Should you train on your period?

There is no definitive  answer. The energy of this part of your cycle is to surrender. It’s your opportunity to dive deep, relax yourself from your previous cycle and set intentions for your next. For some people - myself included - their bleed comes with a renewed sense of energy. This could be hormonal and could also be present if you find your premenstrual phase particularly challenging. The sweet arrival of your moon can feel like a beautiful release from those challenges. 

I genuinely don’t think there can ever be a right or wrong as every human is so unique.

What I would say is be mindful of that energy and what is to come over the next few days and look at what your bleed week looks like for you. If you’re in a position, say, where you can surrender for most of each day - is an hour of training going to deplete you as much as if you have to then work for 12 hours on your feet? Ask yourself how much stress or how many challenges you know you’ll face in the next few weeks post this bleed and also what you want to achieve in this moon cycle. And then as always attach yourself to your ‘why’. Why do you want to train? If it’s all egos and shoulds then it’s probably not the best practice for you. 

It’s your body, no one gets to say what’s right for you and even the most experienced Menstrual Cycle Awareness (MCA) coaches will never know how you experience your cycle. 

Whatever you do make sure you tune in to yourself. If you’re new to MCA then take some time to get to know your cycle and indeed yourself and then play around with your training pattern and with that increased level of self awareness you’ll be able to understand the impact training on your bleed days has on the rest of the month.

If you’d love to know more about how to autoregulate your training and make it work for your unique experience then you can book a consultation with Lyndsey who can help you do just that! Reach out to us via email for more information at enquiries@stronglikeamutha.co.uk

If you are looking for a gym with a program that is inclusive of people who menstruate then check out our 4-week strength training trial.