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Tom's Guide
15-05-2025
- Health
- Tom's Guide
Exercising during your period — what to do and what to avoid, according to experts
For anyone who menstruates, you'll know that your hormones can affect how you feel at different times in your cycle. However, did you know these hormones can also impact your athletic performance? If you didn't, you're not alone — a 2019 study conducted by researchers at St Mary's University in Twickenham, England, analyzed more than 14,000 female Strava members. 72 percent of women said they have never received any education regarding exercise and their menstrual cycle. This article is part of Tom's Guide's Women's Health Week — a series of content that explores how technology and the right workouts can support and empower women through every phase of life. If you have a 'normal' menstrual cycle — the monthly process where the rise and fall of certain hormones prepares your body for a possible pregnancy — then you will have, on average, 450 periods throughout a lifetime. So, it makes sense to understand what's happening in your body and how movement can help. Research has continually found that exercise can help to beat a bad mood and even boost dwindling energy levels. You might have heard about exercise cycling, but below we spoke to the experts on how best to exercise during your period. Although the average length of a menstrual cycle is 28 days, it can be anywhere between 21 to 35 days long. Chloe Thomas, a personal trainer, women's health and mindset coach, and the founder of Chloe Inspires Coaching explains, 'The first day of your period bleed is day one of your cycle. This is when the hormones progesterone and oestrogen are at their lowest.' Next is the follicular phase, which begins once your period ends. 'Here, oestrogen is starting to rise again, which is why you typically have more energy,' says Chloe. Around halfway through your cycle, you enter the ovulation stage of your cycle. This is the shortest phase, but it is when you usually feel your best, as oestrogen peaks and the luteinising hormone surges. The surge of luteinising hormone causes the release of an egg from the ovary, known as ovulation. The egg travels down the fallopian tube towards the uterus. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. 'You may feel confident, strong, and focused with a high libido,' adds Chloe. Ovulation is the most fertile point of the menstrual cycle. After ovulation, you'll enter the luteal phase. 'This is when the hormone progesterone starts to rise and oestrogen starts to drop. You'll experience tiredness, cravings, bloating, and mood swings too,' explains Chloe. If no pregnancy has taken place, progesterone and oestrogen levels drop, triggering the start of menstruation. Then, the cycle begins again. 'It's important to note that we are all different and have different levels of hormones. Some women are more affected by Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) than others for example,' says Chloe. Hoping to lift your heaviest deadlift on day one of your period? While some women might find this easy, for others, bleed week is not a time for hitting those personal bests. Sarah Campus, a women's personal trainer, nutrition coach, and founder of LDNMUMSFITNESS says: 'Most women feel slightly weaker or less energised during the first couple of days of their period due to low oestrogen and progesterone. Plus, because you're losing blood, you're losing iron, which can impact endurance and strength, especially if your iron levels are already low.' Periods can also affect your sleep and mood, which can also make you feel weak and off your game. A study in the journal Sports Medicine found that muscle strength is highest in the days following a period, so letting your body rest for a few days is no bad thing. You'll come back stronger, ready to smash those big lifts! If you're feeling tired than usual during your period week, try walking, yoga, Pilates, or even gentle cycling. These low-impact ways to move require less energy than higher-intensity exercise. If you feel up to it, you can stick to a weight training plan, but Chloe explains that for some women, working with lower reps and using lighter weights might be more comfortable, especially during day one and two of your period. Chloe adds, 'I focus on progressive overload (gradually making workouts harder by increasing weight) in the follicular phase in the lead up to ovulation. I push hard with my sessions and weights, and I do more intense cardio workouts during this phase.' It's easy to skip the pre-exercise warm-up and the post-exercise cool-down, but during your period, they are more important than ever, as your muscles and joints will likely feel tighter and stiffer. Sarah says that during menstruation, your body goes through changes that could affect how you move and recover. 'Lower oestrogen levels mean less joint lubrication, which can lead to stiff joints. Prostaglandins — hormone-like chemicals released to help shed the lining of the uterus, which causes a period, can cause cramps, inflammation, and fatigue too.' Research in the American Journal of Sports Medicine found that hormone levels have an impact on knee joint laxity, with greater levels of stiffness occurring during the early parts of the cycle and decreased stiffness occurring during ovulation. 'Prioritise warm-ups and cool downs and spend extra time warming up to get blood flowing and prepare your muscles and joints,' says Sarah. 'Gentle stretching or foam rolling after exercise will help reduce tension and help you to recover.' But it's not all bad news, as while you might feel stiffer and more tired during your period week, your chances of actually developing an injury are lower during menstruation. Research from UCL, the University of Bath, and St. Mary's University found that female football players were six times more likely to experience a muscle injury in the days leading up to their period compared to when they were on their period. The foods you eat during your cycle, including your period, can have an impact on how you feel. Research has found that heavy periods can lead to a greater amount of lost iron, which is the most frequent cause of iron-deficient anaemia, where your body doesn't produce enough red blood cells because the level of iron in your blood is too low. 