work out like a girl | 4 exercise ideas for each phase of your cycle

Welcome to the Stellar Cycles Podcast! In this episode, we'll explore why women shouldn't push themselves to the same extremes at the gym as men and why it's crucial to tailor our workouts to each phase of our cycle. 

We'll cover exercises for the menstrual, follicular, ovulatory, and luteal phases, providing multiple options for each. By aligning your workouts with your body's natural rhythms, you can maximize your fitness results, enjoy your workouts more, and ensure proper recovery. This approach not only prevents overworking your body but also keeps your exercise routine exciting and varied. 

Tune in to learn how to make the most of your body's abilities during each phase and transform your workout routine into a fun and effective experience! 

Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more women's health and wellness tips! 

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Transcript

Alina: Hello everyone and welcome back to the Stellar Cycles podcast, your hot girl database for all things pertaining to your femininity, your cycle and wellness, and your walk in life. As a woman, I'm your host, Elina. And today we're talking about how to get the most out of your exercises according to each phase and its strengths. The goal of today's episode is to help you understand why women can't and shouldn't push themselves at the gym to the same extremes as men. And why? It's important for us to work with each phase and tailor our exercises so that our bodies can get the most out of them as well as recover properly. We are going to go over exercises for the menstrual follicular ovulatory and luteal phases with multiple options for each phase. By exercising in this way, you're able to use your body's abilities in each phase, actually enjoy the exercises you commit to and avoid overworking and stressing out your body past its needs. Plus, this is a much more fun way to approach working out because we have so many options. A few little updates. First, I really hope everyone has had a great holiday and holiday weekend celebrating Independence Day and just being happy that even though America might not be, you know, the same America that we've remembered, but at the same time, we do get to live in a free country and we have a lot of freedoms and opportunities and safety that a lot of other countries might not get to have or enjoy nearly to the same extent as us. So whatever your political views may be, whatever your feelings are about America, I truly hope that you had a great time celebrating. And yeah, I have been spending time at home with family up north. And for one, as much as I love San Diego, it's always so nice to leave the city once the tourists start pouring in I was doing a few errands prior to flying out on Wednesday, the third, and oh boy, I couldn't even I couldn't even get through what I needed to do because people were just are already just flocked here. But, you know, San Diego, it's an incredible city. And I understand why people want to come here for 4th of July. It's definitely a hot spot, but there is nothing better than being with my family and enjoying the Northwest nature. And you guys know, I live in the city and I live in downtown San Diego, and I do love it. And it has amazing perks and benefits, but it's so refreshing to just go up and enjoy my parents nice, quiet property with barely any neighbors around and kind of ground and sink into the nature there and enjoy the lakes. We have the ocean down here, but lakes are a different type of beauty of nature and just so wonderful to enjoy. And of course, there's nothing better than the homemade food that's been so, so enjoyable making food with my mom and just cooking things up, whether it be for the 4th of July or our after church meals It's just been wonderful getting to connect in that way over food. But aside from that, I just want to remind you guys, that quarter three of this year is starting. Yeah, that's kind of crazy. I hope everyone has been thinking about what they'd like to accomplish in these next 12 weeks. For me, I might have talked about the 12 year, 12 week, year before with you guys on this podcast, but it's just a system of kind of setting one or two goals that you're going to ferociously pursue 12 weeks at a time. Why do people do this and why does it work? Because when you work in smaller timeframes rather than a year, you can actually get a lot more done than you thought possible because, well, when we have too much time, we're all wired to procrastinate. And the thing is that most of us have learned now is that we often fail at making our yearly goals. So splitting things up into 12 week increments and kind of working towards our goals that way is really, really helpful. So for me, I know what I'm going to be working on, but stay tuned because you know, some things you just don't want to speak on too soon before they actually become a thing. So I will let you guys know as we progress, especially towards the end of the quarter, if it's something that has happened or not really. So I will have to report to you guys. But let's get into this conversation why do we need to switch up our exercise for each of the four phases? Doesn't that sound more complicated? Well, not necessarily. Women can't maintain the same level of high performance throughout their cycle. So if you look at a man who's working out, he's typically able to keep it going day to day, week to week, month to month. If