How to Sync Strength Training With Your Menstrual Cycle

Nikkiey: Real quick, the only ask I could ever have of you guys is to help spread the word so we can help more women lose body fat, build muscle, reach their goals, and feel insanely confident. And the only way we can do that is if you rate, review, and share this podcast. So the single thing I ask you to do is leave a review. It will take you 10 seconds, and it will mean the absolute world to me and may change the world of someone else.

When you move into the ovulation phase, this is where you're like, yo, I rock. I feel great. I feel hella confident. Ladies, ovulation is when our eggs are the most prime in our body. And this is where we're meant to be social and talk to people. And it's actually really cool when you break down the science behind this.

Yo, yo, yo. What's going on, guys? Hey, everybody. Welcome to The WarriorBabe Show with Nikkiey Stott, co-founder of WarriorBabe. On this podcast, we talk about mindset, methodologies, and tactics that will help you lose body fat, build muscle, be strong, and feel insanely confident. I am your host, Nikkiey Stott. Welcome to today's episode, episode number 204.

Today, honestly, guys, up until five minutes ago, I was fully committed to not recording. This is the longest I've pushed back a podcast recording in my week. It is Friday, and this is going live on Monday. Shout out to my team. Y'all rock. We're getting this done in time. But I just got done filming content. Whenever I film content, those days take all my energy. And I knew I had to record this episode today, and I was like, why did I do that to myself? Why did I push it back this far?

And then I even went into a deep hole of understanding the podcast algorithm, because I was like, if I don't record and I don't show up next week for you guys, is it going to mess everything up? And that's basically what got me, because if you're not transparent with the audience, that can hurt trust. And I was like, well, I don't want to hurt trust with my people. So that's what fully made me decide to sit down and record this episode for you guys.

Honestly, I had the topic planned out. I just hadn't thought through how I wanted to talk about it. And what made me excited anyway, not only to keep my trust with you guys... it was like, if you ever want to take a week off, you should let your audience know, all that kind of stuff. I told you I went down a black hole. But the topic was there and I was excited to talk about it. So bear with me as we go through it, because I'm kind of just going to wing it.

Today in this episode, I want to talk to you guys about aligning your training with your menstrual cycle, and specifically strength training. I think maybe four years ago, I got asked how I align my strength training with my menstrual cycle. And I was like, I really don't. But throughout the years, I've focused on this a little bit more, and I've noticed it more internally with my body, how my energy levels are throughout the month in relation to the phases of our menstrual cycle.

In the last couple of months, I've thought about this a little bit more because I knew I wanted to bring this topic to the podcast. But to be quite honest, and I'm going to dive into this with you guys, 10 days out of the cycle would be the only time that I would probably pull back a little bit. And I'll tell you what part of the cycle and what to do. But for all the other days of our cycle, the 20-some other days, you're still pushing it hard. You're still showing up. And there are aspects within those 20 days where you can really challenge yourself, really hit some PRs, and really see what you're capable of. So that's what we're going to talk about today. I'm going to elaborate a little bit more on what I just talked about there.

But what intrigued me the most over the last couple of months, knowing I wanted to bring this episode to the podcast, was recognizing why my energy would dip, why my mood would dip, why my strength would vary so much throughout the month. And if you're wondering those same things, you're totally not alone. It's not just in your head. It's totally in our wonderful female body and the blessings we've gotten from God in terms of our hormones.

The good news is, if you guys can understand the things I'm going to talk about today and then recognize them within yourself, you'll be more aware when it comes to your training and the phases of your menstrual cycle. And then you can work with your body instead of fighting an uphill battle and working against it. Because sometimes during the month, maybe you would attribute it to the fact that you can't lift the heavy weights. You would attribute it to you, or you would attribute it to your energy levels. But there's actually something deeper going on, which is your hormones are fluctuating.

This is for the women listening to this podcast who still get their menstrual cycle. So whether you're dealing with fluctuating energy, motivation dips, anything along the lines of mood, or recovery too, which is huge, this episode is for you.

First, I want to talk about the different phases that all of us women who still have our menstrual cycles go through. One is the menstrual phase. That's the days of our menstrual period. I believe day one starts when we get our period, so the whole clock starts all over again. Then there's the follicular phase. Then there's the ovulation phase. And then there's the luteal phase. And each of these phases, guys, affects your hormones. They affect your energy levels. And they even affect how your body is responding to the exercises and the workouts that you are doing.

