Exercise and Your Period

What You Need to Know to Go with the Flow

-- By Liza Barnes, Health Educator

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For two years I was a sex-ed teacher. One of my favorite subjects to teach was puberty, which required me to ever-so-gingerly reveal the story of the birds and the bees to a room full of red-faced fourth graders. Over the course of three days, I’d observe these kids in alternating states: wide-eyed with wonder, beside themselves in embarrassment, and rolling-on-the-floor in laughter. My teaching tools were simple: poster-sized drawings of the male and female reproductive organs, and a demo “puberty bag”, containing a variety of items that related to puberty, to help congeal the knowledge I’d (hopefully) transferred to them over the course of the session. Brave volunteers would blindly choose an item from the bag and explain to the class how it could come in handy during puberty.

Besides the obvious likes of sanitary pads and pimple cream, the kit contained a plastic ear, to represent the fact that it’s useful to have someone to talk to during the sometimes difficult years of adolescence, and a jump rope, to represent the importance of exercise. Those kids learned that exercise not only helps you to stay fit and healthy, but for the burgeoning women in the room, it could actually help ease unpleasant effects of the menstrual cycle, like cramps and bloating. If you’re reading this, you’re obviously not in the fourth grade, but that might have been the last time you reviewed the basics of your menstrual cycle. But if you're like most women, you might have never learned how to effectively mix that time of the month with a regular exercise routine. Read on for a period refresher, and information about how to work with your cycle when you’re trying to get and stay fit.

Cycle Basics
Your menstrual cycle begins on the first day of your period. It continues until your next period begins, usually about 28 days later. We break up the cycle into several phases, which occur as follows (keep in mind that every woman's cycle varies, so the numbers you see below are estimates):

Menstrual phase (days 1-4), when the uterine lining is shed.
Follicular phase (days 5-13), when menstruation eases, uterine lining thickens and ovarian follicles begin to ripen.
Ovulation (day 14), when the dominant follicle releases an egg.
Luteal phase (days 15-28), when the uterine lining continues to thicken and that dominant follicle becomes a corpus luteum. This corpus luteum will "live" for 2 weeks, but if implantation of a fertilized egg occurs, it will die.

All of these changes occur because of programmed fluctuations in hormone levels. Estrogen dominates during the follicular phase, and progesterone rules the luteal phase. Levels of both plummet sharply in the time preceding menstruation. But that's not all these hormones do. They can also cause changes in mood and other physical symptoms. Because of the sharp drop in hormone levels prior to menstruation, many women experience some of the following symptoms:

Anxiety
Depression
Increased insulin responsiveness
Food cravings
Fatigue
Headaches

Obviously, these symptoms can make exercising during your period unpleasant to say the least. But exercising can actually make your period more manageable, decreasing many of these symptoms. It is safe and beneficial to exercise during your period, unless your doctor advises against it. The only caution (for yoga practitioners) is to avoid certain yoga poses. (Some yoga experts recommend against inverted poses during a woman’s period, but other experts maintain that inverted poses are perfectly safe throughout a woman’s cycle.)
Continued ›

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About The Author

Liza Barnes
Liza has two bachelor's degrees: one in health promotion and education and a second in nursing. A registered nurse and mother, regular exercise and cooking are top priorities for her. See all of Liza's articles.

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Member Comments

AUDENITAG

I think this all depends on the person and where they are in life. I am 46 and in the Peri-menopause stage. Every month is different and exercise isn't always possible. And yep I talked to my Doctor and she advices that I do what I can when I can. If you wonder why I said exercise isn't always possible it's because I also get migraines. - 4/22/2013 5:48:02 PM
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PEPPER22

Had horrible cramps this morning so I popped some ibuprofen and did a moderate weight training dvd. I felt so much better afterwards and I'm still feeling pretty good several hours later! - 3/21/2013 3:10:00 PM
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CIRANDELLA

I noticed that when I went through menopause, my period turned into a question mark.

