Cycle Syncing

What is cycle syncing?

Cycle syncing aligns your workouts with the natural hormonal rhythms that ebb and flow throughout a 28-day cycle. 

Instead of pushing your body the same way every day with the same old workouts, exercises and weights, this method of training honours you as a woman and your changing hormones, energy, strength and recovery needs each month.

Cycle syncing incorporates three phases of training across four stages of your cycle, to match the fluctuation in the four main female hormones as your body, in theory, prepares for the potential of an egg becoming fertilised each month.

What does cycle syncing actually involve?

Ignite phase: Days 1 - 10 AND 16 - 19

As your body sheds it's uterine lining, your rising hormones fuel motivation and stamina. These two stages, starting from day 1 of your bleed and then shortly ofter ovulation has occurred, are the perfect time for dynamic, high-intensity training.  These phases are great for fat-burning, toning muscle while keeping heart rate high and support all round cardio-vascular health.

Superwoman phase: Days 11 - 15

As your body prepares for ovulation, you are at your physical and emotional peak. This stage is ideal for strength training and feeling powerful in your body. Using heavier weights, this stage is designed to keep your body strong and stable.

Rebalance phase: Day 20+ 

With hormones dropping and your body wanting to shift to restoration and recovery, this is the time to slow down and focus on muscle endurance, stability and balance.

All three phases can use a combination of body weight, resistance band, free weights (kettlebells, dumbbells, barbells etc) and resistance machine based exercises so expensive gym memberships or a huge range of equipment at home is not needed to get the most from your body in this style of workout.

Essentially, all three phases use functional movements; movements that mimic everyday activities like squatting, pulling, pushing, and twisting to improve strength, coordination, and balance for daily life and really enhance the quality of future-proofing 

By training in sync with these phases, women can enhance results, prevent burnout and cultivate a deeper connection with their body’s natural rhythm, ensuring those "why did I bother" workouts become a thing of the past!

Why is cycle syncing important?

A woman’s hormones, particularly oestrogen and progesterone,  fluctuate throughout the month, influencing energy levels, recovery, and the stress response. 

When training doesn’t align with these hormonal shifts, it can lead to elevated cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone.

Raised levels of cortisol can then hinder recovery, disrupt sleep, and even affect hormone balance further, becoming detrimental to a woman's health goals with potential weight gain and fatigue.

By syncing exercise with the natural rise and fall of female hormones, women can work with their physiology rather than against it, using higher-intensity training when oestrogen supports strength and endurance, and prioritising rest and lower-impact movement when progesterone and cortisol sensitivity are higher. 

What actually happens to me during my menstrual cycle?

Our female bodies are incredible and your menstrual cycle is so much more than just your period!

Your body is your preparing for the possibility of pregnancy approximately every 28 days (it can be between 21 and 35). 

Your cycle can be split into four phases - Menstrual, Follicular, Ovulation and Luteal, with four hormones taking the lead - Oestrogen, Progesterone, Follicle-Stimulating hormone (FSH) and Leutinizing Hormone(LH)

The cycle begins on the first day of your period, when your body sheds the lining of the uterus that it built up the previous month. As this menstrual phase ends, your ovaries start producing mainly oestrogen, that helps to rebuild that lining.

During the follicular phase, oestrogen is also inhibiting FSH to ensure only one egg is matured in the ovaries ready for release.  

Around day 10, there is a sharp increase in oestrogen which in turn triggers a surge of LH which then releases the egg from the ovary during ovulation. This is the time you are most likely to become pregnant.

Leading into the luteal phase, progesterone levels and involvement has remained relatively low. However with the egg now travelling, levels spike to encourage the thickening of the uterus lining ready for a fertilised egg to be implanted.  Oestrogen, FSH and LH levels all plummet after ovulation, although oestrogen levels still fluctuate during this phase. 

If a fertilised egg is not implanted in the lining of the utereal wall, hormone levels drop, the uterine lining breaks down, and your next period begins, starting the cycle all over again.

Due to these fluctuating hormones and your body working hard on the inside, it is not unusual to experience changes in energy, mood, skin as well as muscular cramps, breast tenderness and headaches.