he's, you know, a dedicated, dedicated, says exercise routine, they're not necessarily affected because their hormones, which are cortisol and testosterone, pretty much stay the same after a huge spike in the mornings. It stays the same day to day to day to day. That's why men are better equipped with dealing with a lot of sameness. Women, as we like to remind you in this podcast, are very different. And I just want to ask you guys, have you found yourself feeling frustrated that one week you're able to hit your best numbers and feel energized all throughout your workout, but failed to do so the next week and feel down about it? I know I certainly have. Before I learned about cycles thinking and how to use each phase of your cycle and the energy that comes with it. I just want to remind you that it's not your fault if you're not able to keep up with the same exercises in the same intensity week to week, because we just simply weren't created that way. Our hormones work at different rates week to week, so with that, we're wired to perform different physical tasks or exercises week to week, which is another beautiful way that Mother Nature gives us variety and gives us option. how do our hormones support different forms of activity and exercises during the different phases? in our follicular phase. that's the phase that comes after your period. It's actually the best time for muscle repair and growth. Our ovulatory phase is when our testosterone increases, so it's the best time to push our limits. We actually have the most energy and endurance at this phase, in the luteal phase, kind of heading towards PMS territory. It's just you're going to feel sluggish, your body's going to be slowing down, but it's really the best time to just stay moving. And in the menstrual phase your period, it's the best time for hip related stretches and movement, but also a good time for muscle work if you are having an easier period and if you're not going to be too inconvenienced or in pain from working out during your period. let's start off with the menstrual phase. You guys might be thinking, Alena, I do not even want to exercise when I'm on my period, but it's important to know that in our menstrual phase, during our period, this is going to be our slowest. Most intuitive forms of exercise because your hormones are relatively low at this stage. Remember, they drop at the end of the luteal phase and that's what triggers you to bleed and it triggers you to have your period because there's no pregnancy hormones in your body at this point. And because they're relatively low, you might find yourself resistant to exercise in general, depending on your symptoms and their severity. But there are some options for you guys to help your body feel better physically. I would recommend, first off, rest and reflection. Absolutely. Do not push yourself to be physically super active during the menstrual phase. When you are feeling good enough to be active, I would suggest yin yoga. So yes, yoga is a slower form of yoga. It's not as active or as many switch ups of the positions. Each position you would hold for about 2 to 3 minutes, sometimes 5 minutes. So it really focuses on surrender, on letting you melt into the positions and really just sit in them and stay in them. But also a lot of the time it is hip focused, right, Jen Yoga. So Jen means the feminine in Chinese medicine. And because we store a lot of trauma and emotions in our hips, this is a really good time to release all of that tension. You can also get a massage. I consider that a workout because your muscles are being manipulated and moving. It's also a really great way to detox because it helps lymphatic fluid move throughout your body. So definitely book that massage for when you're on your period. It could really, really help. Long walks will also be your friend again. You don't want to do anything too intense, but going on a nice long walk that isn't too difficult for you is going to help you during your period and some other little ideas. You could hula hoop, you could do hip circles or spinal twists, just things to really loosen up your pelvis. a very light exercise like this will actually help you feel better during your period because you're getting blood flow to your uterus, which is going to ease up your cramps. You don't really want to overdo it here because too much exercise or hard exercise can make your cramps and other symptoms worse. All right. Moving next into our follicular phase. this is the phase that comes once you're off of your period and you can really feel your energy coming back that shows up in what you're able to and desiring to do an exercise. Some ideas for your follicular phase could be cardio or running. You could do circuit workouts, you could hike a new trail and you could go biking. You can also incorporate weights but start low and slow and build up. And this is also the ideal time to try out new workouts because what you attempt and learn during this stage has a high tendency to stick. Not only is our body best primed for muscle growth and recovery at this time, your brain is also formed to make neural connections and. neuro synapses that help you learn better and retain better information. Next, we are moving into the Ovulatory stage and the auditory stage is the peak of your cycle. You are going to feel your strongest. You're going to feel your most confident. So this is a good time to try high intensity interval training, strength training because baby won't want a bit of weight