Intuitive Exercise Throughout Your Cycle

The only time that I’ve ever stuck to a “work out plan” was when I trained for my marathon last year, and these past four weeks of training for a half-marathon at the start of June. 

Other than that I have always just kind of gone through spurts and phases of exercising. 

Things like yoga, weight lifting, biking, but the most of what I’ve done over the years has been running. 

Have you ever noticed that you’re drawn to different types, or amounts of, exercise at different points in your cycle? 

Leading up to and during my period I find myself wanting a much slower form of exercise, whether that be yoga, hiking or simply going for a walk. I’ve still go running during this, but I don’t push myself too hard. Thankfully, our pace this year hasn’t been very intense at all so it works out great. 

I don’t base my exercise on where I am in my cycle so much as just listening to my body as I go along. Because I’ve got a training plan to follow I usually stick to that for the most part. 

But last week around ovulation I found myself wanting to get outside more than once, or go further than originally planned. Three days in a row I ran 6 miles. 

Wednesday I went on a run with my mom, and then Michael asked if I wanted to go with him so I did. The next day I ran around two miles with my mom, and then decided to run the 4 miles back to my apartment. And Friday we had six miles to run. 

I’m more likely to head out on an unplanned run, hike, etc. because I get this urge to blow off some steam or excess energy (or lack of energy). 

One thing that I’ve discovered I enjoy a lot is running on trails. Not bike paths, but dirt trails through the woods, or when we were in Phoenix is was through the desert. 

Once I get into the habit of being active again (when it’s starts getting warm out) I just really try to focus on what my body feels like, combined of course with what I have for a training plan. 

I don’t necessarily switch up the type of exercise I do depending on where I’m at in my cycle, I just change the amount and intensity of running I’m doing that week. 

I do find that when I’m feeling in a slump, tired or things like that, getting out for a run really helps to balance me back out again. 

What is your go to exercise, and do you switch it up at all throughout your cycle? 

My Winter Work Out Plan

This summer the majority of my “exercise” was running because I was training for a marathon. 

The next time I train for a marathon I will definitely “cross train” more instead of only focusing on running (while that is still obviously important). 

It’s been a month since my marathon, and while it’s good to give yourself a break afterward I don’t want to “lose” all my training and hard work. 

But I do want to switch it up a little. So I took a look at what I’ll have available to me over the winter, and what I’ll actually enjoy doing. 

And the three main activities I want to focus on are yoga, running and lifting.

Yoga — I dabbled in yoga in college, and consistently went every day for a six month period after graduation. But the circumstances that led me to have an affordable pass to that studio ended and I can’t afford to hand out that chunk of cash every month. Although hot yoga is delectable in the winter. My compromise has been hitting up a yoga class every now and then but then utilizing videos online for a little yoga session in my living room. I don’t have to trek to a studio and I save myself a lot of money.

Running — I’ve come to realize that it’s more work to get myself dressed and outside when it comes to running in the cold. If I bundle up appropriately it’s all fine and dandy. Your lungs burn a bit, but it’s manageable. And I’ve been running for months so why stop now just because it’s getting cold? Running is a great way to get outside and have some time to just freely think without needing to have some form of entertainment. 

Lifting — While I sometimes feel like a monkey lifting weights I do actually enjoy the challenge. Our apartment building has a decent little exercise room with a few machines and a full set of weights. And just like with living room yoga, I’m not forced to go outside to get to the gym so that’s a major perk. I want to focus on getting stronger overall but also focusing on my joints or whatever it may be so when it comes time to train again my knees, and such, are stronger. 

Ideally, I would like to do each activity two or three times a week. So, one sample week would be: 

Monday: Yoga

Tuesday: Run

Wednesday: Lift

Thursday: Run

Friday: Lift

Saturday: Run

Sunday: Yoga

I find that having a “plan” really helps to motivate me and be consistent with exercise. If I can look at something and say “Ok, today I’m going to go run 5 miles, or today I’m going to do these arm exercises in the gym” I find that actually getting there and doing it is much easier. 