If you can think about it with me for a second, because this is what I've done over the last couple of months, go back to last month and think about when you felt incredibly strong. Think about when you felt incredibly energized. Think about when you were able to really, really push yourself. And then maybe during other parts of the month, you felt more fatigued. You felt less motivated. I've noticed this with myself over the last couple of months that I've been paying more attention to this. I even feel less confident at some points of the month during my menstrual period. I'm sure you guys can totally resonate with that. Even just walking to the gym feels a little bit daunting.

And that's because our hormones, like estrogen and progesterone, fluctuate throughout the month. And that's impacting not just our moods, but also our physical capabilities, our physical capacities, our recovery rates, and even our own self-confidence and our motivation to go work out. So just think about those things that maybe you've encountered yourself last month. And what I want to do right now is tie it all together so that it makes sense. I'm going to talk through each of the different phases.

The menstrual phase, like I just said, is where it all starts. It kicks off and restarts the clock. On average, our periods last five or six days. Maybe some of you guys are a little bit longer, a little bit shorter, but it's typically around five days on average. And again, that totally varies for everybody. During this time, our estrogen and our progesterone are at their lowest levels. And this can mean you're going to have lower energy levels. You might have some discomfort, you might feel fatigued, or maybe even a little bit of, I don't have that much confidence in myself. Your body is working so hard internally.

So to feel this way is totally normal, if you don't feel like you have the most energy to go work out or do the most intense exercises. Or maybe your recovery time is taking a little bit longer here. You may feel like during this time you have less stamina, and that's totally okay. I think the most important thing you can do is be aware that this is happening for you, and that this is day one, day two, day three, day four of your menstrual period. And it has nothing to do with you as a human and your performance inside the gym and your ability to pick up the same weight you did a week ago or even a week and a half ago.

I want you to just accept that this is your body's way of telling you to slow down a little bit and be a little bit more gentle with yourself. Typically what I do during this phase is I still go to the gym, because this is the way I look at it: I've got the discipline to show up for myself, and I keep the promises I've made to myself. Working out is something I've embodied in my identity. It's just a part of who I am.

But it doesn't mean that in this part of the month I'm going for PRs and increasing my weight and all the things. I recognize that during this time my body is working hard internally, and I'm aware of it. So I feel X, Y, and Z because of this. I'm not going to put my body under too much strain. I'm going to go to the gym, I'm going to show up, and I'm going to keep the promise to myself. But I'm probably going to lower my weight here and focus on higher repetitions. So lower weight, higher repetitions.

But most importantly, it's going there, keeping the promise to yourself, showing up, and challenging yourself as much as you can throughout that workout, knowing it may not be the same intensity as a week ago or a week and a half ago. Becoming aware of what I'm talking about in this podcast, this is why. So at least I'm showing up, putting some work in, feeling good and feeling challenged, and I can leave feeling awesome. But I know where I'm at in this part of the month. So I'm not going to put so much strain on my body. I'm going to keep it light. I'm not going to go intense. You know what I mean? So just keep it light. Do some higher repetitions. Move your body. I think that's really important during this time.

Personally, I think this is a phase for doing what I just said, but at the same time focusing on some type of recovery, self-care and light stretching. I think that's really important.

For the rest of the phases, here's how I'm going to break it down: what the phase is, what's going on during it, how you're going to feel, so you become aware of it. I'll talk about how I track my period at the end. And then I'll give you guys some workout tips so you can show up as your best self wherever you are in your cycle.

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The second phase is the follicular phase. Got that one out right. After you're done with your period, you enter this phase, and it lasts until ovulation. This is when things start to feel a little bit better. You start to feel a little bit more energized. And this is because your estrogen level starts to rise again, and this helps with the increase in your energy levels and the increase in your motivation. Basically what's also happening here, which is pretty cool, is your body is preparing for ovulation. With higher estrogen levels comes better recovery and the increase in energy I just mentioned, but it also gives you more pain tolerance, which is super interesting.

So you're going to feel more energized. You're going to feel mentally sharp. You're going to feel ready to take on more challenging workouts. If we were saying day one to day five is your period, this is about day six to day 14, because usually about two weeks after your period starts, you start ovulating. Don't hold me to that, because everybody is completely different. But anyway, that's how you're going to feel because of the estrogen levels rising in your body. You're going to feel way more energized and mentally sharp. You're probably even sleeping a little bit better and ready to take on some heavy weights.

What I would recommend for your workouts is that this is your opportunity to ramp up. Go back to where you were if you're tracking your weights, a week and a half prior or even where you were last month around this time, and maybe try to go five pounds heavier than where you were the last time. This is basically taking advantage of lifting heavier, maybe implementing new exercises, or just challenging yourself in tougher sessions during this time.

