Cycling with your monthly cycle

There's no escaping the monthly menstrual cycle and for those who want to ride their bikes every day there is absolutely no reason why your exercise routine should be interrupted when your monthly 'friend' arrives.

Regular exercise has such a positive effect on your body.It keeps your heart healthy, improves flexibility and strength in your muscles, improves your blood pressure and circulation, provides energy, builds bone density, helps maintain a healthy weight, helps prevent injuries, alleviate chronic pain, and even gives you a better night's sleep.

The menstrual cycle is part and parcel of a healthy body. And exercise has been shown to help alleviate some of the conditions associated with your monthly cycle such as cramping (dysmenorrheal), abdominal discomfort and excess fluid retention. The blood circulating through your body during exercise can also relieve headaches and the release of endorphins can help you get rid of a depressed mood.

Regular exercise makes the body stronger and more efficient so that a normal body function such as a menstrual cycle poses little disruption to a healthy system.

The menstrual cycle does put a certain amount of stress on the female body and the body does put extra energy into dealing with the natural function so it is wise to take that into consideration if you are training for an upcoming event. High intensity interval sessions may have a greater fitness benefit, and be more comfortable, if they are programmed into your training schedule at a time more suited to your monthly cycle.

Here are some tips on dealing with your monthly menstrual event while continuing to ride your bike:-

Stay hydrated - don't put your body under any additional pressure by not keeping your fluid intake high while riding your bike. Keep your bidon full of water or electrolytes, depending on the riding intensity and time. Research has shown that elevated body temperature due to a phase in the menstrual cycle can negatively affect time to exhaustion in hot and humid conditions. (1)

Don't stress your system - research has also shown a potential negative effect on prolonged exercise performance during the mid luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. This may not be the most opportune time to test out your time trialing abilities. (1)

Eat regularly - some women have found that eating smaller, more frequent meals helps with a drop in blood sugar levels and an increase in irritability found during their cycle. Make sure you take snacks with you on your rides so that you don't end up 'bonking' (running out of energy).

Bring on the fibre - if you suffer gastrointestinal problems during your period then stick to whole foods and cut down on the sugar, salt, alcohol and caffeine.

Increase your calcium intake if you suffer from pre menstrual symptoms - Calcium absorption fluctuates across the menstrual cycle and estrogen regulates calcium metabolism. A Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons study investigated the effect of calcium on body indicators and mood changes during the menstrual cycle. For three months, researchers tracked 17 different symptoms of PMS (cramps were included) in over 400 women. They were given either a placebo or 1,200 mg. of calcium carbonate. Twenty-nine percent of calcium takers found at least 75 percent improvement in symptoms, 55 percent found at least a 50 percent improvement, and 8 percent got worse. (3)

(1)http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12959622

(2)Watson, Stephanie and Miller, Kelli. The Endocrine System. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc, 2004.

(3) The results of this study were published in The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in 1998.