When do you have more energy during your menstrual cycle?
That depends on where you put energy in.
Another great woman joined the Project Woman collective recently, with her first question being:
“The thing I’m most interested in is when you have energy during your cycle. Want to make sense of my workout performance and when I’m feeling most creative.”
I love the menstrual cycle and the doors it has opened for myself and my clients in terms of easier and clearer health.
The cycle can be broken down into 3 layers; the first being the dynamics of energy (think power and rest), the biochemical/physiological aspect of the female body (hormones), and the emotional layer. This reveals a communication with yourself (and the world) you should of gotten years ago. But at least we’re here now ❤️
Taking the physiological/hormonal layer of the cycle, you have:
Menstruation - the first day of your bleed is the first day of your next cycle where hormones are generally at their lowest, but gradually rising. During your bleed, your physiology is more like a man’s in terms of how it fuels itself. You can lift heavy here and find your rate of recovery pretty high. This is where you can hit your PB’s without really breaking a sweat. If you’re sensitive to estrogen you may feel pretty energetic when your bleed arrives.
Follicular - the phase after your bleed, midway between your bleed and ovulation (although your bleed actually sits within the follicular phase).
Ovulation - this is generally mid-cycle where estrogen, progesterone and testosterone reach peaks to support conception. The time around ovulation see’s a huge rise in estrogen which can affect your ability to use carbs, switching to fat burning instead (which isn’t great for going hard with high intensity). This can have an impact on energy, recovery, and sometimes immunity.
Luteal - post ovulation and on the way back towards menstruation, is where the body realises you’re not pregnant and all those hormones start to drop off to kickstart your next bleed, cleanse and refresh your body for the next cycle. This is where we find the body going into more of a catabolic state (muscle breakdown), due to the properties of progesterone and preparing the body for a baby. Strength training doesn’t appear to work here as your body can’t fuel it’s recovery. You burn more calories and require a greater approach to hydration due to lower blood volume. You can feel generally sluggish, but the energy for endurance is strong. If you can get past that slump, you may find it easy to keep going.
Looking at the ideal scenario, you would find more power and creativity in the first half of your cycle, with the ability to repair and reflect in the second half.
But as I said at the start, it all depends on the energy you put in. If you’re living off your adrenals, eating foods that don’t support your hormonal fluctuations, constantly exercising in the same way and living within a high toxic load, you may find the above doesn’t speak for you. You have to feed the previous cycle to feel the changes in the next and this is where it’s so important to incorporate your rightful rest.
If you’re curious about understanding your cycle a bit more, you’ll find the Period Pocket Guide as part of the Project Woman Community option. If you want to go deeper into the power of your cycle, check out the Period Project on demand on the Honour Period Power option.
Big love
Abi x