How to Workout on Your Period
Ever wonder HOW and IF you should workout on your period. This blog post will answer all your questions about working out on your period!
My name is Omega and I’m an exercise scientist and menstrual cycle educator and I’ve been helping people with periods workout in alignment with their cycle for the past 3 years and I’ve seen amazing results from my clients. So lets dive in…
Hormones during Menstruation:
Hormones estrogen and testosterone are the lowest when we’re menstruating. These hormones play a critical role for how our body responds to exercise. Estrogen and testosterone helps recover muscle tissue!
When testosterone is low, muscle recoverability and explosively is low. When estrogen and testosterone are both low your muscles will have a hard time recovering from hard exercise sessions.
Losing Nutrition
Also since those hormones are low, your muscle endurance (think running) is going to be much harder. Your body actively losing iron, magnesium, zinc and other important nutrients. Iron is essential for blood oxygenation (important when working out), magnesium helps muscles contract and relax - also important, and zinc helps support testosterone, which is very low at this time too.
How should we Workout:
Spoiler Alert: there is no RIGHT way to move when you’re on your period. Doing the type of movement that your body craves is ultimately going to serve your best in this phase of your cycle. So whether you are an avid exerciser or just starting to match your workouts to your cycle, I have recommendations for you.
If you are an avid exerciser or weight lifter, you’re going to want to scale back on the intensity of your lifting sessions because your muscles aren’t going to recover as easy! Weather that’s reducing weight, reps, time or intensity is totally up to you.
If you have heavy cramps and don’t want to leave bed, but still want to do some cramp relief movements, movements like yogic twists and other static yoga poses could probably help you be more comfortable. And honestly, this is what I do on days 1-2 of my period. You can check out my routine here.
If you are a personal trainer who wants to become Confident in workout programming for each phase of your client’s menstrual cycle, so you can not only help them become fit, but also the most aligned with their cycle, apply for the Confident Menstrual Cycle Coaching Academy. The application process is simple, all you need to do is book your application call using this link. On the call you and I will discuss your goals together we’ll decide if working together is a fit for both of us.