- July 10, 2018
- Workouts in the gym
- Marina Pislegina
Is it possible to play sports during menstruation? This is a question asked by many girls who do not want to stop training even on critical days. Scientists have now found that playing sports does not harm women at all; moreover, it helps them improve their mood and even their well-being during menstruation. However, you should not get too carried away with physical activity on such days. You will learn more about all this from this article.
A short introduction
So, many representatives of the fair sex are interested in the question of whether training and menstruation are compatible, or is it better to refrain from physical activity on such days? The answer in this case will be ambiguous.
It has always been believed that sports should not be played during menstruation, because the body is already weakened, and the girl may lose consciousness from pain. But now everything has changed significantly. Moreover, even medical experts advise girls to exercise during their periods if they feel well. In this case, it all depends on the characteristics of each girl’s body.
Important
Still, are training and periods compatible? The answer will be positive, but it is best to refrain from strength training. Moreover, you should not pump up your abs or do certain exercises that involve the abdominal muscles. This can increase menstrual pain.
The most important thing I wanted to say here is that menstruation is not a disease, but a natural state of any healthy woman. Therefore, if a girl feels well, then she can go to the gym and continue training.
What it is
Here I would like to say that menstruation implies detachment of the functional layer of the endometrium, accompanied by bleeding. In other words, if a woman does not become pregnant during the ovulation period, then her menstruation begins on time. This process is accompanied by general malaise, pain in the lower abdomen, and the temperature may even rise. Everyone's periods are different. It all depends on the individual characteristics of the woman’s body.
But is it possible to go to the gym during your period? The answer in this case will be positive if the woman’s menstruation does not affect her general condition. If a girl feels unwell and has severe pain in her lower abdomen, legs and lower back tension, then it is best to abstain from physical activity for several days. This is necessary to prevent increased bleeding. This rule must be remembered.
In what cases is it prohibited to play sports?
There are cases in which playing sports during menstruation is absolutely contraindicated. Avoid any physical activity and rest during these days if you suffer from heavy discharge, pain during menstruation resembles contractions, or you are diagnosed with endometriosis or uterine fibroids. If you have dysmenorrhea, exercising during menstruation is possible only after consultation with your gynecologist.
For endometriosis
This disease is common among women, but often they do not understand what this diagnosis means and how to treat the disease. The main symptoms are severe pain and infertility. Endometriosis is a disease in which the lining of the uterus, called the endometrium, is located outside the uterus. The lesions spread to different parts of the body, but are often located in the abdominal cavity. Any exercise for those suffering from endometriosis is prohibited, especially during menstruation. Sports activities can impair blood flow. The body requires rest during illness.
For uterine fibroids
This is a benign tumor that develops in muscle tissue. The main cause of the disease is sudden changes in hormonal levels. Uterine fibroids, like other diseases of the reproductive system, require careful attention. Women who have a tumor are advised to reduce physical activity. Some sports and exercises can harm the body.
The presence of fibroids does not mean that sports activities should be stopped completely. Doctors advise swimming or water aerobics in such a situation. Light jogging, yoga, Pilates or morning exercises are acceptable. You don't need to get too involved in sports. During menstruation, you should avoid any exercise - it affects the flow of blood in the lower abdomen.
General points
Is it possible to work out in the gym while on your period? Here it must be said that every woman experiences menstruation differently. Some girls feel only a slight malaise and mild pain in the lower abdomen. For some, these days pass very quickly (in about three days) and are completely painless. And there are categories of women for whom, during menstruation, it is even difficult to get up from the couch for five or seven days.
In such a situation, a girl must decide for herself whether to go to the gym for training or not, based on her own feelings and well-being.
A small characteristic
For certain reasons, people of the older generation believe that training and menstruation are two incompatible concepts. Previously, young girls not only did not go to school on critical days, but many of them were even given three days off in order to get into their usual shape.
However, the previous rules no longer apply. Moreover, scientists have found that playing sports in the gym promotes a faster outflow of blood during menstruation; it does not stagnate in the woman’s pelvic organs, and therefore there is no severe pain. Therefore, girls who are constantly involved in fitness should not stop training even on critical days. Moreover, if the latter feel more or less normal during menstruation.
A set of exercises in the gym during menstruation. Sports during critical days
- Recommended. It is possible to exercise during your period. In some cases, exercise is even beneficial, especially for those who have severe pain during menstruation. Pain during menstruation is caused by spasms of the uterus, which, by contracting, tries to remove the exfoliated endometrium. Like any muscle, it can be relaxed with the help of special exercises that produce the effect of stretching the contracted muscle layer (slow bending back, shallow slow squats with stretching while standing on your toes up, etc.).
