THE MENSTRUAL CYCLE AND MOVEMENT:
How understanding more about your menstrual cycle can improve your relationship to movement.
Listen, I get it - it feels weird, taboo, and maybe a little uncomfortable to talk about periods and menstrual cycles in general, but as movers and dancers, we have really done ourselves a disservice by not making information more accessible regarding how the menstrual cycle works and how it can serve as a resource for us in our movement goals. Generally speaking, this topic is largely understudied, but as we begin to learn more about it one thing becomes evident - the menstrual cycle - and the hormonal shifts that come with it, greatly affect our daily lives and our relationship to movement.
First, it’s probably best to understand that most folks who are on hormonal birth control will not experience the menstrual cycle in the same way described in this paper - largely because many hormonal birth control methods interrupt or disrupt the process of ovulation and thus, interrupts the natural ebb and flow of the sexual hormones present in an unaltered menstrual cycle. I also want to mention that even without the interference of hormonal birth control, many factors such as stress, diet, movement habits, drug use, etc. can interfere with a ‘normal’ menstrual cycle, which may also throw off the hormonal ebb and flow at each stage of the cycle.
This essay will discuss the biological changes and hormonal shifts typical of a regular 28 day cycle. Please note that your cycle may vary greatly from this ‘traditional’ cycle example, and the best way to work with your own menstrual cycle is to learn how to track your cycle in an informed and consistent way. There are tons of great resources on this topic, but for our purposes, we will look only at the biological break down of the hormonal changes in the body at the four main stages of the menstrual cycle, and how those changes relate to our movement and exercise programs.
So, what are the four main stages of the menstrual cycle, anyway? It is pretty widely accepted that the four ‘main stages’ of the menstrual cycle are as follows: menstruation, follicular phase, ovulation, and luteal phase. Menstruation is the point in the cycle in which you are actively bleeding, not counting ‘spotting.’ This is typically days 1-6 or so of an average 28 day cycle. Following menstruation is our ‘follicular phase’ that leads up to ovulation. This is typically around days 7-12 in an average 28 days cycle, and continues up until the third stage - ovulation. Ovulation typically occurs around day 14, or approximately 2 weeks after menstruation, Finally, after ovulation, we enter the ‘luteal phase’ that continues until the cycle starts over with menstruation.
Let’s take a brief look at how each phase affects us as we move through the menstrual cycle, and how we can then apply that knowledge to our movement practices. We will start at the beginning of the menstrual cycle with menstruation. The first day of menstruation is considered day 1 of the cycle, and does not include spotting. Some new age approaches to menstrual cycle tracking refer to this stage of the cycle as our ‘Inner Winter’ as we are typically lower on energy during this time, with the potential for mild to severe menstrual symptoms such as cramps in the abdominal area, tender breasts, mood swings, fatigue, and more. Some old school yogic schools believe that it is best to avoid inversions while menstruating, but there isn’t a ton of scientific evidence backing up any claims that inverting while menstruating is bad for the body, so this is largely a personal preference.
In general, during menstruation it is recommended that we enjoy more rest and do gentler, slower activities like walking and restorative yoga. However, some people report feeling a heightened sense of energy and increased libido 24-48 hours prior to the start of menstruation. It’s always best to track your own cycle (give it at least 3 months!) to determine what movement feels best for you (if any!) at this stage of the cycle and how menstruation affects your body.
Let’s take a look at what’s happening biologically during this stage. At the time of menstruation. In the absence of a pregnancy, hormone levels start to decrease, and prostaglandin levels rise in the later part of the luteal phase. These changes cause the uterine muscles to contract, and the inner lining of the uterus (endometrium) to shed. This is menstruation, or your period, which is the beginning of the monthly cycle. At this time, there is very little estrogen in the system, as well as LH hormones being low. Estrogen regulates important processes in your skeletal, cardiovascular, and central nervous systems that impact your overall health. Estrogen affects: cholesterol levels, blood sugar levels, bone and muscle mass, circulation and blood flow, collagen production and moisture in your skin, and brain function, including your ability to focus.
Knowing that estrogen is low at this stage of the cycle, we can then see how exercising during menstruation may lead to a lowered ability for muscle recovery, lower our tolerance for endurance of energy over time, and reduce our ability to focus mindfully on our training or retain information about our movement practice (anyone else find it difficult to remember choreography at this stage of your cycle?)