I’m curious to hear if you have a particular work out plan as well as the winter, and if where you live has had an impact on what you plan on doing. 

Picking Up Lost Habits

Sometimes life gets a bit hectic, and you loose track of your routine, those things that keep you balanced and sane. But when you don’t have time you have to just let go of certain things. And not feel guilty for it. 

Hopefully the time comes when you can return to those things that matter. And possibly weed out those habits that aren’t serving you. 

Life got a bit crazy for me over the month of May, and I let quite a few of my favorite things slip away, knowing I’d make my way back to them. But now that I’m getting back to the point of having the time again I have found I have to rebuild those connections to those habits. 

The three habits I’m referring to, and am frankly always talking about are:

+ journaling

+ yoga

+ meditation

Simple, daily tasks that can take anywhere from five minutes to an hour, depending on the day. But I know the benefits from each. 

Journaling is a way to cleanse my mind each morning. To clear out the junk as well as jot down those important memories and thoughts worth remembering. 

I journal in a few different forms. The most beneficial is morning pages, three pages of handwritten, streaming conscious thought. It is a way, like I said above, to excavate those things lingering from the past. Things that need to be addressed, talked about, thought about. It is a way to work through difficult things, annoyances, and to give light to moments that have really made my day. 

After I have taken the time to sit down and do morning pages (15-45 minutes) I am noticeably more focused, and able to stay on task throughout the day. Because often times the things that distract me from what I have at hand is something from the past, some thought or memory that has been nagging at my conscious. 

In a way journaling is a form of therapy for me. 

I also keep the type of journal that comes to mind when you hear the word "journal". 

Beyond that I also have two pages for each month in my bullet journal for what I call my “sparkly bits”. It is my daily gratitude. And from continuously practicing daily gratitude I am more in tune with the daily moments that bring me joy. 

Journaling is something I dabbled in starting at 8 years old, but didn't really pick up on at the age of 19. And it is something I no doubt will continue to do until the day I die. 

Next up, yoga. 

I first tried yoga in college. There was a free class for students a couple mornings a week. After graduating I hit a rough patch (ended a relationship and was lost with where I was supposed to head with my future). I rediscovered yoga, and it was more than I could have asked for at that point in my life. Over the next six months or so I did almost daily 6 a.m. hot yoga classes, all the while working 16 hour days and struggling with what to do with life. 

I have done yoga on and off since then. Not being able to afford classes (seriously, they are expensive), but knowing the benefit I have begun to do a daily practice from home. Either I move through sequences as they come to mind or I follow a video I’ve found online. Whether it’s five minutes, or 90 minutes, yoga feeds my soul. I come out of it feeling renewed, refreshed, incredible. 

And finally, the most recent addition to my life — meditation. 

Here is something that I’ve wanted to do for years, but could never quite figure out. 

I spent so long thinking it had to be one way, when in reality there are so many forms of meditation practice. 

And I found my form in guided lessons via the Headspace app. It came at a time in life where things were coming together but I felt lost, I felt off balanced and in a way out of control. I needed something to bring me back to center, and for whatever reason I knew my answer was meditation. 

I had heard of this particular app here and there. To be quite frank, it kept popping up, almost as if telling me I needed to give meditation another go. 

Meditation is another form of therapy, similar yet different from journaling. 

When I have a good daily meditation practice going I am so much more balanced — emotionally, mentally and it gives me that sense of spirituality (that I also get from yoga) that I could never find in organized religion. 

And the trick to all of this is timing. Creating space for it in your day. For me, in the past, that was journaling first thing in the morning for around an hour, then taking another hour around 2 p.m. to take a break from work, roll out my yoga mat, choose a video from online and end it with a meditation session during savasana. 

These three habits combined are a trifecta of mental health for me. And I hope from reading this today you can feel a burst of inspiration to rekindle that flame with those habits that nourish you.