THE FEMALE ATHLETE’S GUIDE TO TRAINING WITH YOUR MENSTRUAL CYCLE
By Leroy Saunders | Strength & Conditioning Coach, Fight by Design
MASTERING YOUR CYCLE FOR PERFORMANCE, RECOVERY & HEALTH
For female athletes, training isn’t just about pushing as hard as you possibly can! You have to train smart too. Your menstrual cycle is a powerful tool, not a limitation. By understanding and aligning with your hormonal fluctuations, you can optimize performance, improve recovery, and reduce injury risk.
This guide, which has been the backbone for many of our female athletes, breaks down how to leverage each phase of your cycle for maximum strength, endurance, and resilience, so you can train, recover, and compete at your best year round.
UNDERSTANDING YOUR MENSTRUAL CYCLE
The first step in optimizing your training is to track your cycle. Every woman’s cycle is unique, but on average, it spans 28 days and consists of four key phases:
1️⃣ Follicular Phase (Days 1-14, starting after menstruation ends)
2️⃣ Ovulatory Phase (Days 15-17, mid-cycle peak)
3️⃣ Luteal Phase (Days 18-28, pre-menstruation)
4️⃣ Menstrual Phase (Days 1-7, cycle restarts)
Tracking your cycle allows you to predict shifts in energy, mood, and recovery, so you can adapt your training and nutrition accordingly. Some great apps for this include Clue, FitrWoman, and Flo.
TRAINING ALIGNED WITH YOUR MENSTRUAL CYCLE
1️⃣ Follicular Phase (High-Energy Phase, Days 1-14)
💥 Best For: Strength & High-Intensity Training
- Hormones are at their lowest, meaning higher energy, pain tolerance, and muscle adaptation.
- This is the time for heavy lifts, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), and skill development.
- Take advantage of faster recovery and increased endurance, this is your prime performance window.
🔥 Training Focus: Heavy strength training, explosive movements, sprints, and high-impact workouts.
2️⃣ Ovulatory Phase (Peak Performance, Days 15-17)
⚡ Best For: Max Strength, Power, & Competition
- Estrogen peaks, boosting coordination, power, and endurance.
- You’ll feel your strongest and fastest, making this the best time for max lifts, competitions, or testing PRs.
- However, estrogen also makes ligaments more lax, increasing injury risk, so be mindful of joint stability and warm-up thoroughly.
🔥 Training Focus: PR attempts, max-effort lifts, power movements, and competitive training.
3️⃣ Luteal Phase (Recovery & Steady-State, Days 18-28)
⚖️ Best For: Moderate Training & Recovery
- Progesterone rises, energy fluctuates, and body temperature increases, making endurance work feel harder.
- Strength and power might decline slightly, so lower RPE (effort level), focus on technique, and incorporate more recovery work.
- Reduce training intensity, favor moderate resistance training, aerobic work, and skill-based drills.
🔥 Training Focus: Moderate weight training, aerobic conditioning, technique work, and lower-impact workouts.
4️⃣ Menstrual Phase (Recovery & Regeneration, Days 1-7)
🛌 Best For: Active Recovery & Gentle Movement
- Fatigue is common due to lower iron levels and increased inflammation, so listen to your body.
- Prioritize recovery, hydration, and lighter movement like mobility work, stretching, and low-impact cardio.
- If you feel up for it, light strength training and steady-state work can be beneficial, but this varies for every athlete.
🔥 Training Focus: Mobility work, yoga, swimming, walking, and light strength work (if tolerated).
TRAINING & COMPETING ON YOUR PERIOD
Yes, you can still train and even compete during your period.
But it’s not a one-size-fits-all rule. Some female athletes feel strong and mentally focused, while others experience cramps, fatigue, or disrupted sleep.
What matters is learning how your body responds and adjusting accordingly:
Here are Three Approaches to Training on Your Period:
Option A: You feel flat, fatigued, or in pain
→ Prioritize rest, mobility, walks, swimming, or light activity. Keep inflammation low and hydrate more than usual.
Option B: You feel decent and want to move
→ Do your planned workout, but scale volume, add longer warm-ups, or reduce intensity.
Option C: You’re competing or testing
→ You can still perform well. Plan ahead:
- Include magnesium + iron-rich foods pre-event.
- Use light caffeine (100–200mg) for energy and pain tolerance.
- Warm up longer, and recover smart with electrolytes and anti-inflammatory foods post-performance.
This phase can actually be calming for some athletes due to hormone drop-offs, track it and plan around it!
WHAT ABOUT FIGHTERS specifically?
Fighters are not regular athletes. The demands are way higher, the stakes are real, and the need for adaptation is critical.
Here's how your cycle directly impacts fight prep and what we do with our female fighters:
During Menstruation (Days 1-7)
- Sparring tolerance may drop. Pain threshold can be lower, fatigue higher.
