C'mon, who REALLY feels like exercising when they have their period?

[Careersytype]

Not really a TAAT but...

After looking at the #thisgirlcan ad with the tampon string hanging out.... how many people feel like exercising when they have their period? Not when its tailing off, but when it's full flow. I don't- I just want to sit around in loose, warm clothes and drink tea.
YABU= I totally feel like exercising during my period
YANBU= Nope, don't feel like exercising

Don’t have a perilous - easy get a coil or take your pill all the time.

I was thinking exactly the same while reading the last thread. I just can't be arsed, and I don't even get an actual period any longer, just the symptoms.

I just feel like getting into the tent really

I get painful heavy periods. I managed a slow walk on the treadmill yesterday, but today the dizzy spells are hitting me hard. I’m anemic because of the heavy periods and supplements can’t always keep up. So no, I definitely don’t and can’t exercise on my period. It’s great some women can manage, but I don’t think we should all be expected to keep up.

Makes no difference to me, but I don't get much in the way of cramps, etc, so I suspect I'm the odd one here.

Once you stop having periods (2003) it seems odd. The whole concept.

I used to find it helped with cramps etc (I don't have periods anymore as on the mini pill)- it was the rest of the month that was the issue :D

I don't have periods now, but when I did I always carried on with my usual exercise. That involved swimming for the last few years.
I was quite lucky with my periods apart from the last two or three years, they were never painful or heavy enough to stop me living my normal life.

It doesn't make much difference to me tbh. My periods have never caused me an issue.

It doesn't make any difference to me, I have a regular routine and I stick to it. However, the menstrual cycle does affect women to differing degrees - not just in relation to exercise, but other activities too like work - there may be days when you feel more creative and days when you're better doing routine work. Of course, it's not always that easy to set your work for the "right" part of your menstrual cycle, but if you are interested there is a lady called Karen Skidmore who has done research on this and is convinced we should embrace our cycles and work with them, not against them.

One thing I find is that my resting heart rate rises over my cycle and I find it more difficult to run when it's at its highest. If you were to look at my parkrun times you could spot a pattern of slightly slower times at certain times of the month.

We are all different and some women have dreadful periods. But I think gentle exercise like getting out for a walk helps most people - no need to go to the gym. I also think that staying fit and healthy can reduce symptoms. I used to get dreadful bloating but since I started running 10 years ago I haven't.

My period tends to be quite long (week or so) but light so I tend to exercise like I normally do.

I am a lazy person, happily sit for hours in front of the TV but I do know exercise and moving around helps massively with cramp, bloating and pain. Although first day a walk or something by myself, not a yoga studio or something but that's because of all the erm..."bloating" leaving my body

There’s no way I could exercise on my period. Most months I have to stay in bed for at least a couple of days as it’s so heavy and the pain is awful. I’m often sick and for those couple of days, the pain can feel like I’m in labour. This only started when I was in my 30’s, before that I could exercise on my period.

I have endometriosis amongst other problems with my womb and the pain continues for a few days after the end of my period. It really affects my life.

It's only on the rare occasion over the years that my period pain was ever bad enough to prevent me getting on with things.

A lot of women, particularly those with endometriosis, suffer terribly for years with no help from the medical professionals and it effects their lives massively, and I'd never belittle that. But they are a minority, not that that's any consolation to them of course. Most women I know find their periods irritating and uncomfortable, rather than crippling. I don't notice any pattern in my running club or exercise classes where women regularly aren't able to manage it.

My sympathies to those who are badly affected though. It makes me angry that despite what modern medicine can do, women are so often told they just have to live with crippling periods.

I try to keep up with exercise, but I have missed a couple of classes. I am more likely to miss something because of not catching a premenstrual headache in time with painkillers, though I missed one class with flooding. I do find exercise generally helps, though.

I also find my balance varies through the month, but whether it's menstrual or different levels of tiredness or recurrent injuries playing up (currently dealing with knee problems,) I'm not sure. Some weeks in yoga, it's easy to balance - other times, I just cannot hold being on one foot for more than about a second. I would need to track it more to know if it was related to my cycle, though.

Yabu. I go to the gym 6 days a week and my period doesn't stop me. It helps a lot with cramps.

Yabu, I like free weights and running any time of the month and see no reason to stop

I don't feel like it, but if I can make myself do it, it generally makes me feel much better. Same as for the rest of the month, tbh.

Just to add, because a number of people are saying 'of course not swimming' or 'obviously not swimming', you can totally swim when you have your period. You may not all choose to, and if you typically have very heavy flow and/or flooding, that's completely understandable. But for most women, there's absolutely no reason not to go swimming if you want to.

Unfortunately you can't get your money back if you get your period on race day, so I generally carry on running despite what's going in with my periods and whatever the weather.

I did, however have horrible, debilitating period pains last month for the first time ever and I can completely understand why some women's first reaction would be YANBU. It was a shock.

It is a shock when you hear what some women go through every month. I had a friend who was fainting at work on her worst months. She had to go private for any treatment.

More shocking to me though are people who get next to no ill effects!

YABU makes no difference to me at all

Just to add, because a number of people are saying 'of course not swimming' or 'obviously not swimming', you can totally swim when you have your period.

Physics slows the flow. The pressure of the water around your vagina counteracts the force of gravity pulling the blood out.

Mine is making its presence felt right now, and the last thing I want to do is jog, rollerskate or in fact move. I'm almost afraid to cough (the wonders of unmedicated PCOS and Endo).

I always think those ads are from blokes.

That girl can but this girl (eugh) says fuck off and pass the heatpad, remote and chocolate

It always makes me feel better when I do but my periods are getting stupidly and unpredictably heavy with peri. It's one thing having the string hanging out but I don't want blood pouring down my legs in the pool. Neither would anyone else.