Then when you move into the ovulation phase, this is where you're like, yo, I rock. I feel great. I feel hella confident. Ladies, ovulation is when our eggs are the most prime in our body. And this is where we're meant to be social and talk to people. And it's actually really cool when you break down the science behind this. But when it comes to the workout side of things, this is the midpoint of your cycle. It's a very short phase, but it is such a powerful one. Like I just said, your estrogen reaches its peak, but there's also a slight increase in your testosterone.

So this means higher strength and power. You're feeling hella confident. You're feeling hella motivated. Honestly, you're feeling amazing. You can talk to anybody. You'll walk up to anybody. You'll say hi to everyone. And this is where I would challenge you guys: if you're ever going to hit a PR or challenge yourself to lift heavy weights, this is your time to do it. Or if you're going for your max in push-ups or your max in pull-ups, or that's a goal you're working towards, this is your time to do it. So take advantage of this hormonal peak that's going on inside your body and push yourself with challenging workouts. Push yourself to lift heavy weight. Push yourself to go for those PRs.

But also during this time, and my brain just said, do I want to talk about that, be mindful of your form. Because when you're going all out and pushing yourself and challenging yourself, you'll be like, yeah, I can lift heavier weight. It's so important to be mindful that you're keeping your form right so that you avoid injuring or straining yourself. So keep that in mind.

So again, menstrual: I just got my period. For the first several days, day one through five, I'm doing high repetitions and lighter weight, getting to the gym, keeping the promise to myself, showing up and challenging myself the best I can. Then after your period's done, usually day six to 14, this is where you're going to feel better. You're going to feel a bit stronger. You're going to be able to push the weight you were doing at this time last month or the week before your period.

And then when you're ovulating, which is only a short period of time but a powerful one, it could be day 15 to 17, but it varies for everybody. This is where I would challenge you guys to be like, yo, I'm going all out. I feel good. I want to PR. That's what I would recommend this time be for.

And if you are somebody who writes your own workouts, or you're somebody who, as I was talking about this earlier, is aware of these things, now you're going to be able to work your workout schedule around it if you want to. You don't have to. But I just want you to know, there are some people who feel this going on and they'll beat themselves up. And I don't want you to beat yourself up, because there's something deeper going on inside your body that you may not know about. You may not be aware of it. That's why I wanted to share this information with you. If you choose to plan your workouts around your cycle, great, but you don't have to. I just want to say that. It's not like you need to go blow up your workout schedule, change your workouts all around, and do all of this. This episode is for you to be aware of this concept.

Okay, where was I? I did menstrual, follicular, ovulation. Luteal. The luteal phase is after ovulation. This is the longest phase of your cycle. It depends again on everybody, but it can last 10 to 18 days. Think about it going from about day 18 to 28, if I'm talking about a normal, blanket calendar of someone's menstrual cycle.

In the luteal phase, your progesterone becomes the dominant hormone and estrogen starts to decline. If you've ever noticed, during this phase you may feel a calming effect within your body. But this is what I've personally noticed, and what the Oura ring also tracks: an increase in my body temperature, a slower recovery rate, and a higher heart rate when I sleep. And this is because of progesterone and how it becomes the dominant hormone in this part of the cycle.

So as you get closer to your period, you're going to start feeling a little bit more fatigued. You start noticing PMS symptoms showing up. You start noticing the bloating or the irritability. And this is the longest phase. So I always say when I'm training clients, let me know when you're coming up on your period, because you're going to see bloat in your progress photos. And it's not weight, it's bloat, because of what your body is about to undergo internally.

But something with the luteal phase is that at the beginning of it, you come off of that high, that bam, I'm crushing it, I'm awesome, I'm doing some PRs, I'm pushing some weight, I'm feeling really strong inside the gym. You're still going to feel that a little bit. You're still going to feel relatively strong in the first part of the luteal phase. But as you get closer to your period, it's super common to start to feel that dip, the lower energy, a bit more emotional, the feelings and the feels of your period coming on.

So my workout tips: in the earlier part of this phase, you're still able to maintain your strength and your intensity, the same as you were doing in the ovulation phase, pushing it, showing up, and challenging yourself with heavier weights. Maybe you'll even continue to hit some PRs here. But as you approach your period, this is where, like I said at the beginning of the podcast, about 10 days' worth...

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This is probably about 10 days' worth of your entire cycle, maybe a little bit more, maybe 12, depending on the person, where you're going to start to scale it back. And that's going to carry you into your period and the lighter weights. What I sometimes do, have done in the past, or have recommended, and again, you don't have to, but if you want to try this out, is essentially put a deload week around this time, where you do less volume and less intensity. Then you come out of the deload and go into maybe a new phase and start a new cycle, and that lines up with the follicular phase. Then you maybe push it for another week. And then the third week, which is right around your ovulation and the beginning of your luteal phase, that's where you're testing out PRs and really pushing the weight. That's what I've recommended before. But you don't have to do that. Again, this is more about awareness of this concept.