- Coordination may feel off. Don't stress it, reduce sparring volume or shift focus to movement, shadow boxing, or low-impact drills.
- Be cautious cutting weight. You’ll naturally retain more water. Avoid panic cuts, this phase is not ideal for aggressive weight drops.
Follicular Phase (Days 7-14)
- This is your “make gains” phase. Maximize your strength and volume.
- Add your heavy lifting, wrestling, or hard sparring here.
- Fighters in this phase often report quicker reaction time, higher speed, and sharper focus, ideal for developing timing and rhythm.
Ovulatory Phase (Days 14-17)
- Perfect window for testing power, hitting pads, or peak conditioning.
- But there’s increased injury risk. Estrogen spikes make joints more lax, be careful with takedowns, pivots, and hard landings.Add extra warm-up and movement prep.
Luteal Phase (Days 18-28)
- This is your “mental game” phase. Cravings, bloating, or lower mood may kick in.
- Focus on skill work, volume reduction, and mental reps.
- Fighters often report slower recovery here, dial in sleep, food, and electrolytes.
- Keep sparring light and technical.
IN CAMP? PLAN AROUND IT.
If you're in a fight camp:
- Track your cycle in advance. Use something like FitrWoman to map out your energy peaks and lows during the 6-8 week prep.
- Peak the fight close to ovulation or early luteal phase if possible, where strength, power, and focus are still solid.
If your period hits during fight week, focus on:
- Extra hydration + magnesium for cramps
- Light movement on down days
- Lean protein + iron-rich foods to prevent fatigue
- Cold compress or heat pad during rest
NUTRITION FOR PERFORMANCE & RECOVERY
Adjusting macronutrients and micronutrients to each phase of your cycle can enhance energy, recovery, and mood.
🌱 Follicular Phase (Days 1-14)
🥗 Focus: Light, nutrient dense foods to support rising energy levels.
🥩 Best Foods: Chicken, turkey, eggs, quinoa, spinach, citrus fruits, and avocados.
⚡ Ovulatory Phase (Days 15-17)
🍓 Focus: Foods that enhance energy and performance.
🐟 Best Foods: Salmon, fish (loaded omega-3s), almonds, walnuts, strawberries, raspberries, red peppers, and some leafy greens.
🛠️ Luteal Phase (Days 18-28)
🍠 Focus: Nutrient-rich, comforting foods to curb cravings and maintain stable energy.
🥩 Best Foods: Beef, turkey, sweet potatoes, brown rice, broccoli, cauliflower, bananas, and dark chocolate (load up the magnesium).
🩸 Menstrual Phase (Days 1-7)
🔥 Focus: Anti-inflammatory, iron-rich foods to support recovery.
🐟 Best Foods: Salmon, mackerel (omega-3s), lentils, liver, beets, kale, mushrooms, ginger tea, and bone broth.
RECOVERY STRATEGIES FOR FEMALE ATHLETES
✅ Listen to Your Body:
Your cycle shifts your energy, mood, and recovery week to week. Instead of forcing intensity, train with intention. Track how you feel and adjust, some days are for pushing, others for pulling back.
✅ Sleep & Stress Management:
Aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep, yes females need more sleep vs men as well in general. Prioritize nervous system recovery with breathwork, meditation, cold exposure, or even a 20 minute nap. In the luteal and menstrual phases, focus more on calming practices.
✅ Smart Supplementation for Female Fighters:
Support recovery, reduce inflammation, and stay on point all cycle long with targeted supplements:
- Magnesium Glycinate (300-400mg at night), Crucial for sleep, cramp relief, mood, and muscle recovery
- Omega-3s (DHA/EPA) (2000-3000mg daily), Anti-inflammatory support for joints, brain, and hormones
- Vitamin D3 + K2 (2000-5000 IU daily), Essential for bone health, hormone support, and immunity
- Creatine Monohydrate (3-5g daily), Yes ladies you should be using it, It boosts strength, power, and cognitive performance (especially effective for female athletes)
- Collagen (10-15g daily) + Vitamin C (100-200mg daily), Joint and ligament support, especially important during ovulation when injury risk is higher
Optional based on needs:
→ Zinc (15-30mg), B-complex, Cordyceps or Lion’s Mane, and Ashwagandha (if tolerated)
✅ Track Your Performance & Recovery:
Use a training journal or app to log your energy, soreness, sleep, mood, and performance across each phase of your cycle. Over time, this builds a personal roadmap for when to peak, deload, or focus on recovery. You cant change what you dont track.
TRAIN SMARTER, NOT HARDER
Your menstrual cycle isn’t a weakness!!! it’s a roadmap for optimizing your training, nutrition, and recovery.
By aligning your workouts and diet with your hormonal shifts, you’ll:
✅ Boost strength and endurance
✅ Recover faster
✅ Minimize injury risk
✅ Enhance long-term health and performance
