Exercising during your period is part of the self-care advice for period pain in Australia. The healthdirect guide to painful periods recommends regular, gentle exercise of 45 to 60 minutes, three or more times a week, and estimates that period pain affects about 8 out of 10 people who have periods at some stage of life.
What's less clear is how much your menstrual cycle changes your workouts the rest of the month. Here's what the evidence supports, and where it runs out.
Quick answer: Exercise during your period is fine if you feel up to it, and healthdirect suggests gentle sessions of 45 to 60 minutes, three or more times weekly, for period pain. Research on cycle phases and performance is weak: a 2020 meta-analysis found only a trivial dip early in the cycle and no basis for general rules.
Is it okay to exercise when you have your period?
Yes, and it may even take the edge off cramps. healthdirect explains that the most common type of period pain, primary dysmenorrhoea, is caused by the muscle of the uterus contracting. Alongside exercise, it suggests a heat pack or hot water bottle, a warm bath or shower, and relaxation techniques to lower stress.
A 2019 Cochrane review of exercise for dysmenorrhoea, covering 12 trials and 854 women, concluded that exercise may provide a clinically significant reduction in menstrual pain intensity. Its authors were careful to rate that evidence as low quality.
What type of exercise is best for period pain?
No single type has been shown to beat the others. The Cochrane trials used gentle options such as stretching, core strengthening and yoga, and more vigorous ones such as Zumba and aerobic training, and the reviewers suggested the benefit may hold regardless of intensity. None of the trials looked at resistance training.
Jean Hailes recommends regular physical activity to release endorphins, the "feel-good" hormones, so the best option may simply be the one you'll keep doing. Most trial programmes asked for regular sessions across the whole month rather than only on bleeding days.
Do hormone changes across the cycle affect how you perform?
Possibly a little, but the measured effect is small. A 2020 systematic review in Sports Medicine analysed 78 studies with 1,193 participants who had regular cycles. It found performance might be trivially reduced in the early follicular phase, which starts on the first day of your period, compared with other phases.
With evidence rated low quality, the researchers said general guidelines across the cycle can't be formed and called for a personalised approach. Our article on building a workout routine through your cycle has practical planning tips.
Why can hard training make your period disappear?
Excessive exercise is one recognised cause of absent periods. The Better Health Channel lists it among causes of amenorrhoea, along with low body weight and poor nutrition, hormonal imbalance, PCOS, severe anxiety and stress, and travel. Treatment depends on the cause and can include nutritional advice or lifestyle changes. healthdirect also names lots of strenuous exercise as a reason periods may pause.
When to see a doctor
healthdirect and the Better Health Channel suggest seeing your doctor if:
- period pain stops you going to work or school;
- pain is new for you, worsens during your period or lasts longer than it used to;
- you have pain between periods or during sex;
- you have missed 3 or more periods in a row, or had fewer than 9 periods in a year;
- the pattern of your periods has changed.
For advice at any hour, call healthdirect on 1800 022 222. If it's an emergency, call triple zero (000).
Frequently asked questions
Can I go to the gym on the first day of my period?
If you feel well, yes. healthdirect includes regular, gentle exercise in its self-care list for period pain, and the Cochrane review found exercise may reduce pain intensity. On a day with strong cramps, a lighter session, a walk or a warm bath afterwards are all reasonable options. See a doctor if pain keeps you home.
Does the time of the month change my strength?
Not in any consistent way that research can measure yet. The 2020 meta-analysis found only a trivial reduction in performance during the early follicular phase and rated the evidence low quality. Keeping notes on how training feels over a few cycles is a more reliable guide to your own pattern than a generic phase chart.
How many missed periods should I worry about?
The Better Health Channel advises seeing a doctor if you have missed 3 or more periods in a row, have had fewer than 9 periods in a year, or notice changes in the pattern of your periods. Excessive exercise and low body weight are among the possible causes, and treatment depends on what is behind it.
Heading out for a run or gym session mid-period? The Lunette period cup is reusable, can be worn for up to 8 hours and comes in two sizes, with Size 1 suggested for strong pelvic floor muscles and Size 2 for a heavier flow. Choose yours with the menstrual cup size guide.
This information is general in nature and isn't medical advice; your GP can talk through what's right for your body and your training.
