Training with your Menstrual Cycle.
Following a running training programme can be a challenge whoever you are, the demands of family, work and the temptation of another race that everyone else is running, are pretty constant.
There is a widely shared perception that if you want to take steps into longer distance racing or a trail or fell marathon, where you’re out on a race route for much longer, that you need to be putting in 6 maybe even 7 days of training a week ticking off 100km weeks to achieve your goals. This isn’t true and that age old saying “quality over quantity” couldn’t be more relevant to this conversation.
Do you ever find that the speed session that you have scheduled in your programme the week before your period is due always feels sluggish and you can’t reach those rep ranges?
Do you feel absolutely invincible the week after your period and that temptation to chuck in another session that isn’t in the programme or make up for something you missed last week rears its head?
You are not the only one!
I want to put some questions to you is, how well do you know your own menstrual cycle?
- Do you track your cycle?
- Do you missed periods and feeling like you don’t have enough rest days in your programme to get the best out of all the sessions?
- Are you eating enough both before and after your sessions and giving yourself the best chance of completing that session well and recovering sufficiently to get on with your day?
The plans that you pull off the internet or out of a magazine are more often than not designed with very little specificity. Whether that be the types or intensity of intervals, the importance of technique in a particular session or where best to carry out a session to get the best out of it and most certainly not around a woman’s menstrual cycle.
Let’s take a closer look at the Menstrual Cycle.
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The Follicular Phase: The “Low” Hormone Phase
During the follicular phase, hormone levels are relatively low. When menstruation (bleeding) begins, a female’s hormonal profile more closely resembles that of a male. Estrogen levels start to rise a few days after menstruation, leading to improved pain tolerance, increased testosterone, and enhanced recovery.
Optimal Training During the Follicular Phase:
This phase can be ideal for high-intensity activities such as VO2 max workouts, one-rep max lifts, tempo intervals, and even double training sessions. Studies have shown that focusing on strength training during this phase can lead to significant gains.
The Luteal Phase: The “High” Hormone Phase
The luteal phase is dominated by progesterone, which affects the body in various ways, including:
- Increased core temperature
- Reduced plasma volume in the blood
- Elevated heart rate (both at rest and during activity)
- Potential PMS symptoms
Optimal Training During the Luteal Phase:
Effort-based training sessions (as opposed to strict pace or heart rate targets) can work better during this phase. Progesterone is catabolic (breaking down of muscle tissue, making recovery more prolonged), it’s important to prioritise recovery with increased intake of proteins during this phase. Additionally, as progesterone is known to impair glycogen use, athletes should think about consuming more carbohydrates before and during longer, harder training sessions.
Hormonal Roles and Functions
- Estrogen: Produced primarily by the ovaries, estrogen supports reproductive and sexual development during puberty and a woman’s fertile years.
- Progesterone: Produced by the ovaries, adrenal glands, and placenta, prepares the uterus for pregnancy and maintains pregnancy during the luteal phase.
- FSH (Follicle-Stimulating Hormone): Produced by the pituitary gland, it initiates the development of ovarian follicles and stimulates estrogen production.
- LH (Luteinizing Hormone): Also produced by the pituitary gland, it triggers ovulation at the end of the follicular phase.
Some Training Insights for Different Phases
Follicular Phase
- The body is primed for higher-intensity activities due to improved pain tolerance and perceived energy levels, particularly in the earlier follicular phase.
- Female endurance athletes may benefit from carbohydrate loading before and during exercise to counteract the reduced pre-exercise carbohydrate storage caused by rising estrogen levels.
- Strength training tends to be most effective when estrogen levels peak in the late follicular phase.
Ovulation
- This phase can be an optimal time for strength gains, with studies indicating significant improvements in quadriceps strength during ovulation compared to other phases. Essential to bone growth, this hormone is really important and plays a significant role within the menstrual cycle.
- It’s important to be aware that the higher levels of estrogen can have an impact on the laxity of the ligaments and tendons so during this “peak” women can be more susceptible to injury. ACL injuries being a recently well publicised outcome of this.
Luteal Phase
- The body is less primed for high-intensity activities during this phase. This doesn’t mean that you can’t do these sessions or activities, they just might feel a little harder and take more time to recover from.
- PMS symptoms (7–10 days before menstruation) can affect training and performance.
- Higher body mass due to fluid retention may occur, which can leave an athlete feeling sluggish and tired. Keeping a diary of your cycle can help to keep track of these kinds of symptoms.
- Elevated body temperature and delayed sweating onset could make heat management more challenging.
Menopause and Perimenopause.
Perimenopause: The transitional phase leading to menopause, this phase is very individual lasting from 1–15 years, often starting between ages 35 – 50. The symptoms of hormonal fluctuations can include:
- Low progesterone: Shorter cycles, heavier flow, premenstrual spotting.
- Excessive estrogen can cause: Bloating, headaches, weight gain.
- Low estrogen: Hot flashes, insomnia, more prolonged fatigue.
Menopause: Defined as 12 months without menstruation, it marks the end of reproductive years, typically around age 52. As estrogen declines, women may experience:
- Mood changes and irritability.
- Sleep disruptions due to reduced melatonin production.
- Hot flashes and skin changes (loss of elasticity)
- Decreased bone density.
- Body fat redistribution, increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
- Muscle mass reduction (sarcopenia) due to reduced muscle synthesis. With less estrogen production muscle repair will be impaired.
- Impaired glucose metabolism, contributing to an increase in insulin resistance.
Some Training Recommendations During Perimenopause and Menopause.
- Perimenopause: You might have noticed that your adaptations to your training have changed?
Perhaps you are feeling more fatigue for longer after intense sessions?
Are you struggling to mentally to engage with your training programme and its demands?
Adjust intensity based on symptoms you might be experiencing, like sleep disruption, temperature changes that might mean you are less tolerant to temperature variations or you feel like you are picking up more “niggles” and injuries than you used to.
Remember the importance of recovery and rest during this time and that some extra time to recover, prioritising sleep and looking at increasing your protein intake can all contribute to help reduce some of the impacts of these hormonal changes.
Rest and recovery can come in the form of active recovery too and that includes mobility and technique work and you might find it beneficial to include some cross training like swimming or cycling which works different muscle groups but still give great Vo2 Max adaptations.
- Menopause:
- Incorporate heavy lifting to preserve muscle mass and Type II muscle fibres, is really worthwhile.
- Use high-intensity interval training (HIIT) to improve insulin sensitivity and plyometrics can help maintain and develop power production by the muscles.
- Adding balance exercises to maintain neuromuscular coordination, yoga can be great for this and can also help with injury resistance.
References and useful links.
- UESCA Running Coach. Female physiology and programming, the Menstrual Cycle.
- The Female Body Bible. ByBaz Moffat, Bella Smith and Emma Ross
- The Well HQ – The Well HQ : The Well HQ
- Fitr Woman – Fitrwoman.com – Home
- Written by:
Faye Johnson
UESCA Running Coach and Level 4 Personal Trainer at Maximum Mileage Coaching.
