If you’ve read my blog posts and articles about how I work out, you’d know how strenuous they can be. As a woman, we go through many life changes making it exceptionally difficult to lose weight. What do we do when we get our period? Is it safe to work out? If we skip those 5 days, how does it affect us? Are we going to gain all that weight back again? How do we deal with cravings?
Lots of questions right? Let’s answer them.
Is it safe to work out during your period?
As a South Asian woman, growing up, whenever I have my period, my mother tells me one thing: Just sit and relax. Don’t move.
Depending on how you’re raised, you might have heard the same thing. While doing anything over-strenuous should be avoided, there’s no scientific fact that mentions that you cannot work out on your period.
What usually happens is, because the progesterone and estrogen are at their lowest levels during your cycle, you tend to feel less energetic and motivated to work out in general. This is the main reason women usually skip out on their workouts.
Benefits of working out on your period
Believe it or not, working out can actually help alleviate many of your PMS symptoms. As you exercise, your body releases endorphins. Guess what? Endorphins are your body’s natural painkillers. Therefore, having a consistent workout routine before and during your period can help ease some pain, especially your cramps. Doing this, pulls you out of that period “slump,” uplifting your mood to do more!
In my weight loss journey, I found that doing light exercises (which I’ll describe in a moment) helped keep the bloating at bay, and I didn’t retain as much water weight as I normally do. When I get my period, I need to wear my period clothes. What are those? I’m sure you have some too, don’t laugh. My pant size literally changes. I realize that also has to do with what I eat before I start my period.
We all go through cravings, especially during PMS but one thing I always try to avoid is fast food. I do cheat as I’ve mentioned in my earlier posts and I encourage you to do so — -but not too often. I realized that if I skipped out on the high-sodium foods before my period, I felt “lighter” as I worked out. Why? Less water retention.
What types of workouts can I do on my period? That’s the main reason you’re here. Let’s get to it.
Effective workouts to do on your period
According to Dr. John Thophill, OB-GYN, the types of workouts you should do on your period, are the ones you feel like doing. Read more on Healthline.com
It’s ok if you feel like resting. The best thing you can do is to listen to your body. If you feel any intense pain or nausea, then it’s best to sit and stay hydrated. Focus on your body.
But if you feel like a small workout won’t hurt, then use these 5–7 days to introduce something different into your regular regime. If you’re like me and you do weight training, HITs (high-intensity training), or Intense Cardio during the rest of the month, use this week to do something lighter. Changing up your workouts keeps you motivated to keep going. No one wants to do the same thing over and over again. It’s boring, right?
Walking
This is my favorite exercise to do. You don’t need to be on your period for this one because you can do it every day and at any time you want! Walking is a great way to and the easiest way to increase your heart rate. The best thing is that you can increase or decrease your speed and the incline as you want it. Walking is one of the easiest ways to increase your cardiovascular health! And if it’s raining or snowing, you can always pop into your local mall and walk there as you window-shop. No excuses!
Strength Training
If you love using weights as I do, use this time to work out using lighter weights. I still follow the same GroWithJo workouts I always do, but I alter them using lighter weights.
If you feel comfortable enough, try walking with light weights in your hands or try to go up and down a flight of stairs with those weights. Remember, if you feel any sort of pain, stop and take rest. The most important thing during any sort of workout is to make sure you eat properly and stay hydrated.
Stretches
Yoga is also a great way to do strength straining during your period (and otherwise). If you’re a newbie to Yoga, there are great resources online, especially on YouTube (do we see my love for YouTube). Pilates is also a great alternative. If you’ve joined BollyX already, there’s a pilates playlist and workout available there as well. Both Yoga and Pilates are by no means an “easier” workout. Both emphasize focusing on your breathing and core. Yoga and Pilates are excellent ways to decrease cramps and lessen pain.
The bottom line is, you can do whatever you want because you know your body best. The most important thing is to listen to your body. The days you’re not on your cycle are great for pushing yourself harder to do more but while on your period you want to avoid any intense training or cardiovascular workouts.
Why? What might be easy or moderate on normal days will be that much harder when you’re on your period.
If your body is telling you to relax or you don’t really feel like working out, that’s absolutely ok! But if you’re trying to lose weight, what I’d suggest is to be especially wary of what you eat. You don’t want to counteract the effects of your workout by eating junk because you crave it.
Eat right, stay hydrated, and be smart about your body. Follow my page for more articles on women’s health and more!
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