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New Year, New You Innovative healthcare & alternative remedies Cycle mapping
Menstruating women go through four hormonal stages during their cycle. By varying exercise styles, it’s possible to hack your hormones and stick to your fi tness goals. Words: Dr Emma Ross
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Promotional Content • Saturday 8th January 2022
cross the menstrual cycle, there are four diff erent phases characterised by diff erent hormonal profi les.
As hormones peak and trough, energy levels, motivation and muscle adaptation, change too. Knowing your cycle can help you fi gure out the best times of the month to exercise — and at what level of intensity.
The period phase When you’re on your period, oestrogen and progesterone are low, so your hormones aren’t doing very much. What is having an eff ect, however, are chemicals called prostaglandins, which can cause cramping, pain, infl ammation and unpleasant gastro symptoms like diarrhoea and nausea. Other symptoms are headaches, heavy legs and fatigue, which can be a result of dehydration or low iron levels. Whether it’s a light yoga session, low-intensity steady state (LISS) or a walk, moving can help lift your mood, even if you’re tired or in pain. When you exercise your body increases levels of endorphins — feel-good hormones. T ese can lift your mood and are known as nature’s painkiller.
PHOTOGRAPH: GETTY
The follicular phase During this phase, your oestrogen levels rise signifi cantly as you prepare for ovulation. High oestrogen levels make you feel more motivated, outgoing and confi dent, and you may feel more able to tackle challenging problems. When it comes to your fi tness, studies show stacking your resistance and strength training in this phase, then easing off in the next phase, produces better gains . To make the most of this, you should focus on more intense sessions, such
as high intensity internal training (HIIT) or weight lifting workouts, with regular rest days to allow your muscles to build back stronger. Around the time of ovulation, you also get a teeny spike of testosterone. It’s very small, but — according to research — because women don’t have much, this can be a sweet spot for reaching a new personal best.
The luteal phase T e big hormone player at this point in your cycle is progesterone, which is known for its calming, anti-anxiety eff ect. As it rises to its peak, oestrogen is also making a small appearance. Your metabolism shifts to preferring to fat as fuel over carbs. To make the most of this fat-burning effi ciency, your training should focus on steady-state sessions that keep you moving while maintaining your heart rate. T is could include things like cycling, running, swimming and power yoga.
The premenstrual phase At this stage menstruating women experience a huge drop of oestrogen and progesterone, often resulting in mood swings, sore boobs, fatigue, anxiety and bloating. T e takeaway from all the work I’ve done over the years is moving can help, even if you feel bloated or tired, a small amount of activity will make you feel better both physically and emotionally.
Dr Emma Ross is a physiologist
and women’s health specialist working on Jennis — the fi tness app created by former Olympic athlete Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill. It lets women use the CycleMapping feature to train according to their menstrual cycle. £9.99 a month, jennisfi
tness.com
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