Tracking your Menstrual Cycle with BritishCanoeing
Females experience a period approximately every 28 days (although this can fluctuate with each individual to be longer or shorter) as part of their menstrual cycle. This is a normal cyclic process which can be an indicator for health monitoring and reproductive status.
Tracking your menstrual cycle can help you to determine your own body responses and symptoms during the cycle, recognise health concerns, whilst it can also help you to plan for pregnancy indicating fertile windows. Understanding and tracking your cycle, you can plan and be prepared for any patterns of symptoms and have expectations of how your body may feel during certain phases whilst determining what’s normal for you.
For athletes, have you considered tracking your cycle on your macrocycle? This can be an easy way to support conversations with your coach and allow you to monitor your cycle against expectations of your training weeks.
How to track your cycle:
Step 1: Period Duration. Determining day 1 which is your first day of your bleed. Count the number of days your period lasts which usually is between 5-7 days.
Step 2: Menstrual cycle Duration Count the number of days between the start of your period and your next period. This is the length of your menstrual cycle. Knowing this will help you to determine fluctuations in symptoms such as energy, mood and cramps. This can help determine your phases of menstrual cycle.
There are many free apps available that help track your period and provide information on fertile windows, indicating potential ovulation. Some apps also allow other monitoring including a record contraception type, intercourse and menstrual symptoms.
Apps include but are not limited to Flo, Natural Cycles, Clue, Fitrwoman, Garmin Connect. Follow them on Twitter for more informtion
@flotracker @clue @fitrwoman @GarminFitness
So why not join in? Keep active during the Coronavirus outbreak.
Promote your story/video on #WSNetTV Send a link to jo.c@wsnet.co.uk with some info about your exercise programme.
Have you seen MoJoManuals? FOOTBALLMoJo, LACROSSEMoJo, ROWMoJo, NETBALLMoJo – www.WSNet.co.uk/MoJoManuals
MoJoManuals addressing the wide range of issues which teenage girls face as they engage in competitive sport. Predicated on 'Physical Literacy' but also cover a range of other emotive issues such as: body image, diet, fit or thin, social media, training with menstruation, coaching style etc. – which impact how girls engage/drop out of sport – and potentially go on to be elite athletes and confident, mature young women outside of sport.
