By: Sarah Jacob
Neuroscience Graduate Student
Should you lift on your period?
Ah, the low energy, food cravings, and wanting to rest on the couch. Is this all just an excuse for being on your period and not wanting to work out? There is a lot more to understand about these hormonal fluctuations during the menstrual cycle than you may realize! Learning about the menstrual cycle and hormonal changes can shape the way you train.
The median length of the menstrual cycle is 28 days, but most cycles range between 25-30 days. The menstrual cycle is made up of two phases, the first phase which is called the follicular phase, and the second which is the luteal phase. The follicular phase starts on day 1 of menses (bleeding) and continues until ovulation. After ovulation, the luteal phase occurs and lasts for 14 days. Estrogen is higher during the follicular phase (first 2 weeks of cycle) and then dips. In comparison, progesterone is lower during the follicular phase but rises during the luteal phase, or the latter 2 weeks of the cycle.
Understanding the role of these sex hormones, both estrogen and progesterone and how they affect energy levels is beneficial in learning how they may influence the way we train. By examining studies in postmenopausal women, we can learn a lot about how the lack of these hormones impacts the body. During menopause, women experience estrogen deficiency, and this can lead to obesity and decreased energy levels. Studies have shown that estrogen supplementation can increase energy expenditure and lower weight gain. This indicates elevated estrogen is associated with high energy levels. However, progesterone exerts the opposite effect. Studies have found progesterone induces sleep through progesterone metabolites which are positive modulators of receptors responsible for sleep.
Your basal metabolic rate (BMR), the rate at which your body burns calories at rest (without physical exertion), also changes during the menstrual cycle. Women have been found to have a significantly increased BMR during the luteal phase of the cycle and also showed an increase in energy expenditure during this phase. This emphasizes why it’s important to take it easier during the luteal phase because the body is already working harder and burning more calories at rest, and makes sense why you get hungrier during this time. Interestingly, since contraceptives inhibit ovulation, they may be inhibiting the increase in energy expenditure. This could suggest why some women also may have an increase in body fat after going on “the pill” (oral contraception).
Being mindful of your body’s hormonal fluctuations can help avoid burnout and may be useful to those who may be overweight, have polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), are overly fatigued individuals, help with libido, and those wanting to conceive by trying “cycle syncing”.
Based on how your sex hormones fluctuate, it may be best to organize your workouts in the following manner:
Figure created with BioRender
Follicular phase/ proliferative phase (1st day of menses – ovulation)
Menstruation (day 1-7)
During your period you may feel very low energy and sluggish, as your progesterone levels and estrogen levels are low. It’s best during this phase to take some rest, long walks, or very light yoga/stretching.
Ovulation – happens on day 14
As it gets closer to ovulation, your estrogen levels rise so you may have more energy to do activities like strength training/weight lifting, or cardio/high-intensity training (HIIT) workouts.
Luteal Phase/secretory phase -14 days long
Your estrogen levels dip and your progesterone levels rise as your body prepares for another cycle so you may feel more fatigued during this time. It’s best to do light-moderate activities like pilates, doing a deload week (lower weights) or just machine-only workouts, walks, yoga, or taking active rest days.
To conclude, it is hard to give 100% of the same energy every workout for a month when your body is constantly changing your hormone levels and thereby the energy you may have. It is important to listen to your body’s needs and stay educated about what your body is going through. You may even need an active rest week! So don’t feed bad if you are on your period and want to skip your workout or if you sense you are about to get your period and want to lay on the couch, your body is naturally preparing for it and burning more calories at rest anyways. This also doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go workout on your period either, if you feel up for it then go for it! Just be mindful that your body may be more stressed and maybe spend some more time winding down after. Happy lifting!
References
https://www.healthline.com/health/womens-health/guide-to-cycle-syncing-how-to-start#who-benefits
https://www.verywellmind.com/how-your-energy-changes-on-your-menstrual-cycle-5115670
https://liverevital.com/low-energy-levels-in-females/
https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13124556
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11983310/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8897866/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2706224/
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fendo.2018.00276/full
Image by Jonathan Borba from Pixabay