Cycle syncing your workouts has been very buzzy on social media and other online spaces for women. But should women exercise differently throughout their cycle?
In short, I don’t think women should change their workouts every week of the month due to their cycle phase. I do think that there are ways to adjust your workouts that may take into consideration how your energy levels fluctuate.
What is cycle syncing?
First of all, you may be wondering what cycle syncing is.
Classic cycle syncing adjusts what type of workouts you do with the phase of your cycle.
For example, during your follicular phase and ovulatory phase, cycle syncing recommends high intensity cardio, heavy weight lifting, and group classes that get your heart rate up. This is because your hormones are at their highest and most women have more energy during these phases..
Then, your hormones take a dip during your luteal phase and are at their lowest during menstruation. Cycle syncing recommends you stop doing the high intensity workouts and start walking, doing yoga, and stretching only because your energy levels are at a low.
Then you keep repeating this format throughout the phases of your cycle.
My beef with cycle syncing
Though cycle syncing may work for some women, it does not work for most of the women I’ve trained.
When I work with women who have a goal to add more muscle, they need to be lifting weights weekly. When I work with women who have a goal to get fast, they need to be running weekly. Many of my clients enjoy lifting weights or running, but also have a group workout class that fills them up.
And when you follow cycle syncing, you are only supposed to do those things for two of the four weeks in the month?
It’ll be much more difficult to get stronger, faster, or enjoy workouts that fill you up when you are not consistently working on them all month, even during your lowest energy weeks.
Additionally…
Every woman experiences their cycle phases completely differently.
I’ve worked with women who hit PRs with their lifting while they’re on their period, whereas other women feel depleted during ovulation.
During the follicular phase when you’re supposed to feel all the energy, I’ve had clients who feel low energy, but then feel higher energy in the luteal phase when they’re classically supposed to feel less energy.
According to classic cycle syncing, this is completely backwards.
What matters more than cycle syncing your workouts
Instead of following cycle syncing rules of what workouts you should do in different phases, I want to encourage you to not put yourself in a box, follow rules, or ignore the cues of your own body.
It’s more important to focus on how your body feels, your goals, and a plan that gets you closer to achieving your goals.
So, if your goal is to get stronger, a weight lifting program is your top priority. If your goal is to get faster, a running plan is more important. If your goal is to lose weight, being intentional with your strength training and cardio is what will help you lose weight.
How to honor your cycle
If you struggle with hormonal symptoms and have heard cycle syncing is the answer, you may be wondering, how can you honor your cycle without cycle syncing your workouts?
Instead of not doing a specific workout because of the phase of your cycle, adjusting the volume to your energy level with your intentional workouts will help you see results while not depleting your hormones.
Adjusting your workouts to your energy levels could look like sticking to zone 2 during cardio or cutting the miles in your next run. It could also be lowering the volume – like the weight, sets, and reps – of your lifts. It could be taking extra rest days or longer rest periods.
Then when you have higher energy? It’s game on, girl! Embrace that higher energy and push your workouts! Lift heavier, move faster, do the workout classes!
In conclusion…
Cycle syncing may work for some, but I firmly believe you’re leaving a lot of results on the table if you strictly follow cycle syncing, and that your workouts should align with whatever your larger goal is.
If you enjoy a certain workout, you should be able to do that workout every week of every month, no matter where you are in your cycle. Because, hey! Working out should be fun and you should do what you enjoy!
Struggling to see results with your current workouts? Let’s set up a complimentary Hormone Analysis Call to chat about your workouts and how to see progress!
