How you should train and eat according to your menstrual cycle
Have you ever wondered how the menstrual cycle affects your sports performance? Should your diet be different depending on the moment of the cycle in which you are? Today we tell you everything about how to train with the rule.
We all know from our own experience how the period affects our metabolism, our body and our emotions, but today we are going to tell you how it also affects our performance and diet.
Lets start by the beginning! Our menstrual cycle lasts 28 days and consists of 3 phases:
- the follicular phase
- the ovulation phase
- the luteal phase
Training and eating in the Follicular Phase
This phase begins on the first day of your period and ends with ovulation. It is a phase in which as the days progress, estrogen levels increase, while progesterone levels remain low.- Exercise : It is a phase with a higher level of resistance and strength, and therefore we can take advantage of it to do moderate-high intensity training, since it will be days where it is also easier for us to gain muscle mass.
- Food : High estrogen levels cause an increase in insulin sensitivity, and therefore a better use of carbohydrates. This capacity, together with the fact that it is a phase where we must do more intense training, makes it an optimal time to increase the intake of carbohydrates. Don't forget to eat fruits, vegetables and foods rich in complex carbohydrates such as pasta, rice or quinoa .
Train and eat in the ovulation phase
It is the period between the follicular and luteal phase, there is a maximum peak in estrogen concentrations and from this peak they begin to decrease as the luteal phase begins.- Exercise : This maximum concentration of estrogen causes it to be a phase where the strength capacity is maximum and where we can achieve the best sports performance .
- Diet : In this phase of ovulation, insulin sensitivity begins to decrease, and therefore we must begin to reduce carbohydrates (since we tolerate them worse) but without forgetting that the pattern continues to be rich in fruits, vegetables and vegetables. .
Training and feeding Luteal phase
After ovulation, this third phase appears in which estrogen levels decrease and progesterone predominates.- Exercise : The hormonal change will cause strength and resistance to decrease and it is a cycle in which we must reduce the intensity of the exercise. It is a good time to practice moderate aerobic exercises , where training time can predominate, but strength decreases . Together with the menstruation phase, these are the days where fatigue can appear more easily
- Food : The metabolism in this phase is seen accelerating, there is an increase in body temperature and an additional expenditure of calories. We can feel more hungry, however, despite the acceleration of the metabolism, the tolerance to carbohydrates is worse, therefore, we can increase the intake of proteins, to take advantage of its satiating power and counteract this increase in appetite.
