Q&A with a Personal Trainer: Periods and Sport
Here at WUKA, we’re on a mission to empower and inspire more girls and women to Wake Up and Kick Ass, no matter where they are in their cycle. But when it comes to sport, the stats remain a little depressing. 84% of girls say they avoid sport completely when on their period - and according to Women In Sport, only 8% of girls over the age of 8 meet the daily recommended 60 minutes of physical exercise.
We know that puberty plays a huge role in girls disengaging with sport, but we wanted to know more about how the menstrual cycle affects sport for all ages - so we put some questions to personal trainer, Shakira Akabusi to find out more.
About Shakira
Shakira Akabusi is a womens health expert, television presenter and author of The StrongLikeMum Method. A former Adidas London run captain and current fitness expert for ITV’s Lorraine and This Morning, Shakira has worked in health and wellness for over a decade.
Shakira’s work expands from in person workshops across TV, Radio and Social Media, leading talks and training sessions for clients such as Amazon UK, EE Learn Live, Bupa and Gym Shark. Shakira has also written articles for publications including Vogue, Stylist Magazine, Womens Health Magazine and Huffington Post.
A mum of four,
1. What is the best type of exercise for women?
We really want to be working on a combination of cardiovascular exercise, strength training, core workouts and mobility exercises. Strength training has so many benefits for women, including helping us to improve our metabolism, boost our energy levels, assist with body-fat reduction and improve our bone health and even our concentration. Focusing on the core is also crucial for women, particularly as we age, when we may notice shifts in our posture whether due to lifestyle habits, pregnancy or hormonal shifts throughout perimenopause. Making sure to include weight baring exercises (where we are up on our feet) is also important, to help us maintain bone health. Mobility of our joints should always be a part of our training as this can help to alleviate aches and pains in daily movements and help us to avoid injury.
2. Can the menstrual cycle affect performance and training?
Our menstrual cycle has two phases - the follicular phase starting from the first day of your period until day 14, and the luteal phase, running from the time after ovulation to the day before your period begins (roughly days 14-28).
During the first week of the follicular phase there is a drop in progesterone and oestrogen, as our body sheds the lining of the uterus. It’s common to notice a dip in energy at this time.
As we approach ovulation (around the middle of our cycle ), progesterone stays relatively level - however oestrogen and testosterone levels surge. As well as being at our most fertile at this time, this surge in hormones can boost our mood and prompt a rise in our energy levels, allowing us to train more easily.
3. How can we train with our menstrual cycle?
During the follicular phase we may feel up for challenging ourselves with slightly higher intensity exercise, strength or interval training, some research also suggests that during this time women are able to digest carbs more efficiently. Giving us more fuel in the tank to lift, carry & endure!
Whilst during the luteal phase we may find we benefit more from yoga, pilates or low intensity cardio. We may notice that our muscles fatiguing more easily during this time. Relaxin levels also rise, meaning our joints & ligaments become looser so lifting heavy or moving with force too quickly might seem more challenging.
4. How do you advise women who see weight and/ or performance fluctuations throughout their cycle?
It can be really common to experience a fluctuation in your performance throughout your menstrual cycle, however that’s not to say we can’t set and achieve athletic goals at all times of our cycle - female athletes have been doing so for years. But it is important to listen to your body, and plan your training programme around the shifts in hormones.
Unfortunately, research specifically assessing female athletes and menstrual cycles is still thin on the ground, but more focus is turning to this population. Some research shows that exercise and strength training may even help us to manage menstrual cycle symptoms - with benefits possibly helping women to reduce symptoms of period pain and pms. One study even suggested that those who do not exercise, may have a heavier flow and feel more fatigued.
5. Can women train in the same way as men?
Women can train similar to men, in terms of soft exercise selections (the types of exercise we do), but we won’t see the same results due to our hormonal make up - and there are some differences on how we can approach exercise, particularly when we consider the hormonal shifts around our menstrual cycle.
Both men and women should lift weights and include cardio and core exercise into their workout. There’s a misconception that women will ‘bulk’ if they lift heavy weights, but due to our hormonal make-up, this isn’t possible when coinciding with a natural diet. Exercise selection doesn’t need to change for men and women, however some variables should be amended such as the amount of weight, number of reps and sets and possibly workout frequency.
Studies suggest that women may recover faster and fatigue less than men after a workout, due to lower levels of blood lactate concentration. Meaning we may benefit from more frequent workouts. However, rest is also crucial, particularly during our menstrual cycle, when our muscles fatigue quicker than at other times.
Learning to listen to your body is crucial for women, and we should feel confident in knowing when we need to reduce the intensity of our exercise and when we might feel we can push our boundaries a little more.
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