How does your cycle affect your training?

To me this is a controversial question, I do not believe that you can tell anyone how they will be feeling at a certain time, even if their cycle may suggest otherwise. If you wake up in the morning with amazing energy and feeling well rested but your smart watch tells you that you had a bad night's sleep, does this lessen the current feelings you are having? Trackers are useful but you are your biggest tracker, sitting with your own feelings and having these emotional and physical check ins are your best tracker. It is important to note that everyone is different. Equally our mood and energy levels can be affected by so many things such as sleep, nutrition, stress etc.

I would like to start this blog by bringing attention to the fact that despite the evidence suggesting females cycles will affect their training, there are studies which have shown a very small effect/inconclusive results of this. I have attached a link at the end of this blog of a journal article which has pulled a few of these studies into one read and I found it quite interesting. This does not account for the fact that different females experience different levels of uncomfort or pain while experiencing their cycle/the run up to. This will massively affect performance and capabilities. 

Our cycle is split into 4 stages, very commonly known. So lets break down these stages, what is going on but most importantly how will this potentially affect training. In stage one, the menstrual phase, this is when we bleed, levels of the hormones estrogen and progesterone drop. So what does this mean? Other than getting typical ‘period’ symptoms at this time such as cramps, tender breasts, mood swings, low back pain, bloating and fatigue to name a few. Hormonally we are triggering these symptoms and this can be alot worse for some people than others. Training would actually be a benefit here as training can increase estrogen and progesterone after exercise. I would advise clients to train as normal depending on symptoms, if PMS symptoms are prominent (depending on how prominent) I would suggest taking training down to about 70% or leaving some reps in reserve (RIR).

Our next stage is the follicular phase, starting on the first day of your bleed this is essentially overlapping our menstrual phase, this would typically last around 16 days but can range between 11-27 days. Strength training here has had research has supported that training in this phase could increase muscular growth, overall strength training in the first half of your cycle may be more productive due to high levels of estrogen as you move through this phase.

The higher levels of estrogen is what triggers our next stage, ovulation phase, as the estrogen levels trigger your pituitary gland to release LH. This is what starts ovulation, this is where your ovary releases a mature egg and you can get pregnant. Side effects in this stage of the cycle can see a small rise in basal body temperature, but strength is seen to be at its peak here due to a spike in testosterone and other hormones. This phase only lasts about 24 hrs and if the egg is not fertilized it will dissolve and die.

Our last phase before we go again is the luteal phase, this is the pre-period phase. It is likely to see hunger increase, PMS symptoms here, weight variability, even changes to the laxity of ligaments has been researched and shown for a greater risk of injury here. 

Despite all the studies in the world, I would advise person to person and assess training case to case. Even day to day, everyone experiences their cycle differently and its important to listen to your body over what you feel you should be thinking! In conclusion, this is a very short and concise blog about how you could be affected but you will find a lot of conflicting studies around this. It is noteworthy to say that studies performed on exercise and muscular growth, unless stated, will often not include women due to their cycles being a factor and research wholly based around men. 

Links to external: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10076834/