Photo by Kira Severinova on Unsplash
The menstrual cycle is for some a welcoming treat but for many a disastrous period just because your mood shifts and your physical state blows down. Most ladies have learned how to track their period over the course of the year, and if you can predict when “it” will arrive and how you’ll feel each week of the month, you can sync most of this around itโexercise included.
The fact that everything around your body alters when you get your period, the mood, the energy levels, the diet, it’s no wonder that your lifestyle needs to adapt to your cycles seemingly. Exercise included! However, this doesn’t have to be so far-fetched, because it is perfectly plausible to sync your daily habits and workout to your repetitive hormonal cycles and feel better and uplifted during each exercise. With regular exercising and diet changes during your menstrual cycle, you will undoubtedly alter your mood swings, sleeping patterns, and appetite for the better, and here is how to do it.
What is cycle syncing?
First and foremost, let’s look at the core of the women’s system and what effect cycle syncing has on women’s bodies. The menstrual cycle is a repetitive and ongoing phase that affects both the mental and physical condition of a woman. It’s important to note, though, that menstruation affects everyone differently, so the phases and mood of your menstrual cycle will differ from woman to woman.
However, one thing remains – the lady’s infradian rhythm should be well-supported for it to perform adequately. Here comes the cycle syncing! Cycle syncing is a concept that entails adapting your eating patterns and exercise routines to the phases of your menstrual cycle.
As there is no one-size-fits-all approach, to alter and support your hormonal health maximally, you should sync your food habits with workout types and intensity to balance all the phases of your menstrual cycle (menstruation, follicular, ovulation, and luteal).
How does cycle syncing work?
Bear in mind that your body is your sanctuary and that you should treat it with absolute care. This is the first thing to remember as cycle syncing workouts depend on your physical (and mental) state.
Cycle syncing entails changing your daily habits and fitness options depending on what phase of your menstrual cycle you’re experiencing. Automatically, you will need to adapt the diet and fitness choices to your menstrual cycle to help alleviate menstrual pain and reduce circulating cortisol levels.
How does a cycling syncing workout work?
Scientists have concluded that cycling syncing can do marvels to your body pre-, during, and post-menstruation. Depending on the type of cycling syncing workout you choose, you will undoubtedly boost endorphins, elevate serotonin and dopamine levels, significantly decrease circulating estrogen levels, and boost your mood.
Doing cycling syncing workouts means doing specifically designed exercises that help alter your hormone levels and reduce circulating cortisol levels during and after a period. Again, the effect and result of doing a cycling syncing workout will mainly depend on your body constitution and fitness, strength, and intensity.
What are the benefits of a cycling syncing workout?
The benefits are huge – period! Putting this joke aside, the benefits of the concept of the cycling syncing workout are vast because you would impeccably tailor your lifestyle habits to the natural rhythms of your changing body. Since we as ladies cannot do much about putting biology aside, why not put it in the center of attention and adapt our lifestyle, dietary habits, and workouts in order to validate ourselves and feel better through this monthly cycle?
Some of the main benefits of cycling syncing workouts are increased mood, reduced stress level, advanced estrogen elimination, improved bowel movement, clear skin, stable blood sugar levels, lowered PMS symptoms, highlighted mental clarity and productivity, and most importantly, increased sex drive.
Again, everybody has a different cycle, and depending on how your cycle phases work and how you approach the cycling syncing workouts, that would be the detrimental factor in whether you would feel the benefits of cycling syncing workouts more or less.
Who can benefit from cycle syncing workouts?
It’s fair to say that every single woman on the glove can benefit from a cycle syncing workout. Menstruating time can be rather daunting and painful for some women, and if you were to make the most out of cycling syncing workouts you would surely improve your daily life, for yourself and everyone around you.
However, women who have an uneven menstrual cycle or have some form of medical condition affected by the menstrual cycle such as polycystic ovarian syndrome, endometriosis, or premenstrual syndrome and similar can hugely benefit from cycle syncing workouts and boost their physical and mental health.
The best cycling syncing workouts
The moment you set your mind to trying cycling syncing exercises is the moment you will completely change your life. By incorporating some of the suggested cycling workouts into your lifestyle, you will very soon spot vast changes in your mood and health.
