How to become a menstrual cycle coach
How to become a menstrual cycle fitness coach
This post is going to help you understand the 6 steps involved in becoming a menstrual cycle fitness coach.
If you don’t know me yet, my name is Omega I am an exercise scientist, menstrual cycle educator and the founder of the Confident Menstrual Cycle Coach Academy where I help personal trainers become confident with menstrual cycle fitness and nutrition. You can learn more here. And here are the 6 steps that these personal trainers usually go through to get to where they are.
1. Know your cycle
The first step is definitely to get clear on your own cycle and how your body changes throughout the course of your menstrual cycle. In the Confident Menstrual Cycle Coaching Academy, I teach the ABC method - I call these actual body cues, and these inform us of where we’re at in our cycle and the physiological changes our body goes through to have a menstrual cycle. This step is so important because so many of us rely on an app to tell us what’s going on in our bodies, but an app isn’t going to tell us when we’re ovulating. Our body tells us that. So getting clear on these signs is invaluable knowledge that works to empower us.
2. Start addressing your own PMS symptoms
Addressing PMS symptoms is a huge part of the journey of becoming a menstrual cycle coach, because this can clue you in on what’s happening beneath the surface and what needs to be addressed so that you find balance. As I was becoming a menstrual cycle coach, the most exciting moment was the moment when I reached my late luteal phase and realized that I was pms-free. And it was that moment that really empowered me and affirmed that yes I could teach this stuff.
So this is a crucial step because it gives you self efficacy, but also, you are your best test client. Meaning that since you’re excited about this knowledge and willing to implement it, you are going to be the best person to test out what you know. But, to be clear, being PMS-free isn’t a prerequisite to teaching this stuff.
3. Read books and scholarly articles
First, to be clear, most books on this subject are referencing old scientific articles. Books are great, but if you have the stamina, look on google scholar or pubmed when you have questions about the cycle. If you like books better, here are some I recommend:Woman Code In The Flo both by Alisa Vitti
The Period Repair Manual by Lara Briden
The Fifth Vital Sign by Lisa Hendrickson-Jack
Roar by Stacy Sims
Period Power by Massie Hill
4. Share your personal discoveries with your community
Once you find some common themes that are true for your own cycle and learn about the commonalities between cycles, share it. This knowledge is meant to be shared and has been kept from us because for hundreds of years it has been considered taboo. Once you find some common themes that are true for your own cycle and learn about the commonalities between cycles, share it. Talking to your friends or even sharing your story with healing your own PMS is so powerful because it empowers other people to believe that they don’t have to suffer through period pain and that there is a way out or around it. And like I said, it helps remove the taboo.
5. Workout with your cycle
Since you’re a fitness coach, start working out with your cycle. I describe how to do that in this Cyclical Periodization video that takes into account new scientific studies on the topic. This is where I started and this was so validating to me, but also (as an aside) I got more lean doing this. And your results are one of your best testimonies as a personal trainer. Every single coach that I’ve spoken to said working out with their cycle has been the most validating thing!
6. Find credentials
Being a menstrual cycle educator in the fitness field is a relatively new field of study, so there is plenty of space for people to make a career out of it.
The credentials you might look for are certifications for hormone health. And if you’re a personal trainer, you can use my program, the Confident Menstrual Cycle Coach Academy to receive continued education.
Apply to Become a Menstrual Cycle Coach
The Confident Menstrual Cycle Coach Academy is for personal trainers who want to go from confused about in depth hormone health, not confident in teaching it and feeling unsure on how to optimize client’s hormones to empowered to teach cyclical health, nutrition and fitness from a place of confidence so that you can impact more women and help them treat their bodies with respect while optimizing their hormones and creating sustainable fitness and nutrition practices that your clients can carry with her throughout her life.
The program is application only and the application process is really simple. All you need to do is click this link to book your application call. On our call I’ll ask a few application questions and together, you and I will decide if working together is a fit for both of us.