Menstrual Fitness: Why Some Women Are ‘Cycle-Syncing’ Their Workouts
By Zara Salaria, BBC News
A woman demonstrates a colour-coded grid dividing the menstrual cycle into four phases, each paired with different types of exercises. "When you’re bleeding, you want to be doing steady-pace jogging, Pilates, barre, walking, resting," she explains.
This is one example among thousands of videos on TikTok and Instagram suggesting that people adjust their workouts based on where they are in their menstrual cycles—a practice known as cycle-syncing. Searches for "cycle-syncing" have skyrocketed, with a 740% increase since 2022.
Most advice comes from fitness and wellness creators rather than medical or research experts. They break down the menstrual cycle into phases and recommend:
- Gentle exercise during menstruation
- Gradually increasing intensity in the follicular phase leading up to ovulation
- Harder strength or high-intensity training around ovulation
- Ease off again during the luteal phase (between ovulation and the start of your period)
But what does science say?
Kelly McNulty, a researcher at Leeds Beckett University specializing in menstrual cycles and exercise, warns against blindly following cycle-syncing advice. "There isn’t any research to support that kind of phase-based prescription," she tells the BBC. "It’s not so much about doing certain exercises in certain phases; it’s about working with your own individual body and its needs."
Cesci Burgoyne, a nurse, personal trainer, and nutritionist based in Sydney, Australia, agrees. She doesn’t follow a strict plan but instead makes changes intuitively based on her energy levels and how she feels during each phase of her cycle. "In my luteal phase I’ll try and ease off in the training," she says. "In my follicular phase, I’m so energised, I feel like I can lift so much heavier."
The growing attention on women’s health is a positive development, Burgoyne adds, but emphasizes that exercise and nutrition research needs to be more inclusive of diverse bodies and experiences.
