Exercise is a pillar of good health. We all know that. But for women, there's a lack of information about how hormones can mess with your desire and ability to exercise—and what you can do about it.
A recent study found that 86 percent of exercising women experience tiredness, fatigue and/or other menstrual symptoms that boost their chances of skipping exercise or a sporting event.1
Only 39 percent of all exercise science and sports medicine research features girls and women.2 However, we typically go through an average of seven phases of hormone changes. One of them occurs monthly in a 28-day (on average) cycle, and others, like pregnancy and pre- and postnatal changes, may never occur or may happen multiple times.
Without considering the effects of hormones on exercise, there's no way to support optimal performance or reduce the risk of injury. Hormones can mean you use more fat for fuel at certain times, are