It is also noted that during menstruation, the hormone ‘relaxen’ is released in small doses. Relaxen is a hormone that is released in high doses during pregnancy in order to prepare the pelvis for giving birth, and can be responsible for creating more instability within the joints. It has been suggested that the presence of relaxen in the system can lead to an increased risk of injury of the joints, particularly in individuals who experience hyper-mobility. This knowledge can lead us to take more preventative measures to reduce the risk of injury, like lowering the amount of impact on the joints and/or utilizing supportive braces to increase stability around the joints at this stage of our cycle. It may also be beneficial to spend more time ‘waking up’ the supporting muscles around the joints in the warm up process of movement at this time.
In addition to the points listed above, many menstruating folks describe a lower pain tolerance during their period, sweatier palms and armpits, and an overall sense of ‘weakness’ in the muscles. It is advisable to take notes regarding your own menstruation experience over a minimal of three months to seek patterns that occur within your own body and the way it affects your movement.
Next up, as we move out of menstruation we begin to enter our follicular phase. At this point, we generally begin to experience a steady increase in energy overall as our estrogen and LH levels begin to rise, while our progesterone levels are overall lower. As mentioned, estrogen impacts our overall health in many ways, and as it increases in volume, we experience a steady rise in body temperature, energy levels, pain tolerance, and memory retention. Testosterone levels also increase at this time, which helps with the growth, maintenance, and repair of a woman's reproductive tissues, bone mass, and can lead to increased energy levels and a heightened sense of sensitivity to touch. The rise in estrogen levels at this time can contribute to increased energy levels that support higher intensity workouts.
During this phase, since we tend to have naturally higher energy levels we may be able to sustain longer training sessions, and with the increasing blood flow, our muscles may even recover more quickly from sessions at this stage of our cycle. Many experts in the movement and menstruation field recommend activities such as strength training, heavier lifting, and bursts of cardio at this time. However, due to the steady rising of the basal body temperature during this phase we may also find an excess of sweat affecting pole dancers ability to grip.
The follicular phase continues until an egg is released and we reach the third stage of our cycle - ovulation. Ovulation is typically a small window of time, 24-48 hours or so while we undergo the process of releasing an egg. At this stage, estrogen has reached its peak, leading to the release of the egg and is beginning its gradual decrease. LH and testosterone levels peak - responsible for a large increase in energy and sex drive, and in some cases - even in pain tolerance (hello Superman training!) Testosterone is also linked to the supporting of developing muscle mass - making this a good time to hit the peak of your strength training sessions. Once ovulation has occurred, many movement and menstrual experts consider this stage the turning point in which it is is beneficial to switch from a heavy focus on strength training, and more into a focus on cardiovascular activity. Because many menstruating folks experience a large increase in confidence at this stage, it can also be a really great time to plan for performances. The steady rise in estrogen and testosterone at this time can make it easier to put on muscle mass at this time.
After ovulation, our LH and testosterone levels continue to decrease as we enter the luteal stage of our cycle. At this time, progesterone levels start to increase, and we see a small and brief spike in estrogen levels. Typically, we see a gradual decrease in physical energy at this stage, as well. Progesterone stops the growth of the lining of the uterus, supports good sleep, and has a calming effect on the nervous system. We also begin to see a gradual decrease back to a ‘normal’ resting basal body temperature. At this luteal phase of our cycle, many movement and menstrual exercise specialists suggest activities such as dance, swimming, running, etc. After we ovulate, this second, smaller rise in estrogen contributes to a higher increase in energy expenditure. The few studies we’ve seen in this area suggest that the rise of estrogen post ovulation can promote exercise performance by altering carbohydrate, fat, and protein metabolism, promoting glucose availability and uptake into type I muscle fibers, which can be beneficial during short, HIIT type workouts. This can reduce reliance on muscle glycogen during exercise and help burn more fat.
The luteal phase continues, with the gradual decrease of almost all of our sex hormones as we prepare to shed the uterine lining during menstruation, and then the cycle, and the corresponding dance of our hormones begins all over again.
Understanding this ebb and flow, and the eternal dance of our hormones within our body as we move through the menstrual cycle can be an extremely powerful tool in helping us to shape the way in which we approach exercise and movement. We can see that each of the four stages of the cycle brings unique combinations of hormones that affect energy levels, ability to focus, pain tolerance, and ability to create muscle mass or burn fat. When we know how each phase of our cycle affects us specifically, we can make informed decisions about how and what to train, how much to train, and when specific approaches to training can be more or less beneficial to us, depending on what our hormones are doing and the inner workings of our body.
To begin tracking your cycle, start on the first day of your period as Day 1 - and take notes regarding energy levels and your relationship to exercise for each day. Doing this over a period of 3-6 months can begin to reveal patterns, and thus give you your own personal blueprint for the best times to exercise, best times to rest, and everything in between. Happy training!