The type of cycling syncing workouts would differ from cycle range since there is an average 28- to 31-day cycle range and you can do a variety of exercises depending on what stage of your cycle you are at. Here are some of the best cycling syncing workouts any woman can do following each phase of the menstrual cycle.
Menstruation Phase – Mild intensity and flexibility exercises
Cycle lengths might be individual, however, during your menstruation phase where you might have more stomach cramps than usual, start with mild cycling syncing workouts. This includes doing flexibility exercises such as yoga or pilates.
Do plenty of stretching exercises especially full-body stretches to increase the blood flow. Aim to walk 3 to 5 km a day to elevate your mood.
Follicular phase – Cardio and strength training
During the follicular phase of your menstrual cycle, you will feel your best, and at this stage, you should do more cardio and strength training.
Since your progesterone is increasing in this phase, do more resistance or endurance workouts such as 10-minute jump rope in combination with weight lifting. Go brisk walking or running instead of walking, and so on.
Ovulation phase – Kick things up with HIIT workouts
LH surge will make you feel extra frenzy and energetic, hence this is where you can top up your cycling syncing workouts by doing high-intensity interval training.
Doing such exercises will help ease any abdominal pain that you might experience. Besides the HIIT workouts such as Tabata, during the ovulation phase, you can do Zumba, aerobic, or spin classes.
Luteal phase – Build your muscles
Just before the menstruation, or between days 17 and 31, you might feel a little bit down and unmotivated. This is the time when you start experiencing PMS symptoms such as breast pain or cramps, and doing high-intensity training would feel difficult and tedious.
Therefore, the best cycling syncing workouts in this phase are all exercises that help strengthen your ab and glute muscles. Slow and low-intensity workouts are what you need to do here so to build your muscles and core strengths that will help you get through the upcoming menstrual phase.
Cycle syncing workout tips and tricks
Just like with any daily or self-care routine, you need to listen to your body and do whatever you think will help you top up your mood and stamina. To get the most out of cycling syncing workout techniques, here are some useful tips and tricks to help you through all cycle phases.
Balance the workouts with eating patterns
It’s extremely important to do cycling syncing workouts in the exact phase of your cycle, but it’s equally crucial to switch up your exercise routine with good eating patterns depending on which phase of your cycle you’re in.
For instance, when you are in the follicular and ovulatory phase, you will feel needy and eager to eat all kinds of junk food, however, your metabolism is slower then, believe or not, so you need less food than usual. Opt for quality carbs and proteins, eat plenty of veggies, and try to drink plenty of water.
Listen to your body
When you want to plan the perfect cycling syncing workouts keep in mind that things won’t always go as planned because you will sometimes have mood swings, headaches, and cramps that are a normal part of the cycle. Aim to listen to your body.
When you get in tune with your hormonal shifts, that’s the best time or period to start with the exercises that suit you in that phase. However, if your body is not in check and if you feel down or moody, try to listen to your body, and instead of doing HIIT workouts planned for that cycle period, try meditation. This would power you up faster than if you were to continue with your schedule.
Stay hydrated
The best way for the body to recuperate, especially on the heaviest flow days, is to hydrate. The menstruation period can be the trickiest in your cycle as then you feel most exhausted and bloated, hence that’s the time when you should drink plenty of water to ease up the heavy menstrual bleeding.
Whatever type of cycling syncing workout you have planned for the day, know that by staying hydrated you will undoubtedly decrease the risk of feeling agitated and lightheaded which will help you get back on track after the heavy bleeding ceases.
Take a break
Sure, there will be times when you won’t feel like exercising. And that’s perfectly normal. What’s more, experts do suggest taking a break every once in a while in order to boost your physical and mental state. If you are determined and want to stick to your cycle-syncing workout plan for the day, then at least try to take a 5-minute break between the exercises to catch your breath and recuperate.
The way a woman experiences her menstruation will solely depend on her and her alone. Everybody is different and you should treat your body like a sanctuary. Do your homework, if in doubt, don’t start cycling syncing workouts before you consult an expert physician or gynecologist to get the most out of this amazing method.
