Is Cycle Syncing Real?
My body, my life, my experience.
Dents du Midi by Lucyna.
Cycle syncing, menstrual cycle workouts, exercise and menstrual cycle, hormone-based training. These are all things that I have been wanting to write about: the mix of information about training, the cycle and what we should and should not be doing.
If you don’t know anything about the cycle please look at (unboxing cycles or Dr. Stacy Sims). The gist, is that as women we have two primary sex hormones (estrogen and progesterone) that affect us in different ways. Since concentrations vary depending on where we are in our cycle (look at the handy graph here) our body and mind will perceive and manage things differently.
Think of it this way, estrogen is the “fun” hormone looking to get you out and get you pregnant (hello ovulation), while progesterone is there to prepare you for being pregnant.
Over coffee, tea and a really bad chai a group of friends and I talked about cycle syncing (which is all the rage right now). I am in the camp that is against cycle syncing, because I am against anything that is overly prescriptive and limiting.
Cycle syncing is basically changing your life to fit around your cycle. There are things you should eat or not eat at certain times, there are ways you should move or not move depending on where you are in your cycle. Just a lot of rules, that are presented as suggestions, with no scientific backing (YET, or maybe never).
Now, being IN SYNC with your cycle does not equal cycle syncing.
IN SYNC:
Your cycle has 4 parts (true)
You understand that your cycle varies from one cycle to the next
Cycles are highly individual
Understanding and adjusting nutrition, movement and recovery according to:
how you feel
how rested and fueled you are
how much stress (physical and emotional) you have accumulated
Eating foods that you like and are not allergic or intolerant to
PERSONALISED
CYCLE SYNCING:
Your cycle has 4 parts (true)
Menstruation (Inner Winter)
Follicular (Inner Spring)
Ovulation (Inner Summer)
Luteal (Inner Autumn)
adjusting your diet, exercise, and other habits to align with the four phases of the menstrual cycle
GENERIC
My biggest issue with cycle syncing is that it prescribes a one size fits all solution to something that is individual and should be more personalised. It became so popular because it was nicely packaged with a lot of idealised influencers as an easy solution to PMS and other issues with the menstrual cycle.…Without having the need to understand what is actually going on.
I want women to be empowered and knowledgeable about what is going on in their cycle. I want them to make informed decisions about what they should be doing with their bodies and what they should be putting in them.
In a few months time, I will be going to Japan for a month of skiing. I am not cycle syncing my workouts because that would leave me extremely under prepared for being on skis every day.
What I am doing is sticking to a realistic training plan. 2 days in the gym working on power, strength and stability, 2 days in my surrounding trails with a heavy backpack, and weekend days on skis somewhere in the mountains.
What I will be adjusting is the workouts in themselves: if I am less rested, or managing pain poorly, or if I am underfueled. This could look like doing a set less per exercise, taking a lighter backpack or no pack on my run/hike, and potentially giving myself a rest day if I didn’t sleep well enough.
What I am not doing is following a one size fits all idea of how to train around my cycle.