71% of women struggle to stay fit on their period
Research by Yoppie, the pioneers of personalised, organic period care delivered through your letterbox, has provided some top tips on how to keep motivation up during your menstrual cycle, as periods put a stop to fitness regimes for the majority of women.
With our New Year’s resolutions still at the forefront of our minds, many of us will have been focussing on getting fit. However, Yoppie’s research shows that mother nature isn’t making it easy for us.
We are already aware that exercise has a positive effect on our body and mental wellbeing but what are the benefits of working out during your menstrual cycle? Contrary to what many women may think, research has shown that exercising whilst on your period can actually ease the majority, if not all, of those nasty symptoms; including cramps, fatigue, bloating and even depression.
Fatigue and period pains prevent women from working out
Despite this, Yoppie’s research shows that periods prevent 71% of women from fully following their fitness regime, with 39% reducing the amount of exercise they would normally do and 32% unable to work out at all.
It isn’t just fatigue that impacts our ability to work out during the menstrual cycle, with the dreaded period pains and cramps also having an impact. Over half the women surveyed by Yoppie said period pains and cramps reduced their ability to keep fit. 32% are only able to exercise sometimes and 25% stated they’re unable to work out at all during their period.
Diet plans go out the window
The physical changes that women experience such as fatigue and cramps aren’t the only factors that cause us to stray from a healthy lifestyle.
It is no secret that women tend to crave all things junk during their cycle and 57% have confirmed this is the case. 42% confessed to eating more junk food, 1% drank more alcohol and 14% indulged in more of both. With this increased calorie intake, it’s no wonder we struggle to keep to our fitness goals and it can be a double-edged sword, with alcohol and junk food making us feel sluggish at the best of times, let alone when you are menstruating.
Improper period care products don’t help!
Period care products should only ever help us boss our menstrual cycle but all too often, the wrong size, style or material of our period care can actually be detrimental. Products filled with toxins and plastics can cause us to feel worse while the wrong style or size of the product can be uncomfortable.
While it seems like a no brainer many women opt for convenience and cost rather than the right product tailored to their own unique body, resulting in the use of a below-par period product.
So it comes as no surprise that even our choice of period care products can hinder our fitness plan of action and Yoppie found that 15% of women were concerned about the durability of their period care when working out, 8% worried about its visibility and 13% simply feeling the products were uncomfortable.
This further highlights the importance of having the right products for you. Tampons and towels are not one size fits all and having these tailored to your personal cycle makes a huge difference to your period.
How to stay motivated
It is clear that for many women exercising or sticking to their normal fitness routine when on their period can prove difficult, but for those who do manage to keep at it, what’s their secret to staying focused?
38% simply said it is all about positive thinking, with others finding a goal (14%) or a reward (16%) is the best way to stay motivated. 12% of women receive a helping hand from supplements in order to keep energy levels high and cramps and pains at bay, with 20% simply forcing themselves to exercise no matter what.
Top tips to keeping fit during your period
So what’s the best advice for those keen to keep fit even during menstruation?
Listen to your body! It can be so beneficial to stay active even whilst on your period so ease your way in, try some stretching, yoga, jogging or even light weights if you can. Reducing the intensity of your workouts will make them a lot more bearable and less scary. If your body is screaming out for a glass of wine, a big bowl of ice cream and a duvet day then allow yourself a treat, but balance it out with exercise as well.
Founder of Yoppie, Daniella Peri, commented:
“Depending on the severity of your symptoms, working out and eating healthily can be the last thing on your mind during your menstrual cycle. It’s hard enough as it is when you’re not on your period and can take some serious will power, so don’t be too hard on yourself if you struggle, you’re not alone!
The vast majority of us will take our foot off the fitness pedal during our periods in one form or another and there’s no real remedy as our cycles are so incredibly unique from one woman to the next.
However, you can give yourself a helping hand by remaining positive, setting yourself realistic goals to maintain some degree of exercise and nutrition and rewarding yourself with a treat when you achieve them.
Supplements can also be a great way to boost energy levels and reduce the impact of those symptomatic setbacks and Yoppie might just be able to help. With so many supplements on the market, it’s hard to know what to take, when and with what. We’ve taken the hard work out of it and designed three supplements, specifically targeted to tackle a number of period problems, and they can be taken with your existing supplements.”