Best Exercises for When You Are on Your Period

If you exercise regularly, you likely have trained during your period. You may have noticed increased fatigue or reduced performance, especially before your cycle begins as well as during the first few days of menstruation. Although being consistent with exercise is a good idea, taking a step back during your period is also understandable.

Many women experience symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, bloating, and cramping that make exercising feel more difficult and much less appealing. But staying active if you are up to it, can actually help reduce these symptoms.

Knowing which exercises may help relieve some of the symptoms you experience during your period can help you continue to be active if you want to. As well, there are hormonal changes and even advantages to certain exercises during this time of the month.

How Your Period Affects Exercise

Your first day of menstruation is considered day one of your cycle. For an average 28-day cycle, ovulation is typically on day 14, dividing the cycle into the follicular phase before ovulation and the luteal phase after ovulation. When you are on your period, the hormones progesterone and estrogen are at their lowest point in the cycle. This change can cause lethargy and lack of motivation.

Not everyone's cycle will be the same, and the differences between each cycle and person are common. You may also not experience fatigue or other adverse symptoms before or during your period. Some others may experience much worse effects making even daily tasks a challenge.

Possible effects that you may experience include a decrease in endurance and stamina which can greatly impact your performance during training. Typical symptoms such as cramping, bloating, fatigue and headaches can obviously interfere with both the will and enjoyment of exercise as well.

During this time, choosing lower intensity activities that help relieve symptoms and focusing on form rather than maximum effort and performance may be best. This is true regardless of your physical symptoms because mood changes and motivation may wane as well. Be kind to yourself and allow a break from the more intense activities if you are not feeling up to the task.

Several studies demonstrate opposing findings when it comes to how the menstrual cycle affects training aspects such as power output, time to fatigue, and strength. Researchers stress that adapting training to your individual needs is best as each menstruating person will feel differently. Most studies examine the differences between the luteal and follicular phases.

Many people will start to feel more energetic and strong shortly after their period begins—around day 3. If this is the case for you, step up the intensity of your workout if you feel up to it.

Females are at a higher risk of iron deficiency, especially if they are active. This fact combined with heavy menstruations can lead to anemia. If you have heavy periods, discuss this with a healthcare provider along with any other symptoms you may have.

If you want to create a workout plan during your period, the following exercises are excellent choices. However, everyone will feel differently, so adjust by leaving any movements out that do not feel right. You should always come away from your training feeling better than before, so keep that in mind when working out during your period (or any time of the month!)

Also, be sure to warm up before any workout thoroughly. Use dynamic, active warm-up movements. Then, you can proceed with the following exercises in order. The ideal repetitions and sets are outlined for each exercise, but you should adjust to how you feel before and during the workout.

This is a full-body workout you can do 2 to 3 times during the week. Be sure to rest between lifting sessions. Add in light cardiovascular activity after your lifting routine or on your rest days for an active rest session that can also combat some of the side effects you feel on your period.