Thanks...I'll be here all week! - 3/14/2013 6:59:52 PM
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JESSALYN1186

Caffeine will not make cramps worse. Midol and those types of menstral medications include caffeine for this exact reason.

Otherwise great article. - 3/14/2013 12:41:23 PM
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MISSY563

Exercising during period days can get anyone exhausted very fast. Iron pills need to be taken by every woman.If staining is an issue,use period panties during exercise.Me and my friends use adira period panties.They do a good job. - 3/5/2013 1:17:09 AM
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LITTLEMSMUFFET

Please have your iron levels checked. Women who regularly have low iron levels tend to have heavier flow--not the other way around. If you get the iron level right-your flow (many times) will be lighter. - 2/22/2013 7:13:37 AM
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ASPELLWEAVER

my problem with my period was NOT just the fatigue but the fact my flow was so heavy just takin a step would result in me dropping golf ball clots(srry for the TMI) wearing depends and resting because all i could do was sleep
i didnt want to exercise and fgot let go of many jobs for missing a week every month
thank goddess my doctor and i are working for a solution...ultras
ounds (external and internal) all have come back clear so birth control pills it is - 1/2/2013 11:27:32 PM
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SPARK_JO

it's all nice, but for those of us who can barely walk despite having very understanding doctors and tried basically everything, exercise is just impossible. and having to take a full week of "off" time every 28 days makes it hard to exercise regularly.

"Luckily" for me, I'm also suffering from nausea that week and it's stronger than the cravings. - 12/17/2012 2:41:23 PM
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NKOUAMI26

This has definitely been an interesting article to read. There are lot of things I learned. Thank you! - 10/13/2012 3:15:08 PM
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DRB13_1

Nicely written! I love that you included a jump rope in the puberty kit - too many girls reduce or stop exercising at that age and it is so vital to be active for life! - 6/23/2012 8:45:30 AM
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KLSIMPSON70

Love this article! Managing cramps is one of my main motivators for exercising. I've learned over the last year or so that my cramps are less frequent and less severe when I've gotten plenty of exercise during the month. - 5/15/2012 10:25:38 AM
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VISUALLYRICS

This is so true! What a great article.
Fitness has enabled me to enjoy a mild period, actually given me energy through the PMS symptoms and decreased even the usual mild symptoms.
When I approach that monthly period, I head to the gym. I love how fitness has changed my life! - 3/9/2012 9:08:28 AM
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CSHAFER23

I am in my early 20s and have always had a heavy flow and bad cramps. When I was younger, my parents would let me not go to school when I started my period so I would just sleep all day and use a hot pad to control my crazy hurtful cramps. Then, when I got into highschool and had committments like meetings and work, I finally caved in and started taking Tylenol. I switched it up from tylenol to midol to pamprin and etc. Now nothing works! My cycle is like 31 days long and my period is 6 days. Vicodin is not even taking away the pain! Everyone suggests I get on birthcontrol but I am somewhat a hippie and will not use it.
After reading this article, I remembered when I joined the military and went to bootcamp. All the girls said that most female soldiers did not get their period during training due to exercise and stress. This actually was true-most of the girls never got their period or only spotted a little. Mine ended up being regular but I did not have cramps once. I am going to try to be motivated this month and keep with my workout plan and see if it helps my cramps! - 1/15/2012 10:09:45 PM
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HANNAH_CALM

Heat makes my cramps worse. I like to roll my underwear down to just above my pubic area, so I can cool down as much as possible. And I take cool baths sometimes. I'm able to exercise every day of my period. It helps if you start early, before the cramps become intense. And take any medications or supplements that help you. - 1/3/2012 10:00:00 PM
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SUPERGIRL1979

Wow, and here I thought I was the only one that had trouble during my menstral cycle while exercizing and fighting cravings for cookies and milk!! This has really shed some light in a lot of ways, keep up the great info!!! - 8/28/2011 12:55:29 PM
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