Many women report disliking exercise during menstruation, sometimes even avoiding movement altogether. This is due to symptoms like dull lower abdominal pain, lumbar weakness, and reduced immunity, making them more susceptible to colds.
However, from a wellness perspective, moderate exercise during menstruation can not only alleviate discomfort but also boost immunity. It offers particular benefits for women with irregular cycles.
Three Key Benefits of Period Exercise
Regulates Menstruation
Engaging in appropriate physical activity during menstruation can balance the brain's cortical excitatory and inhibitory processes, improving bodily functions and facilitating a smoother menstrual cycle.
Enhances Blood Supply
Exercise promotes blood circulation, improving blood flow to the pelvic reproductive organs.
Facilitates Blood Flow
Exercise induces alternating contraction and relaxation of abdominal and pelvic muscles, providing a gentle massage to the uterus that aids in menstrual blood expulsion.
Women during their menstrual period are advised to engage in aerobic activities such as gentle stretching exercises, including meditation-based yoga, beginner calisthenics, jogging, or simple stretching routines.
Avoid strenuous activities. If dizziness, nausea, or palpitations occur during exercise, stop immediately and do not push through.
However, strenuous exercise, activities involving excessive abdominal pressure (like sit-ups), and weight-bearing exercises (such as weighted squats) are generally inadvisable during menstruation. These can lead to heavier bleeding, prolonged periods, or changes in uterine position.
Many women believe exercise is off-limits during menstruation. In reality, healthy women with established exercise routines can safely engage in moderate physical activity during their period without adverse effects—it may even be beneficial.
Moderate exercise during menstruation helps balance the nervous system, improves blood circulation, and facilitates contraction and relaxation of abdominal and pelvic muscles. This promotes smoother blood flow and may help alleviate menstrual cramps.
Generally, avoid strenuous exercise, activities that increase abdominal pressure (like sit-ups), and weight-bearing exercises (like weighted squats) during menstruation to prevent excessive bleeding, prolonged periods, or changes in uterine position.
However, this doesn't mean exercise is off-limits during menstruation, as moderate activity can actually alleviate period discomfort.
Performing a few sets of music-accompanied calisthenics daily during menstruation can enhance metabolic function, regulate cortical excitatory and inhibitory processes, improve pelvic blood circulation and menstrual flow, and alleviate overall discomfort.
Menstruation is a normal physiological process for women. Physical fitness activities enhance bodily functions, improve circulatory system performance, and regulate the contraction and relaxation of abdominal and pelvic floor muscles—all of which facilitate the expulsion of uterine blood.
Therefore, exercising during menstruation is entirely feasible. However, the unique nature of this period requires special precautions. Due to endometrial shedding, pelvic congestion, and reduced resistance to infection in reproductive organs, adhere to these hygiene guidelines:
1. Avoid extreme temperature stimuli (cold showers, saunas), especially exposing the lower abdomen to cold, to prevent dysmenorrhea or menstrual irregularities.
2. Reduce exercise volume and intensity during the first two days of menstruation, and limit session duration.
4. Generally avoid swimming during menstruation to prevent bacterial infections when the reproductive organs' self-cleansing function is reduced.
5. Those experiencing dysmenorrhea, heavy menstrual flow, or menstrual irregularities should reduce exercise volume, intensity, and duration during menstruation, or even cease exercise altogether.
6. Avoid abdominal massage during menstruation.
Conclusion: Thus, it is neither advisable for women to remain completely inactive during menstruation nor to overexert themselves. Moderate activities like brisk walking or low-impact aerobic exercises are beneficial. These promote blood circulation and aid in detoxification. We encourage women to engage in appropriate exercise during their menstrual period to maintain health.