At Active Health, we are passionate about helping women stay strong, healthy, and injury-free throughout every stage of life. Whether you’re training for a race, lifting weights, playing team sports, or simply maintaining an active lifestyle, understanding how hormonal changes affect your body can help optimise your training and enhance your overall well-being.
In this guide, we explore how women can train effectively around their menstrual cycle, through perimenopause and menopause, and beyond, using evidence-based strategies rooted in physiotherapy and exercise science. We also highlight how Pilates can be an invaluable tool for building strength, improving mobility, and promoting recovery.
Training Around the Menstrual Cycle
Understanding your menstrual cycle and working with it rather than against it can help you get the most out of your training while feeling your best.
- Follicular Phase (Days 1-14): With rising oestrogen levels, pain tolerance, strength, and endurance improve. This is an excellent time for high-intensity workouts, strength training, and progressive overload in the gym. Pilates can support this phase by improving core stability, enhancing flexibility, and complementing strength work with low-impact, high-benefit movements.
- Ovulation (Around Day 14): Strength and coordination peak, making it a great time to push performance. However, joint laxity may also be slightly increased. Pilates can be especially beneficial in reinforcing movement control, improving alignment, and engaging stabilising muscles to reduce injury risk.
- Luteal Phase (Days 15-28): As progesterone rises and oestrogen falls, energy levels may fluctuate. This phase is ideal for incorporating lower-intensity activities such as mobility work, Pilates, and steady-state cardio. Pilates can be particularly beneficial for promoting circulation, reducing tension, and supporting recovery while still providing a challenging and effective workout.
Training Through Perimenopause and Menopause
As women transition through perimenopause and menopause, the body adapts in new ways. At Active Health, we focus on empowering women to embrace these changes with confidence, ensuring they continue to feel strong, capable, and energised.
- Building Strength and Supporting Bone Health: Strength training remains essential to maintain lean muscle mass and bone density. Incorporating Pilates into your routine provides a fantastic way to strengthen muscles, improve balance, and enhance bone health through controlled, weight-bearing movements.
- Supporting Joint Health and Flexibility: Pilates is an excellent choice for keeping joints healthy, as it strengthens the muscles that support joint stability while enhancing mobility. Its low-impact nature makes it perfect for staying active without excessive strain.
- Enhancing Recovery and Well-Being: Recovery is key, and Pilates plays a crucial role in active recovery by promoting better posture, easing tension, and encouraging mindful movement. Combined with proper rest and hydration, it can help you feel rejuvenated and ready for your next challenge.
Injury Prevention Tips for Active Women
At Active Health, we believe in a proactive and positive approach to injury prevention. Here are key strategies to help you stay strong, resilient, and moving with confidence:
- Listen to Your Body: Adjust intensity based on energy levels and how you feel. Pilates is a fantastic way to stay active on lower-energy days while still benefiting from movement.
- Warm Up and Cool Down Properly: A thorough warm-up enhances performance and reduces injury risk, while cooling down with mobility exercises and Pilates-based stretching aids recovery.
- Strengthen Key Muscle Groups: A strong core, glutes, and leg muscles are essential for injury prevention, and Pilates excels at targeting these areas in a functional and supportive way.
- Prioritise Bone Health: Weight-bearing exercises like resistance training, hiking, and walking help maintain bone strength. Pilates complements these activities by improving balance, posture, and alignment.
- Adapt Training to Hormonal Changes: Recognising the effects of hormonal fluctuations and adjusting training intensity accordingly can help optimise performance and keep you feeling your best.
- Focus on Recovery: Rest and recovery are just as important as training. Pilates can play a vital role in this, helping to reduce stress, enhance flexibility, and support overall well-being.
- Seek Professional Guidance: Working with physiotherapists, coaches, or trainers who understand the unique needs of active women ensures a tailored approach to training and injury prevention.
Key Takeaways
- Aligning training with the menstrual cycle can help optimise performance and keep you feeling strong and energised.
- Strength training and Pilates are powerful tools for maintaining muscle mass, bone density, and overall resilience during perimenopause and menopause.
- Joint health, mobility, and flexibility exercises are essential to support long-term activity and movement confidence.
- Recovery is vital—listening to your body and incorporating adequate rest ensures sustainable progress and enjoyment of your fitness journey.
- Seeking expert guidance ensures a safe, effective training plan that evolves with the body’s needs.
By embracing these strategies, women can continue leading active, strong, and fulfilling lives. At Active Health, we are committed to supporting every woman in achieving her fitness goals, feeling empowered, and moving with strength and confidence at every stage of life.
