Should you sync your workouts to your period?

A woman points to a colour-coded grid dividing the menstrual cycle into four phases, each paired with a different list of exercises.

"When you're bleeding, you want to be doing steady-pace jogging, Pilates, barre, walking, resting," she tells viewers.

This is one of thousands of videos on TikTok and Instagram suggesting that people change their workouts depending on where they are in their menstrual cycles - something known as 'cycle-syncing'.

So-called cycle-syncing workout plans have surged in popularity online, with Google searches for the term rising 740% since 2022 and more than 55,000 TikTok videos now using the #cyclesyncing hashtag.

Most of the advice is shared by fitness and wellness creators rather than medical or research experts.

gradually increasing intensity in the follicular phase leading up to ovulation

easing off again during the luteal phase (between ovulation and the start of your period)

Kelly McNulty, a researcher at Leeds Beckett University specialising in menstrual cycles and exercise, says there is evidence that some women experience changes in symptoms, energy or perceived strength across their cycle.