- Prohibited. Active sports during menstruation are absolutely contraindicated, because... increase blood flow to the female pelvic organs, can cause bleeding, loss of consciousness, dizziness, exhaustion of the body, weakened by menstrual blood loss. You cannot run fast, do strength exercises, aerobics, swim in a pool or ponds (this is not hygienic and can lead to infections in the blood and genitals of a woman). During menstruation, any serious stress on the body is prohibited. Active sports before and during discharge can lead to delays.
- Allowed. It is permissible to play sports during menstruation by reducing the load to a minimum: warming up the limbs (swinging your arms, turning your neck), leisurely walking, yoga without twisting (with the goal of only warming up the joints and muscles, without exercises on the lower body). The body should not be exhausted, tired, or overexerted - here it is better to focus on your feelings: as long as the workouts are comfortable, you are allowed to exercise, but if you experience the slightest physical discomfort, you should stop them immediately.
Nuances
I would also like to say a few words about when training and menstruation are not compatible with each other. This happens if a woman feels cramping pain in the lower abdomen, and at the same time it constantly intensifies with any movement. In such a situation, you should not go to extremes and it is necessary to reschedule classes for several days until the girl’s condition improves.
However, even in this case, you should not spend the entire day in bed in a supine position. Many gynecologists say that to reduce and even relieve pain, you need to move more and take walks in the fresh air. This will help lift a woman's mood during menstruation.
If the pain seems unbearable to a woman, then you can take a painkiller. But this is done only in the most extreme cases.
If a woman’s health is normal and nothing hurts, then she needs to pack her bag with her gym uniform and go to training. But it’s not worth overexerting too much. This must be remembered.
How does sport affect your periods?
Every woman's body is individual. For some, periods are almost the same days as usual, while for others it is a very difficult time.
Therefore, girls often wonder: how does sport affect the menstrual cycle?
Professional athletes admit that if “these days” fall during competitions, it becomes a real tragedy.
Studies have shown that during menstrual bleeding, strength and speed indicators, as well as endurance, are significantly reduced. This is due to high levels of estrogen, which causes fluid to accumulate in the body, causing muscles to relax.
Therefore, it is better to cancel intensive training - not only will it not bring the desired effect, but it can also be dangerous. It is better to replace them with other, more gentle types of activity - light jogging, gymnastics, yoga.
Missing periods due to exercise
Some women complain that after they started exercising, their periods disappeared. Of course, their absence, not caused by pregnancy, is a rather alarming sign for a healthy girl. But why does this happen and is it normal?
First of all, remember - if you have never been interested in sports before, and then suddenly decide to take on yourself, your body will perceive the first weeks of training as serious stress. And this, in turn, affects hormonal levels, so a delay in menstruation in the first months of training is quite normal.
Regular exhausting workouts combined with strict diets and lack of sleep are a completely different matter. Such experiments on one’s own body lead to chronic fatigue syndrome, which can also cause menstruation to disappear. In this case, you should give yourself more rest. If the cycle does not resume, visit a gynecologist.
Girls who strive to bring their body to perfection are also at risk. A healthy, fit, beautiful figure is great. But the fat layer plays an important role in the female body. Normally, a girl's body should contain 15-20% fat. This figure absolutely does not fit with ideas about ideal appearance - in order for muscle relief to be clearly visible, the fat level should not exceed 10-12%. This can also cause problems with a woman's menstrual cycle.
In any case, a delay in the red period of more than 10 days is a reason to visit a gynecologist.
Is it possible to exercise during menstruation?
The answer to this question worries many women, since there is a lot of conflicting information about it - from a complete ban on any activity to recommendations to increase the load on critical days.
In fact, it is possible to exercise, and in some cases it is even necessary. But you should choose the load wisely and follow certain rules. This will be discussed below.
Fitness during menstruation: the opinion of gynecologists
The myth that obstetricians and gynecologists categorically prohibit any physical activity during menstruation is quite common.
According to recognized experts in this field, playing sports is possible and even necessary to improve blood circulation during this period. Only too intense, exhausting and strength training are excluded.
Doctors also admit that blood stagnation and muscle spasms are one of the most common causes of pain in the first days of bleeding. Therefore, the lack of movement during this period is even harmful: among the prescriptions for painful periods in healthy women, gymnastic exercises and stretching are often found.
However, if for some reason your doctor has forbidden you to exercise during your period, you should listen to his advice and wait until the bleeding stops.
What to pay attention to
Exercising in the gym during menstruation is not prohibited and is even useful, especially if the woman feels well. But it is necessary to reduce physical activity.
It is worth paying special attention to the following points during training during menstruation:
- if you have painful menstruation, you should avoid abdominal exercises, squats, and deadlifts (otherwise this may increase bleeding);
- On critical days, it is best to work out on a treadmill or jump rope - this increases the outflow of blood and avoids its accumulation;
- you need to reduce the intensity of the workout, instead of doing two approaches, do only one;
- you can do Pilates or yoga;
- After training you need to relax and unwind.