training do for you. I think women are scared of weights because they don't want to, quote unquote bulk up. But let me tell you that lifting is a great way to tone up as well as strengthen your body. And it actually takes a lot more than you think for weights to make you huge as a woman. You a lot of the times have to take steroids, eat a lot more food, and Trust me. Nobody's got time for that. Use the benefits of weights to help make your muscles more lean and to burn fat. Another good option for the observatory phase is group workouts or group exercise classes. This is because you're in a state of expansion of growth. Sharing your light with others and the ovulatory phase is going to be the most social phase of your cycle. You won't feel as shy, intimidated or vulnerable if you do group exercise mid-way through your cycle when you're close to ovulation. you can go to a group class to get fit and network with others. And of course, because your hormones are at their highest here, it's a very good phase to beat your personal best. Your hormones are rocking with you and supporting you. our final phase is the luteal phase, which means we're heading into PMS territory. This is usually the ten days to a week before your period. And trust me, I get it. We can all feel very sluggish and lazy, but I want to encourage you. Don't cave into that feeling. You're going to slow down again. When it comes to exercise and movement. But you want to stay moving as it will help alleviate any unpleasant symptoms leading up to your period, such as bloating, cramping, headaches, irritability and spending time outdoors with Mother Nature is going to be very, very good and very healing during this time. grounding is very needed during this phase because we can be very flighty, very emotional, highly sensitive, because our hormones that have been helping us all month are kind of starting to taper off and drop off. So when you go outside and you can go to the beach, you can go on a trail, you can just simply go lay at a park. This is really going to help ground you and get you out of your head a little bit. I would also really suggest a dance. It's a creative movement and it's also a conduit for emotions. And dance is such a feminine activity. It doesn't matter what kind of music you pick, but just throwing on some music that makes you feel good and just letting your body do what it wants to do and move in ways and kind of help get those emotions out of your body. I know it definitely helps me when I'm feeling stale or if I'm feeling a little bit stuck. Dance is a very good option as well as that. If you're still feeling up to being social, you can definitely do some dance classes. I have done a bachata class before with my friend Sarah and oh, I mean, I'm not a dancer by any means, you guys, but I feel so womanly and so free of emotional strife after I did that class that I can only imagine what week to week could do for you. Another option is Pilates is or outdoor yoga. Pilates is a really great way to stay toned and it's also quite a feminine activity because a lot of the times plot studios will mostly have all women there. And yes, it can be strenuous, but a lot of the times it's very small movements repetitively done. once you leave that body studio, it's just a feeling that I can't even describe. You feel so good about yourself. So if you haven't tried Pilates yet, I highly encourage you to do so. when it comes to the luteal phase or as we like to call it, the PMS week, I want to remind you guys to move. Even if you don't feel like it, it's just going to help so much. Again, our instinct when we feel this way and we have we're experiencing maybe irritability, sensitivity, maybe some negative thoughts and feelings, and especially our body is starting to feel heavier. Yeah, the last thing. We want to do is get up and get moving. But it's the paradox that sometimes the thing that you don't want to do the most is the thing that's going to help you more than anything. in conclusion, as we wrap up today's episode, let's recap the importance of aligning your workouts with each phase of your menstrual cycle. It's okay to ebb and flow with your exercise routines throughout the month. Remember, we're not designed like, man, we can't do the same thing over and over all month. And when we try to do so, it leads to frustration. We might give up on our exercise routine, but working with your body's natural rhythms, you can enjoy much more effective and enjoyable workouts. And remember, it is very essential here to listen to your body and be gentle with yourself. And it's perfectly okay to rest and recover when needed. Remember, fitness is a journey, not a race, and I encourage you to try the different exercises that I've suggested for each phase. Maybe try out several and keep a journal and track how you feel and which workouts work best for you. Which ones are you excited to get into the gym and do? Which ones are you excited to get outside and get into? I would love it. If you share your experiences and progress on our social media, which our Instagram is at stellar cycles. Pod, we'd love to hear from you. Thank you so much for tuning in today. Your support and engagement mean the world to me. You have no idea. It's been so amazing watching this little podcast grow and seeing it help all these women that have gravitated towards it. So if you have any questions or topics that you'd like me to cover in future episodes, please reach out via DM and until next time, stellar cycles out.