I Love My Menstrual Cycle, Even at the Gym

Written by Kendall Harris

* I would like to clarify before starting that gender inclusive language is extremely important while discussing physiological processes. Not all women menstruate, and not all people who menstruate are women. My goal is to remain as neutral as possible, but there is always room for error and certainly always room for growth. *

If you are a person capable of menses, you most likely read that title and rolled your eyes. If you don't menstruate, you might have giggled. Regardless of your reproductive capacities, there’s still a chance you did both. I haven’t run into too many people in my life who just LOVE talking about their period. Personally, I spent around 6 years on birth control, trying to pretend mine didn’t exist. For those who menstruate, this biological rhythm defines a good chunk of our lives. We often focus on the crappy way our cycles make us feel, and how they mess up our weekend plans. This is entirely understandable. However, what if we found ways to make this inevitable relationship a little bit more empowering? It provides context to important parts of our lives, such as why you were able to shoulder press X amount last week in the gym, but can’t manage half of that this week. As with most things in our world, the vast majority of research and information circulated is centered around cisgender men. Because a man’s hormones cycle every 24 hours, there’s no reason they can’t generally structure their workouts to look the same every week.  However, as somebody who menstruates, it is far more beneficial to take into account what exactly your hormones are doing and what it means.

For those who are “period impaired,” there are 28 days in the average menstrual cycle, and these are broken into 4 phases: 

• Follicular Phase: Rising estrogen levels mean rising energy levels!

• Ovulation Phase: Peak energy! This is the shortest phase, and you are the most fertile. 

• Luteal Phase: Estrogen drops; therefore, energy does too.

• Menstrual Phase:  In layman’s terms, bleeding and cramps.

Cycles can make us feel doomed, especially when the only end in sight is ovarian retirement, but structuring an energy plan around your body’s cues and needs can be the key to making your body work for you. Your menstrual cycle and your fitness are intrinsically linked.

Training with your cycle can help you work with your body, rather than against it,  because there’s no worse feeling than showing up for yourself by going to the gym and feeling like your body is punishing you for being there. To remedy this, there are adjustments you can make to align with hormone fluctuations. These are some general guidelines: 

• Estrogen loves high-intensity workouts. It improves muscle repair and helps with recovery. You can gain more strength and muscle size by utilizing more strength/resistance training in the first half of your cycle and less in the second half, rather than spacing them evenly across the weeks.

• In the second half of your cycle, you may notice that you aren’t as coordinated or you feel more drowsy. With elevated levels of progesterone come changes in brain activity and slowed muscle contractions. Focusing on agility and skill during this phase can help jumpstart your neuromuscular system.

• During menstruation, low intensity and low impact is optimal, and carbs are your friend.

Although there are common symptoms (and their corresponding movement-based ‘fixes’), this is not a hard and fast rule. Ultimately, your cycle is unique to you. Listen to your body, move your body (or don’t), and most importantly, love your body. She is your vessel.