Your Cycle & Training
What does it mean to listen to my body? How is training different for women?
I am a year and a half postpartum, and ever since my regular cycle returned about 6 months ago, I have been fascinated and dedicated to learning more about how my hormonal cycle impacts my ability and capacity to train. As a first time mom, there is already a new and challenging balance between how much energy I can expend and how much energy I need available to care for my child — especially while we continue on our breastfeeding journey together. (that’s a topic for another day)
The experience of pregnancy, childbirth, and early motherhood has sparked and endless curiosity in me. Even as someone who has always valued wellness and fitness, I never fully understood my own female body and it’s fascinating inner workings until I was serious about conceiving. In my recent deep dive, the female hormonal cycle was described as a source of feminine power - a reason to celebrate and embrace the idea that we are dynamic, ever changing human beings — I loved that.
I have never felt more fluid and dynamic than the past 27 months of my life, so I am fully embracing that I am emotionally and biologically a new woman each and every day. Read on to discover the power of the hormonal cycle and how it can impact and guide training practices.
START WITH THE BASICS: the menstrual cycle is simply describing the natural changes that occur in a woman to prepare for pregnancy. The body is getting ready and prepared physiologically for potentially housing and growing a human being. This cyclical process is a different lived experience for every woman as every woman has a unique physiology. The cycle generally lasts between 22-28+ days.
Did you know? Men have a hormonal cycle too? Theirs is a 24 hour cycle in which testosterone reaches its highest levels in the morning and continuously decreases throughout the remainder of the day.
BREAK DOWN THE CYCLE:
FOUR DISTINCT PHASES
The cycle in its entirety can be broken down into four distinct phases — each phase carrying implications for how best to train your body given the varying hormonal fluctuations.
Phase One: Follicular Phase (7-10 days after your period) | This phase marks the beginning of a new cycle, so after your bleed ends you will notice your energy increase pretty dramatically. this phase is a great time to work on cardiovascular endurance through cardio workouts like running, cycling or swimming. You also may notice an openness to new experiences during this phase so it’s a great time to sign up for that class you’ve been considering for months now.
Phase Two: Ovulatory Phase (4-5 days in the middle of the cycle) | During this phase your estrogen and testosterone levels are at their peak providing you with energy to burn. This is a great time to turn up the intensity! High intensity interval training (HIIT) is a perfect way to use the energy you have in a way that both increases your overall fitness and your muscular endurance.
Phase Three: Luteal Phase (10-14 days between ovulation and your period) | This phase can be broken in half because there’s a lot happening and in order to “biohack” this phase you’ll need to pay attention to the changes taking place. During the first 5 days of the luteal phase, energy levels should still be decent. Use these 5 days to hone in on lean muscle mass by focusing on strength training. “Lifting” in whatever capacity connects to the goals you have for your body. After the first 5 days, switch to mobility and flexibility work — this is so important. All of the work you have put in so far needs to be coupled with staying limber and mobile. Slowing down into these types of exercises also helps transition into the final phase.
Phase Four: Menstrual Phase (3-7 days of your period) | Your hormones are now at their lowest levels — and most of the time we can feel that. Our energy dips along with them. This phase is for rest — low impact exercises, walking, yin yoga, and a higher importance on sleep. (Continuing to push through high intensity workouts during this phase works backwards — this level of work creates too much stress on the internal systems which activates fat storage and muscle waste.)
*number of days in each phase vary woman to woman.
MY PERSONAL TAKE AWAYS:
The first half of your cycle is for power and push | The second half is for function and recovery.
Actively engaging in each phase yields the best results for overall fitness, hormonal balance, and body regulation.
Tracking your cycle is the first step to understanding it, and thus deepening your understanding of self.
Identify patterns & learn when YOU can apply stress to the body and absorb it effectively, when you can push through lethargy and still benefit from the workout, and when to simply rest and know that doing ‘nothing’ is the most impactful thing you can do.
Understanding your cycle, and how you perform within it, is a deeply personal and unique-to-you practice that no one can do for you. It takes effort and attention.
When I first started applying the phases approach, I simply tried to scale back from HIIT and high tempo runs (my normal go-to choices) when I didn’t ‘feel it’, most often in the latter half of my cycle (which now seems like a no brainer). From there, I was able to further adapt and fine tune what works for me after learning to accept that slowing down and being gentle doesn’t hinder progress at all.
Work hard and challenge yourself when you can, and rest when your body needs to. Sounds simple, but honestly isn’t always the case.
This approach isn’t an easy thing to just accept & apply if you’re wired anything like me. I have always been a “work my hardest all the time” personality, an intensity that seemed to serve me well as an athlete, but I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I would have trained and treated my body SO differently in my soccer days if I had been armed with this knowledge. BUT, as I have said before we learn, we change, we grow. We can still help our bodies function optimally, enjoy fitness, balance our hormonal responses, and see real results in the process.
RESOURCES IF YOU WANT TO EXPLORE MORE DEEPLY:
Whoop: Sleep and Training Based on Your Menstrual Cycle
Astrid Naranjo on Eating & Training According to Your Menstrual Cycle
BioHacking Your Hormones with Alissa Vitti
Lifting the Veil: Understanding the Impact of Hormonal Birth Control