Is it okay to exercise during your period? This is a question frequently asked by women, as some believe that physical activity can worsen menstrual pain. In fact, the opposite is true, the exercise benefits can actually help reduce that pain.
So, which exercises are good to perform during your period and which should be avoided? To find out, let's take a look at the following review!
Is Exercising During Your Period Allowed?
Before discussing specific movements, let’s address the common hesitation women feel about working out while menstruating. Is it actually safe?
When entering the menstrual phase, many women experience symptoms such as headaches, abdominal cramps, back pain, and breast tenderness. Consequently, many choose to rest rather than exercise.
In fact, exercise can actually help alleviate those menstrual symptoms! Here are some of the benefits of exercising during your period:
1. Reducing Pain
One of the main benefits of exercising during your period is that it reduces stress and improves blood circulation. As a result, PMS pain can be relieved.
According to a study published in the Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research, those who exercise regularly during menstruation tend to experience fewer abdominal cramps and headaches compared to women who do not exercise.
2. Helping You Relax
The next benefit of exercising during your period is helping you to be more relaxed. Exercising helps the body produce endorphins, which act as natural painkillers. These hormones help reduce menstrual discomfort and make you feel more relaxed and comfortable while going about your daily activities.
3. Improving Moods
The endorphins released during exercise also foster positive feelings and physical comfort. This helps stabilize your mood, reduces stress, and promotes relaxation, which is excellent for your mental health.
4. Helping Reduce Bloating
During the menstrual cycle, women commonly experience changes in appetite and are more likely to crave sweet foods. These changes in eating habits can cause bloating. Exercising regularly can help reduce bloating.
Beneficial Exercises During Your Period
Exercising while menstruating is highly recommended. However, you might need to make slight adjustments to the types of activities you choose. This is because, during the first to third days of your period, the flow is usually at its heaviest, which often causes discomfort when moving around.
Here are several types of exercises that are beneficial to perform during your period:
1. Brisk Walking
Brisk walking is one of the recommended exercises to do during your period. You don't have to go far, a short walk around your house in the morning or afternoon will do. The benefits of walking are numerous, ranging from relieving headaches and cramps to soothing breast tenderness.
Another benefit of brisk walking is reducing stress and improving mood, helping you feel more relaxed and calm. Furthermore, walking regularly can improve heart and lung health.
2. Yoga
The next type of exercise suitable during your period is yoga. This activity can make your body more relaxed, helping to reduce abdominal cramps, breast tenderness, muscle and joint pain, and fatigue.
This is because yoga movements are beneficial for stretching the body's muscles, including the pelvic muscles. The breathing techniques used also help to loosen and relax your muscles.
However, it is important to note that not all yoga poses are ideal during menstruation, especially when your flow is heavy. Poses such as headstands or handstands should be avoided because they may put pressure on or disrupt blood flow.
To truly enjoy the benefits of yoga, it is suggested that you practice it for 35–40 minutes a day, around 6 days a week.
3. Pilates
Pilates is also one of the exercises you can do during your period to help your body feel more relaxed. Several pilates movements train the pelvic floor muscles, which can help reduce menstrual pain and general discomfort during your period.
4. Dancing
If you love to dance, might as well train during your period. Because dancing along with background music makes you relaxed and happy, additionally it improves joint flexibility, burns calories, and reduces abdominal pain.
5. Zumba
Another fun exercise to do during your period, aside from dancing, is Zumba. The background music will lift up your mood to help you burn more calories and relax your muscles altogether so it can reduce abdominal cramp during your period.
6. Light Gymnastic
In addition to Zumba, you can also perform light-intensity gymnastics during your period. Movements such as gentle stretching or breathing exercises can relieve abdominal cramps and the lower back pain often felt during menstruation. These activities also improve blood circulation, help the body relax, and reduce fatigue.
Some light movements you can try include hip circles, the cat-cow stretch, child's pose, side stretches, and low-impact aerobics. Make sure your body is in a relaxed state and ensure the intensity of the exercise matches your physical condition.
Types of Exercise to Avoid During Your Period
As previously explained, not all types of exercise are suitable during menstruation. While in your menstrual cycle, it is not recommended to engage in exercises that require excessive pressure or overexertion of the muscles.
Examples include weight training or Muay Thai. These types of activities can actually worsen abdominal cramps, lead to irregular menstrual cycles, increase discomfort, and potentially trigger more serious health conditions.
Those are the various types of exercises during menstruation that are both good and not recommended to perform. From now on, you don’t need to use your period as an excuse to skip a workout. In fact, exercising while menstruating is actually beneficial in reducing the menstrual symptoms you experience.
In addition to exercise, another way to relieve menstrual pain is by increasing your water intake. The recommendation is to drink 8 glasses of water per day, or the equivalent of 2 liters.
When choosing drinking water for consumption, you shouldn't be careless. Select a high-quality drinking water like AQUA, which is capable of meeting your body’s fluid needs. AQUA has been trusted for over 50 years to provide healthy and high-quality mineral water that is bottled directly from the source.
Furthermore, AQUA undergoes 400 quality checks to ensure its purity is preserved until it reaches your hands. Start your healthy lifestyle today by drinking #AQUADULU every day!
