The menstrual cycle is a natural process for every he althy woman. However, few people wonder if it can have an impact on training. Women are very different from men. This is due to, for example, the increased amount of adipose tissue in women, or the greater ability to build muscle mass faster in men. However, women differ from men not only in terms of build and predisposition. It turns out that hormones and their fluctuations during the menstrual cycle have a great influence on muscle development, endurance and fat burning.
In women, the levels of individual hormones change depending on the phase of the menstrual cycle. Men have relatively constant hormone levels from puberty to andropause. In women, hormonal fluctuations on a monthly basis have a large impact on physiological and psychological changes. Hence, hormones can also influence training issues in women.
Different genetics and different levels of sex hormones are responsible for the differences between our body's response to dietary and training stimuli. This means that the endocrine system has a great influence on training and training effects.
Phases of the menstrual cycle
The most common description is the phases of the menstrual cycle with an ovulation break.
- Early follicular phase (menstruation) (day 1-5 of the cycle)
- Late follicular phase (day 6-13 of the cycle)
- Ovulation (14th day of the cycle)
- Early luteal phase (days 15-21 of the cycle)
- Late luteal phase (day 22-28 of the cycle)
Shortly before your period starts and during your period, estradiol and progesterone levels drop. This is the so-called follicular phase that lasts on average up to the 14th day of the cycle.
In the early follicular phase, the secretion of follitropin (FSH) increases, the task of which is to stimulate the ovaries responsible for the maturation of ovarian follicles. The role of follicles is to produce estradiol in the early and late follicular phase.
When the follicle has reached a peak estradiol level for the entire month (above 200 pg / ml), this will cause a feedback mechanism and an increase in LH levels. An increase in LH causes the cells in the follicles to produce androgen hormones. Influenced by growthLH levels will ovulate.
During ovulation, the mature Graaf follicle ruptures. An egg will be released from the follicle, and the corpus luteum from its remains, thanks to which the production of estradiol and progesterone in the luteal phase will take place.
When the corpus luteum stops producing estradiol and progesterone in the late luteal phase, these hormones will drop rapidly.
The above-described changes in the concentration of hormones in a woman's body have a huge impact on training sessions.
Effect of the phases of the menstrual cycle on training
Follicular phase
In both the early and late follicular phases, progesterone levels are low and affect female physiology very little. This means that women feel best at this stage of the cycle. Then they have the most energy and motivation to act. In the follicular phase, you can reach almost any type of training.
If you prefer to wind down, start with some easy workouts like yoga, Pilates, or stretching. However, thefollicular phase is a good time to dostrength training. It's worth focusing on building muscles. In addition to light weights, try applying maximum load to your training.
In the follicular phase, endurance in women is much higher than in the luteal phase . This is a good time to work on the intensity of your exercise in addition to strength training. Sprints, intervals, skipping rope or boot camp will work well here.
Watch out for exercise during the fertile days. A woman's fertile days mark the highest levels of estrogen throughout her cycle. This is also when women are at the highest risk of damage to connective tissue. This means that the risk of injury is high during this time. However, the risk decreases in the luteal phase.
At the end of the follicular phase, slow down a little . Instead of sprinting, focus on running at a steady pace. If you still want to do strength training - reduce the load.
Luteal phase
Everything gets complicated in the luteal phase. Hormonal fluctuations significantly affect the effectiveness of training.
Progesterone levels rise during this phase of the menstrual cycle. Compared to the anabolic effect on estradiol protein synthesis, progesterone has a catabolic effect. This meansreduction in strength and muscle-building ability .
Progesterone also causes a slight increase in body temperature. As a result, increased body temperaturemay reduce performance and fatigue resistance . This has a negative effect on endurance training.
Executionintensive training in this phase of the cycle is also hampered by unstable insulin levels, and thus worse use of carbohydrates.
The increase in progesterone also reduces the levels of both serotonin and dopamine. This means a significantlow mood, irritability and a lack of motivation to exercise .
There is also an increased sensitivity to pain, which can naturally translate into the intensity of training sessions.
Additionally, in the late phase of this cycle, there is an increase in aldosterone levels. It causes increased sodium reabsorption with increased potassium excretion, which meansswelling and a feeling of heaviness .
About 80% of women experience PMS during each menstrual cycle. Progesterone plays a large role here, as it negatively affects the well-being - both physical and mental. So it doesn't help when exercising.
In the luteal phase, it is worth focusing on less effort training. Bet on stress-reducing exercises. Yoga, meditation or Pilates may be a good choice.
If you don't want to give up running or cycling, slow down and don't overload yourself. Avoid heavy loads during strength training and focus on the technique.
Training plan based on the menstrual cycle
Subordinating the training plan to the menstrual cycle is a good solution for women who train. Of course, we are talking about women who do not use hormonal contraception and have a natural cycle.
Training should be written based on hormonal changes and their noticeable impact on well-being and efficiency. It is a very individual task, because each woman may have different symptoms of hormonal fluctuations or feel them to a negligible extent.
You should also not focus on the contractual length of the cycles, as it may differ slightly from the norm in each woman. That is why designing a training taking into account the cycles should be done individually to the needs of a given woman.
Introducing changes to training taking into account the phases of the menstrual cycle will certainly bring many benefits, such as :
- mood improvement,
- better performance and endurance,
- lower probability of injury,
- deliberate muscle building or fat burning,
- less fatigue during exercise,
- improvement of results,
- the right way to achieve your goals.
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