Benefits of Exercise During Period Weeks

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Author Name: Mia Barnes
Date: Wednesday July 11, 2018

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Periods can leave you feeling bloated and unenergetic, which gives you the perfect excuse to sit on the coach and spoon globs of ice cream into your mouth while catching up on your favorite series on Netflix — right? If you’re bloated, might as well put a food baby in there! But the benefits of exercise during period weeks are actually quite bountiful. So…

Work it out instead!

Should a Woman Exercise During Her Period?

But should a woman exercise during her period? Absolutely. While you don’t have to put your Cherry Garcia back into the freezer just yet, it’s crucial to realize that maintaining an active lifestyle while on your period is an essential part of counteracting your unwanted symptoms, too. But how the heck are you supposed to do that?

As you can probably already tell by the title of the article, yes — we’re talking about exercise. While the last thing you may want to do during your period is work up a sweat at the gym, your body will thank you for your training sessions later. And if you ever wondered how to regulate your period naturally, hitting the gym is a great start!

So you can lounge around on the sofa, but remember to keep your body active, too. Lifting a bottle of wine doesn’t count… unless you use the big bottles for upper body strength training — but please don’t take that advice.

Not convinced hitting the treadmill is the ideal way to handle your period? Check out our list of the 5 primary benefits of exercise during period weeks that just may make you change your mind.

Stabilize Your Mood

If you’ve ever been told to take a chill pill before, you’ll be happy to know that you can feel good without medication. But how? A simple trip to the gym should do the trick!

Periods are known to cause depression and anxiety in some women, giving them even more reason to dread that monthly visit from Mother Nature. But fortunately, exercise is known to help people achieve a sense of inner peace.

Whether you go for a jog or take a few dance lessons instead, a cardio-based workout makes your body release more endorphins that help you feel more energized and happy throughout the day. Best of all, you’ll feel even better about yourself when you begin to see the results from your exercise regimes, too.

Regulate Your Periods

Want to know what’s more annoying than having a monthly period? For many women, it’s not knowing when to even prepare for menstruation due to the irregularity of their cycle. Aunt Flow is a mean, red witch who cackles, “Now you see me, now you don’t!”

If your period is normal, you know just when to expect a visit from Aunt Flow. But when your cycle seems to have a mind of its own, it can be even more frustrating — especially for women trying to conceive.

If you’re wondering how to regulate your period naturally, kick-start a workout plan that can help your body stabilize its hormones with ease. Research studies show that cardio and resistance training in women effectively helps balance sex hormones that lead to regular periods. It can be a double-win to get your sex hormones stabilized as well as your period regulated, making this one of the more unique benefits of exercise during period weeks.

Enjoy More Energy and Friend Time

Sometimes, all you really want to do when you have your period is lie in bed. But that’s fatigue talking for you. If you felt lively and animated, you’d be much more willing to go out with your friends.

Unfortunately, the hormonal dips that occur during the menstrual cycle do in fact take a toll on your body’s energy levels. After a woman ovulates, her estrogen levels quickly dip and cause her to feel lethargic and tired. While the last thing on your mind during these moments of sluggishness is going to the gym, the strengthened blood circulation after a heart-pumping workout will activate your body and keep you energized throughout the day.

Ease Those Dreaded Cramps

Few period symptoms are hated in quite the same way as those awfully dreaded cramps. Maybe you can tolerate the menstrual cycle fine and even deal with the occasional mood swing along the way. But as for those pangs that leave you hunched over in pain — they simply have to go.

But don’t pop that bottle of aspirin just yet. If you’re looking for a natural way to ease period-related pains, schedule a quick 30-minute exercise into your daily routine instead.

Exercising is an excellent way to release endorphins, which signal a feel-good response in your brain that helps you to better cope with pain. By blocking out pain signals, your body can spend more time feeling good due to the endorphin rush caused by a killer workout.

Enhance Your Fertility

One of the major benefits of exercise during period weeks is keeping your body fit and active throughout the month — even when your menstrual cycle begins.

If you’re someone who’s trying to conceive, receiving your period right on time can be a major disappointment. Fortunately, many conception-friendly exercises can help you get pregnant easier while preparing your body for the strength and stamina required for motherhood, too. Lifting a not-so-tiny human and groceries, you’ll pump more iron and do more squats as a mama than you’d imagine.

Benefits of Exercise During Period Weeks

We know that you’d rather stay firmly planted in your mattress the second your period pains begin, but a workout plan will help show you why getting out and remaining active is worth it — for both your emotional and physical health.

Once you begin to feel even better after that first well-deserved sweat, you’ll realize that even a period can’t stop you from becoming a stronger, toner and healthier you.

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