All that said, even if factoring your cycle into your workout routine doesn’t magically help you gain muscle or run a faster 5K, it could come with other perks, like making you feel good or fostering a more intuitive relationship with fitness. “Becoming more attuned to menstrual-cycle-related symptoms and how they affect and interact with physical activity is important,” Dr. Joy says. At a minimum, it gives you the opportunity to adjust your training type or exercise intensity, but it may also encourage you to modify other behaviors that support training, like diet, hydration, and sleep.
Moran, for example, used to do primarily high-intensity workouts and was left feeling exhausted. Since switching to cycle syncing, she says she’s felt a deeper connection to her body and has learned to focus on workouts that make her feel her best—even if they’re more low-key than she was used to. “I started slow by just doing walking, stretching, or yoga during my period and felt how positively my body reacted to the break during that time of the month,” she says. With cycle syncing, she has noticed an improvement in her PMS and finds that she’s “less irritable before and during menstruation.”
Are there any downsides?
Cycle syncing isn’t likely to cause any real harm, but there are a few potential drawbacks. First, “we certainly do not want to imply that people should limit their physical activity during certain phases of the menstrual cycle,” Dr. Joy says—especially considering less than a quarter of US adults get enough exercise according to federal guidelines. If you follow the above cycle-syncing recommendations, you might find it’s difficult to meet the recommendations set by the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, which call for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity and at least two days of muscle-strengthening work per week.
To that point, the generic cycle-syncing script could also lead you to skip out on workouts or reduce intensity when you don’t need to. “It’s well-established that exercise can be safe and effective at any point during the menstrual cycle,” Dr. Rosenkranz says.
Plus the additional layers of tracking and planning could make this approach to training feel overly complicated, Dr. Rosenkranz says. Maybe even enough so that it messes with a well-established fitness routine that’s been working for you. The reality is that it can already be difficult to squeeze consistent workouts into a busy schedule, fit in the ideal mix of strength, cardio, and mobility work, and progress toward goals like running a marathon or building muscle. Adding cycle syncing on top of this can be unrealistic or make your fitness routine feel like more of a chore than it should be.
How to try cycle syncing
The single most important thing to consider when choosing an exercise program is that it’s specific to your individual needs, Dr. Rosenkranz says. If you want to give cycle syncing a go, follow these steps to tailor it to you.
1. Start by tracking your menstrual cycle.
First, you’ll need to start tracking your cycle using a period tracking app or other method, Dr. Joy says. (If you’re not comfortable putting your information into an app, you can use an old-fashioned paper calendar or journal.) Don’t just mark the days of your period; also take note of symptoms and energy levels throughout a few entire cycles to gain insight into how the phases may affect your training, Dr. Rosenkranz says.
2. Play with your workouts and see what happens.
Start experimenting with workout adjustments based on the info you’ve collected during the last few cycles, noting how you’re feeling (energy, mood, motivation) and performing (i.e., strength or endurance), Dr. Joy says. Over time, you might notice that you struggle with high-intensity workouts the day before your period or that moderate cardio feels great at any time of the month. Rather than basing your routine around your cycle, use what you’ve learned about your cycle to modify your workouts as needed.
3. Consider other lifestyle habits.
In addition to the changes that happen with your menstrual cycle, many other factors can impact your workout experience and performance. “For example, sleep can have profound effects on training, as can nutrition and where you are in your training program,” Dr. Rosenkranz says. Your goals, stress levels, injuries, and illnesses are all other reasons that you may need to modify your workouts day-to-day. “Listening to your own body—especially signs like energy levels, mood, and physical comfort—is often the most effective way to guide workout adjustments,” Dr. Choi says.
The takeaway on cycle-syncing workouts
If you’d like to use your menstrual cycle to guide your workout programming, that’s your prerogative. It could help you gain awareness of how monthly changes affect your motivation and performance or encourage you to scale back when you need it. The potential risks are that universal cycle-syncing advice may not take your individuality into consideration, and it could unnecessarily complicate your planning or keep you from your full training potential.
Cycle syncing isn’t a cure-all, and it’s essential to be skeptical of anything with purported benefits that sound too good to be true. Still, there’s some real value at the heart of it: When it comes to working out, listening to your body and honoring its needs is always a winning approach.
Related:
- How to Tell If Your Irregular Periods Are a Sign of a Bigger Health Issue
- How to Safely Delay Your Period
- What to Do If Your Doctor Isn’t Taking Your Period Pain Seriously
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