Some “experts” suggest that women can achieve better muscle development and strength by timing their workouts and resistance training with specific phases of their menstrual cycles (cycle syncing). New research published in the Journal of Physiology is challenging that belief, showing that exercising at different points in the cycle had zero impact on the synthesis of new muscle proteins essential to building and maintaining muscles.
Debunking A Social Media Trend
Cycle Syncing, or tailoring workouts to align with the way a woman’s hormones change throughout her menstrual cycle, has become a trendy topic on social media, but like most internet trends, science is showing that the belief is not correct, according to the findings from the group of researchers and kinesiologists at McMaster University in this study.
“Our findings conflict with the popular notion that there is some kind of hormonal advantage to performing different exercises in each phase. We saw no differences, regardless of cycle timing,” explains Lauren Colenso-Semple, lead author of the study and a former graduate student in the Department of Kinesiology, who conducted the work while at McMaster.
Investigating Exercising And Menstrual Cycle Syncing
This study monitored the menstrual cycles of healthy young female participants for 3 months to confirm that their cycles were normal. These results showed that contrary to popular belief, only 12% of the women had a consistent 28-day cycle and ovulated regularly on day 14 as per the textbook menstrual cycle.
This monitoring was followed by the participants ingesting a benign tracer molecule to track and monitor muscle proteins. Then the women performed strenuous resistance training during the follicular phase of the menstrual cycles when estrogen levels are at their peak, and during the luteal phase, characterized by peak progesterone levels. According to the researchers, they did not observe effects from either of the distinct phases of their menstrual cycles on the production of muscle proteins.
Another Social Media Fad Fails
The popular social media fad of influencers promoting cycle syncing to coordinate workouts, certain diets, and lifestyle behaviors with their menstrual cycle has been debunked. This can also be applied to the array of fitness apps for tracking cycles, and social media channels that are rife with advice and recommendations for cycle syncing. While “social media influencers” routinely cite a handful of animal studies as evidence for cycle syncing suggesting that fluctuations in ovarian hormones can affect how human muscle responds to exercise, this human study shows their claims are not correct.
“Our work shows that women who want to lift weights and recondition their muscles should feel free to do so in any phase of their cycle. There is no physiological difference in response to the exercise,” says Stuart Phillips, the Canada Research Chair in Skeletal Muscle Health at McMaster who supervised the study. “It is important to tailor your training to how you feel.”
Researchers often caution that results in animal studies most often do not translate well to humans. These researchers also highlight the need for more research that focuses on women’s health, including how training in relation to menstrual cycles may affect how oral and non-oral contraceptives may influence responses to exercise.
Take Away
When watching anything on social media, which is ripe with health misinformation, it is important to remember that content creators know how to stage things to look perfect and what/how to say things to swing algorithms in their favor, and it is not always real or correct.
Whether it be cycle syncing or something else, what is more important than following social media trends is to do your own research to get factual information to use to make an effort to eat healthy, nutrient dense foods, and stay hydrated to support muscle health rather than take so-called “expert advice” from a social media influencer.
As with anything you read on the internet, this article on cycle syncing should not be construed as medical advice; please talk to your doctor or primary care provider before changing your wellness routine. WHN does not agree or disagree with any of the materials posted. This article is not intended to provide a medical diagnosis, recommendation, treatment, or endorsement. Additionally, it is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
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References/Sources/Materials provided by:
This article was created under a licensed Creative Commons Attribution
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.5/ca
http://dx.doi.org/10.1113/JP287342
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/01/well/move/menstrual-cycle-syncing-exercise.html
https://worldhealth.net/news/now-trending-volume-eating/
https://worldhealth.net/news/health-mis-information-and-social-media-tiktok/