Following such simple rules will help a woman not to stop exercising even on critical days, but will make them less painful.
Is it possible to squat during menstruation?
Doctors and professional athletes advise against all strength exercises during menstrual periods. It is necessary to exclude not only lifting weights, but also squats. Doctors allow some types of squats to be performed, but they can only be done with your own weight without additional load.
Exercises during menstruation should be gentle. It is difficult for many women to squat correctly with weights (barbells, dumbbells) when they have abdominal pain. Therefore, it is better to devote the first days of menstruation to stretching.
If a woman does not want to completely give up doing squats, then it is advisable to reduce the number of repetitions and approaches.
FAQ
So, is it possible to go to the gym during your period so as not to miss workouts? The answer to this question will be ambiguous. As stated earlier, training during menstruation promotes a faster flow of menstrual blood and does not allow it to accumulate. This helps reduce pain in women on such days. But you shouldn’t work out hard on exercise machines or do abdominal exercises during this period of time.
Is it possible to go to the gym during menstruation if menstruation is quite painful? If a girl feels severe pain in the lower abdomen and has difficulty moving even within her own home, then she should refrain from physical activity until the end of her critical days. Otherwise, you can only increase the bleeding and even lose consciousness and end up in the hospital.
Whether to go to the gym or not directly depends on the health status of the woman herself. If she doesn’t have any pain, then she may well continue to train the muscles of her body during this period of time. Here you need to take into account the individual characteristics of each girl’s body.
Is it possible to play sports during menstruation?
Differently. It depends on your body.
Christina Zhuravel
Obstetrician-gynecologist, author of the blog @ginekolog.kiev
If a woman regularly exercises, then there is no need to pause training during her period. However, it is advisable to reduce the intensity. In the first two or three days of menstruation, due to reduced hemoglobin, you will get tired faster and will not be able to give your best.
During menstruation, the level of female sex hormones - estrogen and progesterone - is minimal. This negatively affects physical capabilities and performance in various types of training.
Due to low estrogen, the Influence of Hormonal Status on Substrate Utilization at Rest and during Exercise in the Female Population decreases, The effect of the menstrual cycle on exercise metabolism: implications for exercise performance in eumenorrhoeic women overall endurance - you spend more energy on the same load and you get tired faster. Even the lungs work less. Does menstrual cycle phase affect lung diffusion capacity during exercise? more effectively than in other phases of the cycle.
Below is the result of The Effect of the Menstrual Cycle and Oral Contraceptives on Acute Responses and Chronic Adaptations to Resistance Training: A Systematic Review of the Literature and from strength training during this time. Due to the low amount of estrogen, muscles will grow more slowly than, for example, a week before ovulation.
Moreover, during menstruation, many women experience pain in the lower abdomen and lower back, nausea and diarrhea, and experience loss of strength, weakness and decreased mood. In this case, intense training can only aggravate the condition and cause harm - and it is better to avoid it.
Helpful advice
You can go to the gym during your period, but you should reduce the force load on your abdominal muscles several times. This will help avoid excessive bleeding.
During her period, a woman is recommended to do upper body training (for example, dumbbell presses, lateral raises). Abdominal exercises should be avoided.
In general, on such days the most useful physical activities can be:
- yoga;
- breathing practices;
- long walks in the fresh air (of course, when it’s not hot outside).
You need to eat more fresh vegetables and fruits, and refrain from consuming caffeine, because it increases pain during menstruation.
Is it possible to dance during menstruation?
Dancing is included in the list of activities that are recommended during menstrual bleeding. In addition, before starting the dance, a set of stretching exercises is performed. Such physical exercises performed during menstruation have a good effect on health.
If you decide to go to the gym during your period, you can choose group classes. It’s good if you include dancing among your workouts. Cardio exercises of low and medium intensity are allowed provided that the woman does not have gynecological problems. All physical activity during menstruation, during which the heart rate increases by 20-30%, has a good effect on well-being.
Unlike standard gym classes, dancing is not associated with working out. Many people find dance classes relaxing and people enjoy attending them. But not everyone can force themselves to do strength training during their period.
Recommendations
Can I go to the gym while on my period? As stated earlier, the answer to this question will be ambiguous. On the one hand, you can go to training, but you need to avoid increased physical activity. But according to some doctors, women with health problems should avoid training on such days. This applies to those girls who have been diagnosed with various gynecological diseases.
Therefore, before visiting the gym during your period, you need to visit a gynecologist and get advice from him regarding physical activity during your period.
In addition, women need to reduce their salt intake during this period of time. Because during menstruation, salt already accumulates in the body, and if it is consumed heavily, it will linger for some time and cause swelling.