'You lose iron through menstrual bleeding, which can leave you feeling tired, dizzy, or weaker during workouts. Low iron equals less oxygen delivery to muscles, which in turn can lead to fatigue. Eat red meat, chicken, turkey, spinach, kale, broccoli, and lentils,' says Sarah. Enjoy magnesium-rich foods too, such as bananas, dark chocolate, leafy greens, pumpkin seeds, and crunchy almonds. 'Magnesium helps with muscle relaxation, reducing cramps and helping to beat bloating or water retention,' says Sarah. Research has found that a combination of 250 milligrams of magnesium plus 40 milligrams of vitamin B6 could help decrease PMS symptoms. These symptoms don't just occur before your period week, but they can linger on during menstruation too. Find vitamin B6 in foods such as chicken, salmon, sweet potatoes, and avocados. Although your period cravings might be screaming out for sugary foods, Sarah says that too many sugary snacks can cause blood sugar spikes and crashes, which can leave you feeling irritable and lacking in energy, making exercise even harder. Ultimately, exercising during menstruation involves listening to your body. For some women, taking it easy and doing light, relaxing exercises such as stretching and yoga might be more preferable. For others, PMS might not be an issue, and exercise can continue as normal. Either way, understanding your hormones and your cycle, and taking rest when you need, could help you to come back stronger, fitter, and quicker.
BBC News
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Conclave: How the film sheds light on the secretive way popes are chosen
The 2024 film Conclave - a box office hit and Oscar winner - tells the story of a papal election in which there are no obvious favourites. For many people, it was a glimpse into the rarefied world of the Vatican, and the highly secretive process of choosing a leader for the Roman Catholic Wednesday 7 May, life follows fiction when 134 cardinals begin the process of electing a successor to Pope Francis. As viewers of the film will know, the papal conclave will take place entirely behind the closed doors of the Sistine Chapel, beneath its world-famous Michelangelo outside the confines of the Vatican will know the outcome until the plume of white smoke will curl from its chimney, signifying that the Roman Catholic Church has a new what does the film tell us about how the conclave could unfold, and why do people find the process so fascinating? 'Intense responsibility' Adapted from the bestselling novel by Robert Harris, Conclave shows the cardinal-electors isolating themselves within the confines of the Vatican during the process of the are not allowed communication with anyone outside the conclave - although given the practicalities, they are not entirely cut off."They all need feeding, they're not totally hermetically sealed off from the world," says Stephen Bullivant, professor of theology and the sociology of religion at St Mary's University, self-imposed isolation is a tradition which stretches back hundreds of part, it is aimed at preventing the electors being influenced by external factors, although the idea of a process that happens behind closed doors may seem at odds with the modern world's "focus on transparency, visibility and scrutiny", according to Anna Rowlands, professor of Catholic social thought and practice at the University of film invokes an "incredible, introspective atmosphere" and sense of withdrawal from the world, she says. "I struggle to think of a more intense responsibility and feeling than being locked away in conclave." 'Lots of politicking' On the screen, claustrophobic and intense deliberations, strategic huddles and tactical moves abound. One cardinal undermines a frontrunner to improve their own chances. Others with unlikely prospects urge their supporters to change their conflict of interests and competing ideologies provides much of the film's drama. "It's essentially about the political machinations that go on," Nick Emerson, the film's editor, told the BBC earlier this year. While some cardinals will think the most important part is following divine guidance, others will have anxiety over making a quick decision, says Tina Beattie, professor emerita of Catholic studies at the University of that Pope Francis's health had been poor for a while, it is likely that, even before the conclave, "there will have been lots of politicking and jostling for position already behind the scenes", she adds."There will be all those tussles going on and [the cardinals] won't all be of one mind."Although in the film, some of the tensest scenes are focused on the act of voting, in reality, much of the drama may come in meetings in the days before conclave officially begins. During this time, the participants will be "getting to know each other, working out what the priorities are and learning how to work together as a body so they can come up with a unified decision", says Prof Rowlands, who is nearing the end of a two-year secondment to the Vatican. A complete unknown? In the film, an unknown cardinal - secretly appointed by the late pope - is catapulted into the real life, this would not be possible. Although any baptised Roman Catholic male is theoretically eligible to be made pope, all cardinals voting in the conclave would need to have been appointed publicly by a previous said this, the imminent election may be one of the most unpredictable there has ever been. About 80% of the cardinals eligible to vote have been appointed in the past 12 years by Pope Francis. He consciously chose people from across the globe and with diverse political of Francis's appointees are from the developing world - "places and contexts which are not normally given a red hat", says Prof adds a level of uncertainty as to their priorities and the ultimate decision. 'A very human thing' The film presents the cardinals as fallible human beings jostling for Edward Berger told the BBC last year that while the conclave was thought of as "an ancient spiritual ritual", he wanted to bring the participants "into modernity"."We put them on this pedestal, and when you look closer, they're going to have cell phones, they're going to smoke, they have the same problems and vices and secrets as we do."Prof Rowlands says the film provides a peak behind a process, with all elements of human nature and human life in it: "Loss. grief, ambition, fear, temptation, courage."She adds: "It's a very, very human thing, a conclave... It's got a divine purpose to it, but it's a very human thing."