So again, in the back end of the luteal phase, you're going to start to scale back and listen to your body. If you're feeling fatigued, if you're feeling tired, it would be low-impact strength training. It would be high reps, low weight, and just showing up, the same as I talked about with the menstrual phase. Because, again, your body is starting to work hard. It's getting ready to shed the lining. And that's a lot going on internally for your body. So just keep all this in mind.

So these are the different phases and the different recommendations. That's what's happening, and that's how you may feel when you're experiencing the wonderfulness of what we get to experience on a monthly basis, my friends. What God has given us, the ability to birth. And this is something we go through for a period of time in our lifespan, which is actually super freaking cool. And men don't get to do this.

And also, I don't want to spiral too hard, and I'm trying to make sure I can say this in two minutes or less. A lot of the things out there, like intermittent fasting or some fad diets, I shouldn't say all of them, but the majority have only been tested on men. They haven't taken into account women's biological makeup and our hormones and what we go through. And even some strength training workouts don't take into account our makeup and our hormonal profile. So just take that with a grain of salt. Okay, little plug, but I don't want to spiral. Just think about that.

One thing I wanted to share before I close out this episode is the way I track my period. I highly recommend it if you don't track your period. Honestly, I've been doing this for the last four years, since Flo came out. That's the app I use, Flo. And I'm not endorsed by them. This is me just letting you guys know exactly which app I use. It's bomb. It's pretty much right in sync with when I'm supposed to get my period, and it comes. It also tells you the days you are ovulating or could be ovulating. It tells you what day of your cycle you're in. It's super cool. There are also some awesome research articles and things you can read to better understand women's health, which is super cool. So again, that's Flo, F-L-O. You can go to the app store and download it. And if you guys already use it, you're probably like, yeah, that thing is awesome. I use it all the time. I've literally used it consistently month over month.

Another thing that tracks your cycle is the Oura ring. And honestly, as I say this, I'm starting to think the Oura might be, but give me a couple more months, a little bit more accurate than Flo. But don't hold me to that. Oura has been doing a lot of updates, changing their interface and really upgrading their product. So we'll see. What I'm seeing right now in the phase I'm in is that Flo and Oura are giving me different dates, and this also happened last month. So it'll take more months to see how true that data is.

But the Oura ring also tracks your menstrual cycle. And what's really cool about it is what I said earlier: it picks up your body temperature increase, and it also picks up your heart rate increase. If you're watching on video, you'll be able to see this. If you're listening on Spotify or Apple, you won't be able to see it, but I'll try to explain it as best I can. See that? This is my luteal phase. My body temperature has been increased this whole time. And at other times it hasn't. It's been low, as it's supposed to be. And you can see here it was increased, right around when I got my period. And the day I get my period, it always drops right back down. And over the last couple of months you can see the increase, decrease, all of that. It's super cool. It also tracks your heart rate, so you can see, oh, you may not have recovered as well. Yes, I haven't, because I'm coming up on my period, and my heart rate stays a little bit more elevated than normal. Anyway, those are some things I use to track.

All in all, for this podcast, you guys, I hope you really enjoyed it. Thanks for bearing with me. I feel like I gained a little more momentum and speed as I started to talk and share this information with y'all.

If you are interested in cycle syncing and you want to align your training, again, you don't have to. I just wanted to share this episode to empower you and give you more awareness of this concept. And potentially, if you're interested, tweak your programming so it's aligned with your body's natural rhythms rather than fighting an uphill battle. But if you are fighting an uphill battle, you can just change your awareness of it and recognize that you can keep your normal workout schedule as is and just recognize, this is the week of my period. So I'm going to take it easy. I'm going to show up. I'm still going to go work out. I'm just going to take it easy.

That's all I wanted to share with you guys today. Thanks for bearing with me. Thanks for hanging out with me. I love y'all. It was because of y'all that I didn't want to break the trust and say, no, I'm not going to show up for them next week, we're not going to post any episodes. I showed up. I'm here. And I'm happy I got this out and shared this information with y'all.

So if you liked this episode, please share it with somebody. Share the show with somebody. Really, truly, as I've said in previous episodes, it means the world to me when you guys do, because I'm one person to you guys, but you guys are one to many. You could spread the word, spread the show, and encourage other listeners to chime in and receive all of this awesome information I give you guys twice a week. Some of y'all listen every day. Anyway, love you guys. I'll see you in the next episode. Peace out.

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