For women, a life based on sports isn’t always easy, especially when it comes to the menstrual cycle. It isn’t problematic in all cases, but it definitely isn’t helpful.

Many women, especially those who don’t take any sort of hormonal control substance, like the pill, suffer from PMS (Pre-menstrual Syndrome). Basically it consists of a phase, usually abouyt a week before menstruation, where performance suffers an attack. Not only in terms of sports, but also mentally.

Understanding the menstrual cycle

The menstrual cycle is composed of three phases: Follicular, Ovulation e Corpus Luteum.

The Follicular Phase starts immediately after menstruation ends, lasting throughout the first 14 days of the cycle. This phase is characterized by the increase in estrogen levels and maintaining normal body temperature.

Ovulation occurs when estrogen reaches its peak.

After ovulation, progesterone levels start to rise. Consequently, so does the body temperature, and so begins the Corpus Luteum Phase, in the last 14 days of the cycle. Afterwards, menstruation occurs once again, making the cycle restart.

Now, let’s discover how to take advantage of this knowledge. Here are our Tips:

Follicular Phase

When it comes to your training sessions during this phase, including during the ovulation phase, it’s the right time to focus on progress and evolution.

This phase is characterized by greater resistance to pain, more strength and a rise in resistance levels. It’s also in this phase that your body is more apt to convert glycogen into energy, meaning that your body will be more insulin sensitive.

Intense workouts will help you counter the lowering of your resting metabolic rate, especially after menstruation, which hit its lowest point in the week before ovulation occurs.

Ovulation Phase

During this phase, your strength levels will still be high and you will also notice higher levels of motivation and positivism. If there’s a time to beat e personal record, well, it’s this one.

Even though all of these positive reactions are happening, this is also a time where you’re more prone to injury. The fact that estrogen levels are peaking means that there’s an impact on glycogen metabolism. So, train paying special attention to form, since you don’t want to get hurt.

In this phase, the resting metabolic rate also increases, so it’s normal that you feel more hunger. You can increase calories in this phase, but be careful due to the reduction in insulin sensitivity. Maintaining a balance between macro-nutrients is crucial.

Corpus Luteum Phase

Have you ever felt like your body wasn’t responding as well as it used to, or felt more fatigued even while doing the same workout you have been doing with no difficulty? Probably you were in this phase.

During this phase, body temperature is slightly above normal levels, you can feel a slightly higher heart rate and faster exhaustion. In addition, you can also retain more water due to PMS, which can make intense physical activity more uncomfortable. This is the time to back off slightly from your workout intensity, since tiredness will become cumulative.

Metabolically speaking, your body will reach its peak, at around 7% more than its baseline. This results in a greater thermic effect after food ingestion. It’s necessary to watch out for carbohydrate cravings at this points, since serotonin production levels will be low, which can promote mood changes and restlessness. Your instinct will call for carbohydrates at this point, since they start a fast release of serotonin, promoting an almost instant sense of well-being. Taking this into account, you can always adjust your Carbs relation with Protein and Fats, not letting your calories get out of hand. This way, you can maintain your results and be in a significantly better mood.

Transition from menstruation

Finally, after menstruation, you will start to feel normal again. PMS symptoms will pass and your body temperature will go back to normal. This is a great time to go back to intense workouts, since you’ll be transitioning once again into the Follicular Phase.

By taking into account your menstrual cycle and the way that it influences the body throughout its course, you can make a better resource management, since you won’t be fighting the way your body is working, but rather working in sync with it! Once again, flexible diet proves to be a useful tool to maintain physical and mental well-being.