Finally: this is the best excuse not to exercise during your period
You know how it is: the new year has begun and you are (still) full of motivation to achieve all your resolutions. Maybe you've already been to the gym a few times and you are completely in your oatmeal ‘fit-era’ phase. But, do you also go to the gym with your good behavior when you are on your period? Yes? Then I’m going to tell you why you might as well stay on the couch and skip that workout. You actually run a much higher risk of getting serious injuries during your menstruation. Yes, seriously. How does that work? It has been scientifically proven.
Why do you get injured more easily during your menstruation?
In my experience, it’s not really pleasant to exercise during your menstruation. You already don’t feel well, that blood is flowing everywhere and yes: you just feel dirty. Even if you use a tampon, I can imagine that you just don’t feel great. And then you also have to go exercise? Not for me. But if you want to achieve your goals, you will push yourself anyway. Exactly that pushing is something you better not do. That was researched by Spanish researchers at a top Spanish football team.
They followed 33 female footballers from a top Spanish team during their training and matches for four years. During that time, they won two UEFA Champions League titles and played in Liga F, so no: this is really not an amateur team. During the time the researchers followed the women, something became clear to them. Injuries that occurred during menstruation resulted in over three times as many missed training and match hours compared to other times in the cycle. And that’s not surprising, because the recovery period was also much longer than for injuries that were not sustained during menstruation.
Where they normally needed 31 days to recover from an injury, this took no less than 125 days for injuries sustained during menstruation. Isn’t that insane? Even if you are in fantastic shape as an athlete, you are more likely to get injured. Let alone if you only step on the treadmill once a week. So, you need to be careful.
Why do you experience more injuries during your menstruation?
According to the researchers, this can be due to several causes. First of all, the hormonal balance during your red chapter: people generally have lower levels of estrogen and progesterone during menstruation. And yes, those hormones just happen to contribute to good muscle protection and tissue recovery. So it’s not strange at all that you recover more slowly and get injured more easily.
Additionally, it’s possible that you have an iron deficiency during this period and often suffer from sleep problems. This can contribute to a slower recovery from injuries. Of course, menstruation can vary greatly from person to person, so this doesn’t have to be the same for everyone. But yes, all these women experienced it, so it’s definitely not nonsense.
What you can do to avoid getting injured more easily
Okay, now you know: you can tear a muscle, sprain your ankle, or sustain another injury during your menstruation. Now you could use this as an excuse to really not get off that couch these days. “Yes, sorry darling. I really can’t work out, I have to lie on the couch and watch Pride and Prejudice for the third time. Otherwise, I might sprain my ankle and I really can’t afford that right now.” Or am I just speaking for myself? Oops. Anyway… do you still want to hit the gym? Then it’s important to take it a bit easier.
Make gentle movements, don’t do any crazy jumps, leave those weights alone for once, and no: you don’t have to walk hard on an incline of 9 every day. Take care of yourself and especially don’t push yourself too hard. Training until the sweat drips down can wait until next week. Otherwise, before you know it, you’ll be on the couch with a sore knee that takes weeks to recover from.
So: take good care of yourself and good luck with your workouts, girlies. Or not – that’s fine too. Now you have the excuse.
Image: Instagram | oliviaphillipps
