Female Climber Series: So You’ve Tracked Your Menstrual Cycle, Now What?
Hopefully by now, we are all on the way to becoming more clued up when it comes to tracking our menstrual cycle and how useful this can be… But what can we do with the data we get from it?
I have been tracking my cycle for nearly two years now, so I thought I would first share some of the patterns I’ve noticed (remember this is just my experience, yours may completely vary), before we explore what to do next.
1. VARIATION IN CYCLE LENGTH – I’ve got a good gauge of the typical variation in my cycle length now and I also started to notice a pattern where my cycle is much shorter during very high volume and/or intense periods of training. For example, I’ve noticed that this is particularly the case when doing multiple heavy weight-training sessions or intense aerobic power sessions in a training cycle or if I’ve been unwell during that cycle.
2. CHANGES IN LENGTH OF FOLLICULAR PHASE – In the shorter cycles I mentioned above, I’ve also noted symptoms of ovulation much earlier (so day 8-10 rather than 11-14) in my cycle.
3. FLOW LEVEL CHANGES – My flow level also seems to fluctuate according to the length of my cycle – during the longer cycles my flow is considerably heavier than the shorter ones.
So why is all of this useful?
Noticing these patterns has been a massive help in informing my personal training, as well as many of my clients. In my case, I track to give me a good indication of periods when I’ve overdone it and need to dial my training back a little.
If you have also noticed patterns in your cycle data, it’s worth using this data to help plan future blocks of training. If you are not sure how to do this on your own, it’s worth sharing this information with a coach, so that together you can plan your training to work as best as it possibly can for your body!
Every single coach and member of the team at Lattice is happy to help, advise and plan your training to meet your unique and specific needs. All of our plans can factor in your menstrual cycle – get in touch today, to see how we might be able to help.
