Fitness: Should women plan their workouts according to their menstrual cycle?
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Deciding to focus on your fitness is as much about knowing your body, as it is about wanting to change it according to your goals. The more you know about it, the better you can plan the approach.
This could range from something as simple as figuring out what is the best time in the day for you to exercise, to what meal you should be eating before and after exercising, to something more complex like how your heart reacts to cardio, or how your hormones may help you figure out the right way to workout. I saw an Instagram post recently which asked a question using clever gym jargon: should women switch from the bro-split to the flow-split? A bro-split is a mostly male-driven division of workouts according to muscle groups or the way muscles move. Example: push-pull-legs or chest day, leg day, back day and so on.
A flow-split is something a lot of trainers and even gynaecologists are saying should be what women should try out—working out according to their menstrual cycle. And much of this is to do with estrogen levels in the body. “High estrogen levels will make it easier for you to approach cardio and HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) with more enthusiasm.
During ovulation, when the body is getting ready to get pregnant, is when you will feel the fittest in your cycle," says Devika Chopra, who is an obstetrician and gynaecologist based in Mumbai. Chopra, who is 40, has been working out for as long as she can remember. She has tried all sorts of workout methods including the bro-split.
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