Tips and tricks for training and exercising on exercise machines during your period
Despite all the benefits of exercising during menstruation, the final answer to the question about exercising during your period should come from your own feelings. If your critical days are accompanied by severe pain throughout the entire period, and it is very difficult for you to exercise during these days, you should not do it through the pain. Your immune system may be weakened during this period, and the additional burden can only be harmful. The best option in this case is a consultation with a gynecologist and jointly identifying the cause of severe pain (abnormal for the body) and then deciding on physical activity in the gym.
In most cases, the peak of menstrual pain occurs in the first two days. Refrain from heavy exercise these days. Drink more water, rest, do not burden yourself with work, especially physical work. On the third and subsequent days, you can return to your usual regimen and start training in the gym, giving preference to aerobics, light cardio, gymnastics and stretching.
If your period is almost painless, there is no need to interrupt your training regimen. Reduce the number of weights or repetitions you do, and increase your cardio and calisthenics time.
Video: recommendations for training in different menstrual phases
So, to summarize: training on critical days is possible and even necessary. But at the same time it is necessary to follow four basic rules: reduce the working weight and/or the number of repetitions; do not perform the prohibited exercises described in the first chapter; train intuitively, by feeling; Rest between sets until complete recovery. Regular training is effective not only in building muscle mass or losing weight. They will also allow girls and women whose menstruation occurs with severe pain in the pelvic area to reduce spasms and discomfort during this period.
More
So, here I would like to say that every girl and woman feels completely differently during menstruation. Some ladies can be very irritable, while others, on the contrary, are very quiet and calm.
In pursuit of a beautiful figure, many women train their buttocks every day, not sparing themselves, but during menstruation it is better to refrain from serious physical activity.
In order to significantly reduce pain during menstrual periods, you need to exercise more often in the gym on a machine such as a bicycle. This helps improve blood circulation in the pelvic organs and therefore avoid intolerable, painful periods.
Types of physical activity that should not be done during menstrual periods
Plank
Doctors do not recommend doing this exercise for women who do not engage in professional sports. When doing the plank, the abdominal and back muscles become very tense, and during menstrual periods this leads to pain and cramps. In addition, such active muscle work promotes strong blood flow to the pelvic organs, which is extremely undesirable during menstruation.
Vacuum
Doctors advise refraining from this exercise during menstruation, since tension in the pelvic muscle groups has a negative effect on the uterus, which is already in good shape. This type of physical activity can provoke increased bleeding, which, in turn, leads to dizziness, fainting, and, in the absence of medical assistance, to pathological blood loss.
Squats
Although squats do not have strict medical contraindications, it is still recommended to pump up your butt only for 4-5 days. At the end of the term, menstrual cramps occur very rarely, and the risk of bleeding and other complications is minimal. There may be an increase in discharge, since this is a normal reaction of the body to stress, but if the pad is only enough for one approach, then you should stop this type of physical activity.
Press
Gynecologists say that abdominal exercises increase blood loss, since during their implementation the process of endometrial detachment may be disrupted. In addition, the rush of blood to the pelvic area leads to additional stress on the uterus, which is already in good shape during the menstrual period.
Doctors categorically prohibit people with the following diagnoses from pumping their abs:
- ovarian cyst;
- inflammation of the appendages;
- acute vaginitis.
Do not ignore the advice of your gynecologist regarding sports activities of any type. If the doctor does not recommend pumping up the abs during menstrual periods, then such an exercise should not be replaced with similar loads on this area. This can lead to undesirable and, in some cases, harmful consequences.
Bottom line
Here again I would like to emphasize that menstruation in a woman is not a disease, but a normal physiological phenomenon that does not require specific treatment. Yes, many girls need rest during their periods due to severe pain. However, this does not mean that you need to lie in bed throughout your period and take pills. If possible, you need to move more, because physical activity during menstruation not only improves the flow of menstrual blood, but also helps get rid of pain and bad mood.
Rules for doing exercises for PMS
PMS is considered a fairly severe female condition. At this time, beautiful creatures become very angry and irritable. On the other hand, the onset of PMS is not a reason to become depressed. There is an exit!
With the help of certain training techniques, PMS can be alleviated. In such conditions, you should first get rid of heaviness in your legs. Raising your legs up the wall helps you get rid of this unpleasant feeling.
It is also necessary to pay attention to back pain. To relieve the syndrome, there are techniques, the implementation of which will restore the joy of life.
Yoga has an excellent effect on the body during PMS. In addition to improving physical condition, yoga techniques help calm the nervous system.
PMS can be alleviated using certain training techniques.
For training you need to choose:
- comfortable spot;
- comfortable clothes;
- correct room temperature;
- permissible load.
Exercising during PMS is just as permissible as exercising during menstruation. The only significant difference can be considered the optimal load. With PMS, this indicator can be increased.
