more in-depth discussion about the phases of the menstrual cycle.

Key cycle timeline markers: Day 1 - when you start bleeding and Day 13-15 - when you ovulate. Knowing these dates will help you determine the length of each phase and allow you to cater your training within each phase.

2. Know Yourself

The best way to know your body and understand it's fluctuating needs is to track your daily symptoms.

• Track the length of your cycle - the start of your period to when the next period begins.
• Track your period - the length, the bleeding consistency, mood, sleep efficiency, etc.
• Track ovulation - collect body temperature readings from a basal temperature thermometer, using urine analysis trackers (like Clearblue or Pregmate) or use WHOOP or the Oura Ring - each of these operating systems has sensitive metrics that track temperature and help you predict ovulation

Cycle tracking is the best way for you to start to chart trends and patterns across your cycle so you can use that information to optimize your training. It's recommended to track at least 3-months to establish a baseline for trends across your phases.

Note: You're a completely different person from Day 1 to Day 15 to Day 24. You can't compare yourself week to week. Compare yourself cycle to cycle - like week 1 of each cycle and the patterns within it.

3. Understand Female Physiology and the Shift in Training Focuses

During menstruation, estrogen and progesterone are at the lowest levels which signals the breakdown of the uterus lining. This detached tissue is actually "the blood". Women experience a variety of symptoms when they're on their period. You may feel lower energy levels but a lot of women feel energized during their period week because of the drop in progesterone.

Training Focus during Menstruation:

• Do what you can (gentle movement like a walk is better than no movement at all)
• If you feel strong and energized, train strength and power and transition into the follicular phase training protocol

During the follicular phase (low hormone phase), your estrogen levels increase setting your body up to increase muscle mass and adaptability. Your body's core body temperature is also at an optimal level for you're able to slip into restorative sleep quicker boosting your body's ability to recover efficiently.

Follicular phase = training and muscle building gains

Training Focus during the Follicular phase:

• Strength and Power (HIIT, resistance training, and high volume activities)
• Great time for PR's
• Increased levels of energy allow you to push harder and increase physical stress

During ovulation, both FSH and LH peak which causes the egg to release from your ovary. Women experience very different symptoms during ovulation. Some feel flat while others are able to sustain their energy levels. The ovulation window is only about 36 hours long so if you're not feeling your best listen to your body and back off the intensity.

Training Focus during Ovulation:

• Endurance and Strength and Power (HIIT, resistance training, and high volume activities)

During the luteal phase (high hormone phase), the egg migrates down to the uterus and attaches to the uterine lining. Estrogen and progesterone are both high during this phase. Progesterone makes the most impact during this phase by increasing respiratory rate, elevates our core body temperature, shifts the sweat threshold and has a thermogenic effect. All of these impact energy availability, training and sleep.

Training focus during the Luteal phase:

• Endurance (steady state cardiovascular training)
• Monitor energy levels and stamina
• Good time to take your foot off the gas and consider tapering your training intensity
• Focus on form
• Great time for higher reps, bodyweight training, low impact versions of high intensity exercises

The 2nd half of the luteal phase may leave you feeling very fatigued. This is a great time to focus on technique drills, restorative and maintenance workouts, and mobility and functional movements. Shifting your mindset will benefit you the most during this phase. Understand and accept that your body is changing and you give yourself permission to decrease your output.

Now that you're equipped with the cycle syncing steps to take in order to build a good foundation of fitness while leveraging your cycle, I encourage you to try it and let me know how it goes! I've been incorporating cycle syncing into my routine and have become more adaptable, less irritable and frustrated, and more accepting of my fitness journey.

Thank you for taking some time to read this week's blog :)

I hope you have a great week! Have fun and be safe! And remember to always, Just Tri!!

Yours in Sport,

Lindsay

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