Adjust your training and nutrition to get the results you want!
Do you notice that your menstrual cycle affects your workouts, hunger and sleep? Do you coach people with periods or live with someone with a menstrual cycle? Then this post is for you. The struggles are real, because the changing hunger and libido and performance capabilities are legitimately different over the course of the cycle. Learn how to adapt your training and eating to your sports and athletic performance!
The “normal” menstrual cycle
The “normal” menstrual cycle spans 28 days, give or take 7 days. The cycle begins with menses and is split in to two parts, each of which lasts about 14 days. The first half, the follicular phase, focuses on maturing an egg in the follicles of the ovaries for delivery around day 14. Fertility is at its highest point after the egg is released, and the second half, or the luteal phase, begins. The focus turns to building up the uterine lining to support a fertilized egg. When no fertilized egg is available, the uterine lining is shed in the menses and the cycle begins again.
The major hormones: Several hormones act in concert to guide this cycle, estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen rises during the follicular phase before a sharp drop off right before the mature egg is released. Lutenizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone spike around the release of the mature egg. In the luteal phase, progesterone rises significantly and estrogen has only a small increase. They drop off concurrently before the menses and the cycle turns over.
Follicular phase: workouts, nutrition, hydration, and sleep
The follicular phase is dominated by a rise in estrogen, which blunts hunger. Progesterone is uniformly low. The resting metabolic rate is lower than average, and body temperature is normal.
Workouts and nutrition: The body finds glucose an easy energy source thanks to the estrogen, so use those Type I fibers for sprinting and power workouts. There is less comfort and ease in long runs and using glycogen, so if you’re going long in this phase, exogenous carbohydrate fueling is necessary. If racing an endurance event in this phase, consider carbohydrate loading. Estrogen also promotes muscle building over muscle breakdown and hydration needs are lower than average.
Hydration and sleep: Sweating begins at higher than normal temperatures. Lastly, sleep is restful and consistent, less likely to be interrupted by periods of wakefulness.
Luteal phase: workouts, nutrition, hydration, and sleep
The luteal phase is dominated by a significant increase in progesterone and a smaller increase in estrogen. If taking your whole body temperature in this phase, expect it to be 1-2 °F. Resting metabolic rate is increased by 6-8% (90-500 calories/day). This number is widely variable between women and between cycles, so adjust caloric intake as needed for any particular cycle.
Workouts and nutrition: Fat usage as an energy source is increased in this phase and glycogen storage and use are also upregulated. Now is the time for long endurance workouts and races. Muscle building is not as easy and in fact, muscle breakdown is a risk.
Hydration and sleep: Hydration needs are increased, as sweating begins at lower than normal temperatures. Expect to need more electrolytes to avoid hyponatremia so supplementing during workouts should be an option. Unfortunately, sleep is more disrupted in the luteal phase, and this disruption increases as one heads into menopause.
Key things to know:
- There are currently no consensus statements about how to adjust training or competition to the menstrual cycle. This means there aren’t any agreed upon guidelines by scientists or sport governing bodies.
- That doesn’t mean you can’t track your sleep, your performance or your general mood or physical sensations as related to your cycle. You can also try adjusting your training or your diet to your cycle. This works best if you keep good records! Make up a list of items to track and design a sheet or a file to track these items. You’ll notice I don’t make any specific recommendations because I don’t know YOUR cycle and performance issues.
- Despite the lack of consensus on how to deal with the shifting opportunities throughout the menstrual cycle, there are a variety of programs and apps that offer menstrual cycle tracking. Training Peaks, Apple Health, and Garmin all offer tracking so you can see the effects on your training over time. There are also apps and websites like FitrWoman who offer this service for teams and individuals and include nutritional advice. Just determine in advance if your information will be sold for marketing purposes to undisclosed third parties.
- Hormonal forms of birth control blunt or disrupt the menstrual cycle, so the above patterns won’t apply.
If you have significant distress or distraction from daily activities and exercise due to your menstrual cycle, please seek a medical opinion. Otherwise, feel free to track your diet, cycle and training in relation to each other to take your performance to the next level!
If you have noticed consistent effects on sports performance effects by your menstrual cycle but are unsure how to adapt your diet, reach out for a 15 minute Discovery Call and we’ll discuss your issues. Discovery Calls are free! Struggle with menstrual cramps before and during your period? Read how to minimize them here. If you’ve mostly moved past the menstrual cycle and are heading into Menopause, read on!
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