Follicular Phase:
Typically, this will be the first 14 days of your cycle. This is the time where performance and strength will be highest. A good way to remember this is “follicular gains.” You will have more energy during this phase and your sleep and recovery will be at its peak. Your core body temperature also returns to baseline (see later in ovulation and Luteal phase).
Your mood and your motivation will be higher at this time as well due to the link between oestrogen and serotonin.
If choosing to begin a diet, this would be a good time of your cycle to begin based on energy levels (see note later in Luteal phase about energy expenditure).
Ovulation:
Immediately prior to ovulation occurring will be where your strength and performance are at their absolute peak. You can remember this as “a window of opportunity.”
Calorie expenditure can increase around 10-20% during this time. This reasoning helps explain why we often feel ravenous during this part of our cycle. While yes it is estimated that we expend more calories during this time, I wouldn’t say I recommend accounting for that. Fulfill your cravings but if you have goals in mind, don’t let it be an excuse to go bananas.
Hormone fluctuations cause your core body temperature to rise after ovulation. Hello night sweats, anyone? Me too!
Luteal Phase:
This phase occurs post ovulation and lasts until your next menstruation.
Prioritizing recovery during this part of our cycle will be beneficial due to low energy and mood, and perhaps some more intense PMS symptoms.
Often times our sleep quality is impacted and unfortunately we’re in a loop of bad sleep, low energy and mood. In fact, premenstrual insomnia occurs in 30% of women. This can be correlated with the rise in core body temperature and a drop in the hormone progesterone.
So what does this mean for exercise?
Even if you do not track your cycle, I hope that this can help bring some awareness if you are experiencing these things.
It is so completely normal to have such little energy to put forth into our strength training during certain times of our cycle (reasoning explained above) so please know if you feel weak or have very low energy in the gym some days, this could be why!
During this time I don’t find it necessary to completely program differently, but certainly take it into consideration! Perhaps you choose to do the same session but you decrease the weight. Maybe you **ReAlLy** just can’t manage a weights session so you opt for a nice incline walk. That’s okay! Give yourself grace during this period. As best as you can, optimize recovery during this time.
Take advantage of the weeks where your energy level is high and you’re feeling like a badass, strong queen and really push your strength and your performance!
Everybody will experience their cycle slightly differently but I hope this is a good eye opener and helps you understand your cycle in terms of your energy and performance.
Do you have questions? Comments? Feel free to let me know!
