Why You Should Not Just Follow General Fitness Tipps
Here it is: my first English blog post.
I am excited, nervous, and happy to start this journey here too.
I was thinking about a good first topic to share, which would allow you to understand my message and my approach to training.
So, the very topic came up: cycle-based training.
And it’s not only cycle-based training that is important to me; there’s more. I am going to explain this today.
The fact is that females are underrepresented in nutrition and fitness studies and are still following the guidelines from studies conducted on men.
The fact is that the menstrual cycle is the very reason why studies should be made on females.
Have you ever asked yourself why you cannot lose weight when you do intermittent fasting and training, but your male partner or friend can?
Have you ever wondered why there are days you feel drained, without energy, and everything seems too much, while other days everything seems so easy?
Have you ever questioned why, when you are already in your mid-40s to mid-50s, you gain weight even though you haven’t changed a bit in your diet or training, or even if you are doing more and still gaining weight?
These are the very reasons why it is important to see a difference in sex and how you perceive your training.
Females are following guidelines that do not include the menstrual cycle, but the menstrual cycle often makes a difference in performance, energy, sleep, and appetite. To equate women with men in sports and nutrition but separate them in so many other ways does not make sense.
Women and men have the same hormones, but some hormones are just higher in female bodies and fluctuate more.
Women are more flexible in metabolic response than men. Within the cycle, they create energy from carbohydrates or from fat, whereas men primarily create energy from carbohydrates. This puts things in perspective when we think about intermittent fasting or Zone 2 Training, which helps to improve the metabolic response.
It is important to look behind the guidelines in the fitness and health industry to see if they work for a female body too, and what the effects are.
In my opinion, training should support the individual person and their health. This automatically means that we have to separate between men and women and work with their physiology.
What is the difference in training a female?
Supporting not only the circadian rhythm but also the infradian rhythm.
Training needs to support the general health of the person at a specific age (females in their perimenopause mid-40s need different advice than females in their 20s or 30s).
Nutrition guidelines that support female health and performance.
Understanding the menstrual cycle and the hormonal changes in each phase (in the menstrual cycle and in perimenopause) to adapt training, sleep, and nutrition.
To just ignore these hormonal changes in the female body’s lifespan changes the body composition, leads to an unwell feeling, or might lead to diseases.
How can you start with cycle-based training?
When you want to train with your cycle, you need to understand what happens in your body. The best way to understand it is to track your bleeding and your symptoms, like motivation, energy, appetite, digestion, and sleep. You should also start to track your temperature to see where you are in your cycle. Without tracking your cycle, or just guessing your cycle, you cannot really train with your menstrual cycle.
Another point that makes cycle-based training so important is that you understand your individual pattern. What do I mean by that?
What cycle-based training should NOT do is give you another principle to follow without seeing if it really works for you. Cycle-based training is not just a plan you can follow. Cycle-based training is individual and can be different for each person. However, there are some principles you can follow to see how they feel in your body.
Tracking is important to see how your training can be adapted to your menstrual cycle so you feel more energetic and in control of your body.
Understanding the circadian and infradian rhythm
The circadian rhythm is the 24-hour rhythm. We wake up in the morning through a peak of cortisol. During the day, cortisol usually declines, and in the evening, melatonin rises, making us tired and ready for bed.
Unfortunately, because of technology, we are not always living in sync with the circadian rhythm, although it has huge health benefits. Both men and women have a circadian rhythm.
The infradian rhythm can be compared to the seasons of the year. It is longer than 24 hours and can span over days. It is a biological rhythm. The seasons—spring, summer, fall, and winter—are about three months and represent an infradian rhythm, like the menstrual cycle. The infradian rhythm can also be compared to the moon, which cycles over 28 days. The menstrual cycle ranges from 24 to 35 days and repeats every 24 to 35 days.
Just recognizing and understanding this difference in sex—that women have a biological rhythm—makes a huge difference.
Women feel more empowered instead of thinking:
I didn’t push hard enough
I need to do more
I need to train harder and eat less
Women see patterns in the menstrual cycle related to sleep, appetite, motivation, and performance. When they recognize these patterns, they can get the best out of their training.
What to do?
Track your menstrual cycle.
Observe changes in sleep, nutrition, and training during your menstrual cycle.
Identify patterns.
Feel empowered.
Cycle-based training does not necessarily mean women are improving their performance, but their general health because they are using their menstrual cycle as their power to create a strong, healthy body for life.
If this is something you want, then you are absolutely in the right place.
I hope to see you at the next blog.
