Your menstrual cycle is not your period.

It is a delicate dance of specific hormones that fluctuate and balance across a period of between 21-34 days. The three key hormones involved are oestrogen, testosterone and progesterone. It’s important to highlight (because no one does when you’re young) that hormonal birth control produces synthetic versions of these hormones. They do not fully replicate a natural menstrual cycle, and therefore you will not experience a period whilst taking hormonal birth control, rather a withdrawal bleed.

Truth #1: everyone’s menstrual cycle is unique.

Lie #1: just because your cycle is unique, that doesn’t mean it’s fine for it to chop and change from cycle to cycle.

Read more about common misconceptions.

The role of oestrogen:

Although we actually produce more testosterone than we do oestrogen, oestrogen is still the main sex hormone attributed to the menstrual cycle, and female bodies in general. This is because it’s directly involved in the process of ovulation (the production and release of an egg) and rises throughout the first half of the menstrual cycle, peaking at the mid-point.

Due to the body’s biological desire to reproduce, and evolution’s pretty evolved strategy at making that happen (globally there are several billion examples of this), rising oestrogen corresponds with more energy, more social desire or a natural inclination towards being more out-going, more self-confidence, a pronounced change in cervical fluid, and a higher sex drive…

…which leads nicely into the role of testosterone:

Responsible for increased libido, motivation, and all-out performance, testosterone also peaks just before ovulation, to get you in the mood, shall we say. It’s also why you likely feel physically stronger and more energetic in the run up to your cyclical mid-point, due to the winning combo of these two hormones.

This also explains some of the issues that get put down to “old age” in women; a lack of testosterone and oestrogen contribute massively to loss of strength, motivation, and confidence that post-menopausal women experience, because the two main hormones responsible for almost half their well-being have ceased production. The other half is monitored by progesterone, aka the boss of your luteal phase.

The role of progesterone:

This hormone dominates the second half of your menstrual cycle, commonly referred to as the luteal phase. Possibly the most misunderstood of the four phases, progesterone, and the point of the luteal phase altogether, makes a lot more sense when explained through a biological microscope.

Post-ovulation, there is a chance than an egg is released, fertilised, and goes on to be born 9ish months later. Evolution does not give a damn about your life goals as a strong independent female in the 2000s; whether you want to be a mother or not, these are the biological fundamentals we are working with and ignoring them won’t make them disappear. So, that being the case, progesterone comes along and winds everything down a bit. Makes sense that if you’re potentially growing a new human, you’d benefit from more sleep, more calories, activities that are slightly more risk-averse, and receiving many hugs… which is why you might:

• generally have less energy

• might feel more frustrated during training sessions

• notice your cravings kick in

• feel hungrier (did you know your caloric need actually increases?)

• feel more fatigued

• feel more emotional

• want to sleep more

• are less motivated to work / train

• have less social battery and / or patience

Learn about the four phases.

Truth #2: everyone’s menstrual cycle is subject to temporary or permanent change.

Remember that time everyone was freaked about the vaccine because of changes experienced to their menstrual cycle? Well guess what…that’s normal. Even if you spend a week in bed with the flu, or your partner goes away for work, or you change partner, or the amount of time you spend having sex changes, it will all have an impact on your menstrual cycle.

Here’s an actually freaky revelation: some people who met their partners whilst on the pill / hormonal contraception, actually found then when they came off birth control and returned to their normal hormones, in order to start a family, they no longer found their partner attractive!

Lie #2: your menstrual cycle and period should last a certain number of days.

Social media is full of aesthetic #goals and pitfalls of information. Yes, #abs hits the top of the algorithm 9 times out of 10. However, it isn’t healthy for everyone not to consider their cycle as a fundamental feedback tool for training; as an example, a recent study found that 81% of women have never discussed their menstrual cycle with their trainer or coach. PMS is a very real factor for basically anyone who experiences menstruation, and rocking up to the gym with sore boobs, mad cravings, and feeling super frustrated because you can’t hit the same weights / time / pace / distance that you did last week isn’t helping.

Whether your natural rest period hits you just towards the end of your luteal phase, or whether it happens mid-bleed, just like we need sleep every evening, we need rest every month to process the internal complexities of our hormonal fluctuations, and recover. And like it or not, if you push through without acknowledging how your hormones actually function, you will reap the disadvantages later on…

Your menstrual cycle is considered one of the key signs of good health. Visible abdominals are not.