Your Period is Your Super Power!
I am enrolled in Dr. Stacy Sims online Menopause course. I am learning SO MUCH about female hormone cycles. Dr. Sims asserts that women are not small men and what I'm learning in the course certainly emphasizes that!
Obviously, the biggest difference between men and women are our hormones. We women have an amazing and fantastic super power, it is the regular hormonal shifts of our menstrual cycle. It really is a source of POWER and not a curse! There are four distinct phases to our menstrual cycle. Tracking your cycle can help you harness your super power and understand what is happening to you in each phase. Week One: Early Follicular or Menstrual Phase - sex hormones are low and we adapt especially well to training. This is when we are actively bleeding. This is a great time to set new PRs and lift heavy shit. Here are Dr. Sims's tips for this phase. Performance tips: Take advantage of your hormonal profile and be sure youâre well fueled and go for it. Even with heavier bleeding and cramping, a few sets of 20s sprints will help promote a boost in growth hormone and anti-inflammatory responses, to help get through these few days; but if you feel like you need to rest, go for it; listening to your body is key. â
Week Two: Ovulation and Mid-Follicular Phase - When you ovulate you get a surge of estrogen, an anabolic hormone, which means we build all the muscle and get STRONG during this phase. Here are Dr. Sims's performance tips for this phase.
Performance tips: Some women may feel flat around ovulation and then bulletproof a day later; others feel the opposite. Take advantage of this bulletproof feeling and nail your lifts. Sleep has a performance boost here too. Your core temperature is at its lowest point when estrogen surges, which can help you get into a deep, restorative sleep.
Week Three: Early-Luteal Phase - The body prepares for a potential pregnancy by increasing both estrogen and progesterone. This reduces our training adaptations and we may experience low energy. This is a good time to not push the lifting PRs and go for moderate intensity in our workouts. Showing up is a win in the early-luteal phase. Here are Dr. Sims's performance tips for this phase.
Performance tips: Progesteroneâs main job is to shuttle glucose and amino acids away from the liver and skeletal muscle to build a lush endometrial lining. This increases your energy needs slightly, so you may feel you need to eat more. Make sure you fuel well in and around your training to keep out of a low energy state, and to signal muscle synthesis, not breakdown!
Week Four: Mid-Luteal Phase - This is HIGH PMS time! Bloating, cramping and all the other symptoms are making life challenging. This is a great time to allow yourself to work on technique and reduce intensity. Give yourself permission to go at 70% effort during this phase. Here's what Dr. Sims advises:
Performance tips: If you experience significant PMS symptoms, you can try countering the inflammatory responses that create these: taking 250mg magnesium, 45mg zinc, 1 gram of omega-3 fatty acids, and 80mg aspirin or white willow bark. â
If you still have a monthly cycle lucky you! You can track it on your Whoop or with a Period Tracking App. By knowing your hormonal shifts you can learn WHY you feel the way you do and make appropriate decisions about your training. You can also give yourself some GRACE!
For those of us in menopause we have a wholly different hormonal shift and I'll explore that in the weeks to come.
Click here to read the entire article on understanding your menstrual phase.
Here's to being informed and being a women in total control of herself:)
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