9 THINGS EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE MENSTRUAL CYCLE
We all know there are some pretty significant changes that occur around certain times in the menstrual cycle - we either experience it ourselves, or see it affect our friends or partners.
Let me tell you why I have the right to tell you that you SHOULD know some of the basics around the physiology of the menstrual cycle.
As a female in her late 20’s I have experienced blessed periods (you know the ones that seemingly have no side effects, just come do their thing and go), bad periods (with some of those negative symptoms), and just plain fucked-uppidy periods (you know the ones). I have trained or been involved in sport for my entire life and managed these periods around training and performance, whilst being on and off a hormonal contraceptive. I have also coached other females ranging from 16 to 65 years old. So I’d like to think I have some experience with managing training around the menstrual cycle.
Besides this anecdotal experience, I am currently a PhD student investigating the influences of the menstrual cycle on strength training and performance - and have done a good deal of research about the menstrual cycle in the last few years. I am still learning - but what is really exciting is that there is more and more research coming out about females, health, our cycles, and nutrition, training and exercise. But as with most areas of health and fitness, a lot of information out there is conflicting and confusing.
So, let’s look into some things we DO know about the menstrual cycle, and things we CAN do and manage using this information.
The fundamentals of physiology of the Menstrual cycle
In general, the cycle is broken down into three distinct phases - based on the relatively predictable changes in estrogen and progesterone.
Phase 1 = The early follicular phase, when menstruation/the period/the bleed occurs, here estrogen and progesterone levels are low and relatively stable.
Phase 2 = Mid-cycle is recognised by a peak in estrogen (and low progesterone), this is where ovulation occurs.
Phase 3 = Post ovulation, we enter the luteal phase, where progesterone levels steadily incline and peak, with estrogen also maintaining higher levels.
There might be a ‘textbook menstrual cycle’, but it is common to see many variations
We have a pretty good understanding of how the menstrual cycle functions, and what we can classify as ‘normal’. 21-35 days in length, with day 1 being the first day of bleeding. Ovulation occurs somewhere in the middle of the cycle splitting the follicular phase, and the luteal phase.
However there are wide ranges of variation - both between females, as well as within the same female. Ovulation may occur anywhere between day 12 - 20, because sometimes we have longer follicular phases. Additionally, the amount that estrogen and progesterone fluctuate can vary as well. Sometimes they will peak double the amount of other cycles, or compared to other women. Sometimes we have cycles that come with lots of negative symptoms, sometimes we don’t. Sometimes we are right on time as expected, other times we are waiting an extra week. Lots of things can affect our menstrual cycle.
Variables that affect the menstrual cycle include:
Stress (both physical and psychological), age, exercise, nutrition, sleep or lack of, alcohol, food, hormonal contraceptive use, the list goes on…
The menstrual cycle is altered for females using any form of hormonal contraceptive
The idea behind contraceptives is to stop or prevent ovulation from occuring. Some forms of contraceptive completely stop a female's periods, while some will have distinct phases. For example most contraceptive pills will have 21 pill-taking days, followed by seven pill-free days, where we will experience a withdrawal bleed (which is different from a naturally cycling menstrual bleed).
What this indicates, is that no cycle is the same.
It is a relatively even split between females who are naturally cycling, and females using hormonal contraceptive. Additionally there are also many common menstrual cycle disorders such as Oligomenorrhea (irregular or inconsistency periods), Amenorrhea (absence of periods), PCOS (A more complex hormonal condition, usually presenting with higher levels of testosterone), Anovulation (absence of ovulation), luteal phase deficiency or others. So, although there are similarities between females (we are more similar than we tend to think! And you are not alone in dealing with symptoms or disruptions or weird things happening to your cycle), there are also many differences in our menstrual cycles.
The main sex hormones that ebb and flow within our menstrual cycle will cause acute changes in our physiology and psychology.
The things our hormones influence include; cravings and appetite, metabolism, gut function, bloating, skin, sleep, mood, irritability, sex drive, dietary choices, fatigue levels, anxiety…the list goes on.
There are also some common symptoms related to the menstrual cycle, or other changes you experience throughout your cycle that may affect your training.
Some include stomach/abdominal pain, fatigue, increased mobility/lack of ‘tightness’ when lifting, lower back pain, increased anxiety, changes in confidence. It’s important to note here, that although some symptoms are normal around your cycle, if they are affecting your day-to-day life, this is probably not normal. And there are things we can do to minimise this impact - I’d suggest working with a healthcare professional who can work holistically with you to reduce these symptoms, because they are not something you have to live with!
It is also important to highlight that some females perceive advantages in their performance at certain times in their cycle; these include feeling stronger, more powerful, more energetic, confident, and feeling fitter. The menstrual cycle is not a hindrance, it is just a thing that we need to manage day-to-day. And in my experience, the more we know about the menstrual cycle, the better we are able to manage all of these things associated with it.
If you are using contraception; the method, type, and dose will influence all of the above.
Contraception will flatline estrogen and progesterone, obviously affecting the cycle, as well as lengths of phases, bleed, and potentially the symptoms experienced. Delving into contraception is way out of my scope of this blog, but more often than not, I see females who are using contraception experience similar symptoms to those who aren’t.
Much of the research concludes that we do not NEED to alter training around our cycle, but…. In my experience I don’t think it is all that simple.
There aren’t any clear conclusions on how we should prescribe training or nutrition for the menstrual cycle, especially recommendations for large populations. There is so much individual variation in menstrual cycle function and symptoms, it is deemed unnecessary to adjust type of training (ie. strength-specific, skill based, or aerobic exercise) based on the menstrual cycle phase. And realistically, it seems like we would be running into a wall more often than not by trying to adjust training type in accordance with the phase of our cycle.
To maximise performance, as well as results we are looking to achieve in the gym, it seems disruptive for long term progress to change training types week-to-week. So if someone is trying to sell you a nutritional or exercise program ‘tailored to your menstrual cycle’ you probably don’t need to pay money for that… and unless they are taking blood or testing your urine to track your hormones day to day (unlikely… and probably unnecessary), most of us won’t even know exactly where we are in our cycle anyway...
So you do not need to avoid the gym, or skip a session, or avoid doing strength training at any point in your cycle. So, the question of ‘should we alter our training around the menstrual cycle?’ actually needs to take a more individualised approach and becomes ‘I am feeling X today, potentially because of where I am in my menstrual cycle, so based on that - what is the best course of action to take with my training today?’. And you may need to drop the intensity slightly, fuel up a little more, or recover longer between sets. I’d also recommend you talk to your coach about your menstrual cycle, and tracking it so you can start to see patterns, or changes. This will ensure we make the best decisions for YOU in relation to your menstrual cycle, training, wellbeing and performance!
-Coach Brooke
