Adapt your training to your menstrual cycle
Online climbing training
How to adapt your training to your menstrual cycle
Every body is different, so even though hormonal changes follow a cycle, each woman may experience them differently: for some, the week before their period may be when they feel the least energy, while others may need to adjust their energy levels during their period.
The guidelines we offer below are a general guide that may not fit your particular situation, but may help you better understand how cycling can affect training.
If you want more complete information on the subject, you can Read our article in El Cohete.
Follicular phase (days 1-12)
Hormones
The first five days represent the bleeding period. During this time, progesterone and estrogen levels will be at their lowest. Estrogen, which provides that energy boost, will gradually rise.
Training
The intensity of training should be reduced during the first five days of this phase. It's not necessary to stop training altogether, but rather to modify the sessions – especially the strength exercises.
As hormone levels rise, towards the end of this phase, we can gradually increase the intensity of our workouts, and it's also a good time to assimilate difficult concepts such as learning new techniques or exercises.
Ovulatory phase (days 13-15)
Hormones
During ovulation there is a drop in hormones: Estrogen levels plummet.
It also increases the secretion of relaxin, a hormone that is also released at the end of pregnancy and that relaxes muscles and tendonsIt is a time when the joints are more unstable, and therefore the risk of injury may increase.
Training
"In general, in the preovulatory phase the climbers of Sputnik Team They feel much better. "And they are able to assimilate the workload very well (they tolerate more work and adapt to it better, that is, they recover faster). That's why it's important to monitor it, to be able to take advantage of those windows," explains Pedro Bergua, the team's coach.
We can Take advantage of this phase to perform strength exercises.
Luteal phase (days 16-28)
Hormones
Estrogen levels rise again, but not as much as during the follicular phase, and progesterone becomes dominant over estrogen. Especially toward the end of the cycle, serotonin and dopamine levels decrease, which are associated with sadness and irritability.
Training
At the beginning of this phase (days 16-20) it is recommended to include complex tasks, with high intensity and low volume (Demanding exercises with few repetitions or few sets). In other words, we can really push ourselves. strength training.
In the second phase (days 21-24) We generally find less resistance, water retention, and salt accumulation. We can increase the volume and decrease the intensity of our workouts (less demanding exercises with more repetitions or more sets).
Next comes the premenstrual phase: The hormonal decline begins. If you're feeling more sensitive and tired, it might not be the best time to try very demanding projects (the likelihood of becoming more frustrated increases considerably, and it doesn't benefit you at all).
If you're not very receptive, you can do tasks that you have internalized well and can do without much effort. It is especially important take care of your breaks. But if you're feeling up to it and feel like you can conquer the world: Go for it!
Phases of the menstrual cycle
Self-registration sheet
We are not all the same, nor do we feel the same in each phase. That's why we suggest you become aware of your body, what phase of your cycle you are in, and how it affects your training (which is generally different for each woman).
With a self-registration sheet like the following you can take data from your menstrual cycle and relate it to your climbing activity to be able to draw your own conclusions. Ideally, you should collect data for 3 to 6 months or until you have gathered enough information about how your body responds.
You can Download this sheetprint it and share it.
