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The menstrual cycle

Should I change my training around my cycle?

Mostly, no. Keep lifting through your whole cycle, and let how you feel on the day decide how hard to push, not a chart on the wall.

Woman preparing for a barbell back squat with weights across her shoulders in a gym.
Reckoner Written by Reckoner

Somewhere on the internet there is a chart. It tells you to lift heavy in the first half of your cycle, ease off in the second half, and plan your whole month around a hormone graph. It looks tidy, and it would be lovely if bodies were tidy. Here is what the research says when you go and look.

Does your cycle change how strong you are?

If it does, not by much. A 2020 meta-analysis went through 78 studies on exercise performance across the menstrual cycle. It found that performance might be a touch lower in the early follicular phase, which is the first few days of your period, and the size of the effect was trivial1. The studies disagreed with each other a lot, and many were not great quality, so the authors did not think general rules could be drawn. What they recommended instead was a personal approach, based on how you respond1.

What about plans built around the phases?

Some researchers have made the case for them. A 2022 review in Sports Medicine argued that lifting in the follicular phase, the stretch from the first day of your period up to ovulation, may be better for strength and muscle than lifting in the luteal phase after it2. That is an argument for the idea, not a test of it, and the authors close with directions for further research2.

A 2023 umbrella review, which is a review of the reviews, went through the evidence on cycle phase, strength and muscle growth. The findings were highly variable, the methods in the studies were often inconsistent, and the authors concluded it is premature to say that short-term hormone changes appreciably affect strength or the gains from lifting3. So a phase based plan is a hypothesis for now. It might turn out to be right for some people. It has not been shown to beat simply training.

On the pill? Same story. A meta-analysis of 42 studies found that women on the pill might perform slightly worse on average than women who were not, though any difference across the group was most likely trivial, and it did not recommend general advice about the pill either way4.

So what do you do?

Train. Keep your plan on the days it says, through every part of your cycle, and let the day decide how hard to push. If a day feels heavier than usual, that is information, and you are allowed to use it.

That is what the How are you? check on Today and on your watch is for. Before your first set it asks Rough, Steady or Primed. Answer Rough and this session's weights come down about ten per cent, next week is written exactly as it would have been, and nothing about the day counts as a stall. Answer Steady and nothing changes. Reckoner does not ask where you are in your cycle. It asks how you feel, which is the thing that matters on the day. What does a rough day change? has the detail.

  • Feel good on a period day? Train as planned. The dip researchers found on those days was trivial1.
  • Feel flat? Answer Rough and let the session meet you where you are.
  • Notice a pattern over a few months? That is yours to use. If you are flat on the same days every cycle, answer Rough on those days. A personal approach is what the researchers recommended1, and your own log is how you build one.

When to see a doctor

  • Very painful periods. The NHS says to see a doctor if period pain stops you doing your usual things, if your periods become more painful, heavier or irregular, or if you are bleeding between periods5.
  • Heavy periods. Same advice if they are affecting your life, if you have had them for some time, or if you have severe pain with them6.
  • Missed or stopped periods. They have many possible causes, among them pregnancy, stress, sudden weight loss and doing too much exercise, and the NHS says to see a doctor about them just in case7. One cause in people who train hard is low energy availability, which means eating too little for the energy you spend. The American College of Sports Medicine names it as the factor that appears to impair reproductive health in female athletes8. If your periods stop while you are training hard or eating less, say so. Do not put it down to training and carry on.

Train through it, listen to the day, and get the odd stuff checked.

Sources

  1. McNulty KL, Elliott-Sale KJ, Dolan E, and others, Sports Medicine, 2020. The Effects of Menstrual Cycle Phase on Exercise Performance in Eumenorrheic Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis a systematic review and meta-analysis that included 78 studies: performance might be trivially lower in the early follicular phase, studies varied widely, and a personal approach is recommended over general guidelines. Published in 2020, and the 2023 umbrella review below covers the same ground more recently
  2. Kissow J, Jacobsen KJ, Gunnarsson TP, and others, Sports Medicine, 2022. Effects of Follicular and Luteal Phase-Based Menstrual Cycle Resistance Training on Muscle Strength and Mass a narrative review arguing that follicular phase based resistance training possibly is superior, and ending with directions for further research. A review of the idea, not a trial
  3. Colenso-Semple LM, D'Souza AC, Elliott-Sale KJ, and others, Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 2023. Current evidence shows no influence of women's menstrual cycle phase on acute strength performance or adaptations to resistance exercise training an umbrella review: highly variable findings, poor and inconsistent methods, and the authors' opinion that it is premature to conclude hormone fluctuations appreciably influence strength or muscle gain
  4. Elliott-Sale KJ, McNulty KL, Ansdell P, and others, Sports Medicine, 2020. The Effects of Oral Contraceptives on Exercise Performance in Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis a meta-analysis of 42 studies: pill use might mean slightly inferior performance on average, any group effect most likely trivial, and no general guidance warranted. Published in 2020
  5. NHS, 2026. Period pain when to see a GP about period pain, including pain that stops daily activities, periods that become more painful, heavier or irregular, and bleeding between periods
  6. NHS, 2026. Heavy periods when to see a GP about heavy periods, including when they affect your life, have lasted some time, or come with severe pain
  7. NHS, 2026. Missed or late periods common causes of missed periods, among them pregnancy, stress, sudden weight loss and doing too much exercise, and the advice to see a doctor about them just in case
  8. Nattiv A, Loucks AB, Manore MM, and others, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2007. American College of Sports Medicine position stand. The female athlete triad low energy availability as the factor that appears to impair reproductive and skeletal health in female athletes. Over five years old: the position stand that names the link, kept because its statement of it has not been superseded in this form
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Soreness

Does soreness mean the session worked?

No. Soreness tells you a muscle met something unfamiliar, and the weeks you are sorest are not the weeks that are building you.