If you are following me for a while now, it might got your attention that I’ve lost my menstrual cycle for several years.

It’s mainly why I’m doing today what I’m doing. Helping women all over the world to feel and look their best.

Because when it comes down to your women’s health, how you move, eat, recover, and think are the KEY drivers for hormonal balance.

It’s a big topic and I could talk for hours and hours about how women are not treated the way they deserve in health and fitness. As well as get upset about so many women NOT taking responsibility for themselves either because they fear rejection from their surroundings or because they just don’t want to do the work that is required to live in tune with their feminine energy.

But that’s a story for another day.

As a Health & Performance Coach for Women, I want to give you a very brief overview of your menstrual cycle and answer your question if you need to change your training regime.

In the chart below you can see the flow of your hormones during your cycle. Each phase is characterized by fluctuations of different hormones including follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), estrogen, and progesterone.

What we want to understand today is the difference between the two main phases: the follicular phase (first 14 days) and the luteal phase (last 14 days).

During the follicular phase, the dominating hormone is estrogen. Whereas progesterone is the dominating hormone in the luteal phase.

Estrogen is a hormone that gives us drive, high energy levels, and confidence.

Progesterone is better known for supporting pregnancy and it’s sometimes also called ‘sleepy hormone’ because it promotes sleep and calmness so that we can take better care of ourselves (and the baby).

Now every woman is very different and will experience different physiological and psychological side effects in her cycle which can also vary from cycle to cycle.

Do you need to change your training according to your cycle?
No, you don’t need to.

But for some individuals, it can be beneficial. It happens today more than ever before that our hormones are out of balance. This leads to a lot of women experiencing serious side effects like cramps, bloating, abdominal discomfort, changes in mood and behavior, hunger, energy levels, as well as a lack of performance + strength in the gym.

👉🏼 If you are experiencing severe symptoms it’s worth reducing the training intensity. You could for example match the week around your period with a deload week. Don’t worry that the lighter loads will interfere with your progress. It will rather help you to train even harder once you are back.

👉🏼 If you have mild symptoms, you can just keep on training. It’s important that you get to know YOUR body and YOUR cycle in order to make decisions about YOUR menstrual cycle + training.
That’s why education around your female physiology is one topic inside my 1:1 coaching. It helps you make better decisions for yourself and your health. Get to know your body, take responsibility for your health, and reach out for help if you feel lost in the hormone jungle.

Love & Strength
Dragana

Please note: If you have severe symptoms, reach out to your gynecologist and work on balancing out your hormone levels.

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