The Star
23-04-2025
- The Star
Why toxic masculinity is gaining prominence and influencing young people
Toxic masculinity peddled by online influencers is becoming increasingly prominent, experts say, buoyed by the resurgence of far-right ideology and a virulent backlash against feminism. In March, a 26-year-old man was jailed in Britain for killing his ex-girlfriend, her sister and her mother with a crossbow and knife in 2024. Kyle Clifford's trial heard that he had watched videos by self-proclaimed misogynistic influencer Andrew Tate hours before the horrific murders. Tate has more than 10 million followers on X and is popular with young men on the platform, where he shares his violent vision of masculinity. While Tate was banned on Instagram and TikTok for his misogynistic tirades, his X account was restored by Elon Musk when the billionaire bought the platform in 2022. Now, the British-American figurehead of the online masculinist movement has left Romania for the United States with his brother Tristan, despite facing rape and human trafficking charges in Bucharest. The two brothers are now in Florida, where a criminal investigation has been opened against them. According to Jacob Johanssen, associate professor of communications at St Mary's University in London, there has been 'a normalisation of misogyny, rape culture and violence against women and girls'. The rise of the so-called 'manosphere' – made up of online forums and communities that promote masculinism and misogyny – is 'intrinsically linked to the growth of right-wing populism across many parts of the world', Johanssen said. Men 'alienated' With some policies against diversity and inclusion hailed by hard-right politicians in several countries, the 'anti-woke' rhetoric is gaining ground. 'What we're seeing is a new dynamic,' said Joshua Thorburn, a doctoral candidate at Australia's Monash University researching online misogyny, adding that there is now 'more visibility' for such ideas. While some feminist researchers have long warned of an impending conservative backlash against advances in women's rights, experts point to a crisis in masculinity. 'We live in an unstable and precarious world and men, as well as everyone else, face many problems today. They feel alienated,' according to Johanssen. This, experts say, is where the manosphere comes in, with its online forums and YouTube channels. 'The different communities in the manosphere function like self-help groups for men where they can discuss issues such as mental health, vulnerability or loneliness,' Johanssen said. 'But at the same time, those spaces also contain very toxic discussions of misogyny and sexism.' Understanding boys and young men According to Thorburn, a large section of manosphere content also 'relates to things a lot of young men may be looking for online, such as dating advice, health, fitness advice and financial advice'. 'A young man or teenager may not be explicitly searching for misogynistic content when they first encounter a manosphere influencer's content or a manosphere community,' he said. A 15-year-old Londoner called Alistair said he enjoys this kind of content. He is a fan of the YouTube channel and podcast FreshandFit, which describes itself as dedicated to 'men's self-improvement'. However, in addition to videos on how to achieve dream muscles, other segments discuss why 'women are so hypocritical' or why men and women 'could never be equal'. Alistair, who is also a fan of Andrew Tate, does not see any issue. 'It's about sport and how to make it in life,' the secondary school pupil said. 'Where's the harm?' The British television series Adolescence has won praise recently for its exploration of the subject through the story of a 13-year-old boy who murders a schoolgirl, influenced by online misogyny. The screenwriters said they were inspired by several real-life events and hoped the show could help audiences understand how boys and young men are influenced by the manosphere. – AFP Relaxnews
