Menstrual cycle and exercise; how to make the right decision now? You will learn from this article how to exercise correctly during menstruation and how can manipulate hormones.
Menstruation is a normal condition for every healthy woman. At this time, hormones are in a particular state, so mood changes and fatigue appear. The entire monthly hormonal cycle is divided into three main phases. Every athlete asks the question: when is it better to train, and at what time is it worth stopping?
Phases of the hormone cycle
You cannot neglect the natural monthly changes when choosing a healthy lifestyle. Sometimes you get the feeling that a woman has been changed during this period: she becomes too irritable or, on the contrary, too calm. Hormones affect the entire body and must use this potent activity wisely. At a particular stage, the body is set to work in different ways—a woman at that time she during indecision, what are continuing menstrual cycle and exercise.
- The follicular phase of the hormonal cycle … During this period, you can make tangible progress. Endurance and pain tolerance are at their peak. Therefore, you can practice more and reap.
- The ovulation phase of the hormonal cycle … has no more than three days. During this time, insulin sensitivity increases, and carbohydrates are sent to muscle mass. But during this period, the body is prone to depression and injury. It is due to the rise in estrogen levels.
- The luteal phase of the hormonal cycle … This period is characterized by using fat as an energy source.
Women, like men, depend on hormonal balance in their bodies. There is often such a picture in the gym when a girl tortures herself with strength training for a long time but does not feel the result. The fact is that estrogen prevents muscles from growing to the desired level. Each person is hostage to their hormones but can change that.
Movement during the menstrual cycle
For training to produce visible results, it is necessary to study the menstrual cycle from beginning to end. Regular stress in the form of menstruation is given to all women with special losses and emotional stress. Regularly, the body goes through three stages that uniquely affect the entire female body.
Training will reach the next level as each athlete learns to understand the intricacies of natural changes. You need to be able to adapt to your hormones if you want positive changes in your body structure. It should note that this article is adapted for non-menopausal women. Also, the information will be useless for girls who have chosen oral contraceptives as protection.
To plan your workouts, you need to understand when each phase of the hormone cycle begins. The follicular phase starts immediately after the end of menstruation. It lasts no more than two weeks. During this period, the body temperature is kept at an average (36.6–36.8), and the estrogen level does not exceed the permissible values.
On the fifteenth day of the hormonal period, the ovulation phase begins. At this time, women may feel that it has become warmer around. Some even notice a fever, even though their body temperature is unchanged. Estrogen levels are elevated. After ovulation occurs within three days, the female cells mature and are ready for fertilization.
Then the luteal phase begins; it lasts up to 28 days of the cycle. Estrogen decreases, and body temperature rises to 37.5 degrees. After menstruation comes, after that the cycle repeats.
Benefits of hormones
Progress will be noticeable if you train hard in the first two levels. Endurance at this time will be especially apparent. Women can do strength training without getting tired quickly. You cannot ignore nutrition. You need to eat carbohydrate-rich foods and convert energy into muscle mass.
With the hormonal cycle, the body does not feel the effects of female hormones and is freely capable of training. Muscle mass growth will be noticeable if you do not forget about healthy carbohydrates. It is recommended to use additional carbohydrate sources, which can obtain through shakes and sports supplements.
Ovulation is also used to set your own sports record. During this season, strength and endurance are in bloom. But we must not forget our safety. It’s easy to injure yourself or overtrain. Being overweight can play a cruel joke if you exercise thoughtlessly. Strength training requires every woman to have the proper technique. Do not forget the accumulation of fatigue in certain muscle groups.
The fairer sex is hungry during the last stage of the hormonal cycle. You must be careful with your diet and choose only healthy foods rich in carbohydrates and proteins. For some, it is tough to control appetite – hormones start to control the body.
The luteal phase of the hormonal cycle is worth reducing stress intensity; the focus is on burning fat. Every second athlete claims that training is tough during the hormonal period. The body seems to resist stress and does not want to develop. During this period, the body temperature rises because the cardiovascular system works in a more active rhythm. These actions require a special reserve of energy. Therefore there is rapid exhaustion. Sometimes you notice that the body has become more voluminous, and the scales show extra kilos. It is caused by the accumulation of fluid in the body.
The body draws energy from subcutaneous fat so as not to create carbohydrate hunger. Trainers recommend that you think about burning excess fat reserves during this phase of the hormonal cycle. Strength training is minimized, and the emphasis is on cardio. If you are tired, you should look into yoga. Finding balance with hormonal disruption is more critical than violently torturing your body.
More calories are burned during this period, and due to this, a temperature rise is felt. The metabolic rate in different hormonal periods is eightfold. Low serotonin levels make your mood worse. It signals to the brain that a woman needs a high carbohydrate diet.
Such provocation will not give positive results for the body, as the force load is reduced. Someone is trying to burn carbs with strength training, but endurance is absent due to declining insulin. The athlete falls into a vicious circle; therefore, it is easier not to eat carbohydrates in large quantities and not to exhaust the body with training in the last phase of the hormone cycle.
As for serotonin, it doesn’t need to be depleted from sugary foods. Better to have pumpkin seeds, turkey meat, or soybeans at the dinner table. Such products will not harm the image and will deceive the brain.
Menstrual cycle: changes in the body
As soon as menstruation begins, hormones stop controlling the situation. Your body temperature drops to normal; your mood improves, and, most importantly, your endurance lasts. You can start training again with vigor. The metabolic rate will be lower, but the insulin level will increase. Therefore, an additional intake of calories is necessary. Carbohydrates reappear in nutritional mode.
As soon as the follicular phase begins, the number of carbohydrates consumed is worth increasing. At the same time, the intensity of training also increases, and the muscles are ready to work again at full strength.
Hormones can work in perfect harmony with every woman. One only needs to understand how the state of the body changes in each phase of the cycle. If left untreated, serious health problems can occur.
Strength training only tapers off during the luteal phase of the hormone cycle. You can’t binge on carbs during this time and set athletic records. Hormonal changes occur monthly, so they must be studied and adjusted to diet and training levels. Otherwise, you can go to the gym for years without seeing the results.
In this regard, men are a little easier. The action of their hormones is aimed at increasing muscle mass and increasing strength. However, this is sometimes not enough to achieve the desired results. Sports supplements help to consolidate the results, as well as enrich the body with necessary substances. Women can also use this food. The main thing is to take them only in the first and second phases of the menstrual cycle.
Nature has thought out every moment in the smallest detail. And according to her rules, a woman should not have developed muscles. Modern supplements and intense training will help correct this imbalance. But the hormones will not give in and will create obstacles. Must thoroughly study Their actions, and only then will movement bring the woman’s physical form to a new level.
Of course, if the female body has entered the phase of menopause, then this theoretical knowledge will be meaningless. It requires an individual approach and research on the level of the hormonal cycle. If a girl takes hormonal drugs, it is almost impossible to predict the body’s reaction – for such women, the boundaries of the menstrual phase are blurred. Again, individual study of the organism is required. Otherwise, the natural hormone cycle is controlled, and each athlete gets the desired results. Trainers recommend keeping a calendar to track the period when your body goes into a particular phase.
