The Pom Method: How to train with your menstrual cycle to reduce pain and bloating. What kind of activity to do before, after and during menstruation?

Pom method: how to train during the menstrual cycle. What kind of activity to do before, after and during menstruation?

Menstruation is not something that happens only once a week a month: the different phases of the menstrual cycle greatly affect a woman’s life, especially when it comes to movement and training. In its 4 phases, the menstrual cycle is considered real. hormonal storm which changes within a few days the levels of some specific hormones that determine the energy, metabolic situation, edema of the subject, and also suppress the ability to move during training. The onset of the menstrual cycle in adolescence pushes many girls to abandon competitive activities due to malaise or the inability to systematically train, coupled with fear of loss and lack of energy. To avoid this “talent drain” due to the inevitable hormonal development on the growth path, POM method, a training strategy that separates the type of movement for each phase of the menstrual cycle in order to maximize performance, but above all, to feel good. English lioness champions playing in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup follow this training regimen and wear anti-leak shorts to avoid menstruating during very intense competition. The POM method is also used by millions of women who perceive the workout as a moment to devote to themselves, with no physical goal or purpose, but simply to feel good.

Pom method what is it and what is it for?

Method EVENINGS focuses on the three main phases of the menstrual cycle: Post menstrual, phase ORvolitional and phase mestrula. Sport can affect the regularity and course of the menstrual cycle, so POM method, which adapts competitive and non-competitive workouts to different points in the menstrual cycle in order to work on body awareness and maximize training sessions while guaranteeing well-being and adequate energy. To understand how the POM method works, it is necessary to know the phases of the menstrual cycle and the hormonal cycle that accompanies each moment of the fertile period. With enough knowledge of your body and the best exercises to follow and emphasize the strength naturally available for movement during the weeks of the cycle, you can maximize your training experience and achieve results that balance physical activity and your period. Obviously, the sensations and ability to exercise even during the menstrual cycle or in the premenstrual phase varies from person to person.

Is it good for you to exercise during your period? Here’s how to find out the phases and workouts to do each week according to the POM method.

Exercising according to your menstrual cycle is good for you: according to neuroscience, exercise and mental health are closely related because exercise usually helps you release naturally. endorphins, also called happiness hormones, brain neurotransmitters that tell the brain that the body feels good during physical activity of more than 30 minutes at low intensity, even when cycling. In addition, moving in line with your menstrual cycle can reduce the inflammation and swelling felt on discharge days. To train at your best, here is an overview of the menstrual phases and recommended workouts according to the POM method. There are 4 menstrual phases, menstrual flow, follicular, ovulatory AND lutein, and the POM method focuses on the first 3. During each of these hormones that regulate reproductive activity (and not only), such as progesterone, estrogen and even testosterone, change the state of the ovarian follicles, which see the birth, growth and shedding of follicles. unfertilized eggs that cause menstrual flow. Here’s how to train with your period during each phase of your menstrual cycle using the POM method:

POM Cycle Training: Menstrual Phase.

• Proper POM training: medium-low intensity. Walking, Pilates on the mat, yoga, stretching.
• Hormonal situation: At this time of the menstrual cycle, it is as follows: an unfertilized egg (called the corpus luteum) descends from the ovaries due to the breakdown of estrogens and progesterone, causing blood loss or menstruation. During menstruation, energy is often lacking, and pains spread throughout the body.
• Training is not recommended: train in high volumes, i.e. with a high number of repetitions, and do important aerobic exercises such as HIIT training.
• Duration: from 5 to 8 days depending on the subject

Training with a cycle according to the POM method: postmenstrual or follicular phase.

• Proper POM Training: It is at this stage that training helps capillarization, which saturates the body with oxygen and accurately delivers blood to each capillary. Yes, cardio, rock climbing, heavy rep lifting, long runs.
• Hormonal situation: during this period of the menstrual cycle, there is an increase in the level of the follicle-stimulating hormone FSH, which stimulates the growth of follicles in the ovaries. The physical and psychological state is optimal, you have a lot of energy and use it correctly.
• Duration: 10 days depending on the topic.

POM Cycle Training: Ovulatory Phase

• Proper POM training: anaerobicSo yes, circuit training, PHA, HIIT, tennis, surfing, kickboxing, or a Pilates reformer.
• Hormonal situation: At this point in the menstrual cycle, the level of progesterone rises, a hormone produced during the formation of the corpus luteum, which guarantees strength and physical maintenance.
• Duration: about 3-5 days depending on the subject.

POM Cycle Training: Premenstrual or Luteal Phase

• Proper POM training: high intensity but reduced reps: yes to strength training, weight lifting, intense yoga, Pilates reformer, HIIT.
• Hormonal situation: At this point in the menstrual cycle, progesterone secretion increases, the endometrium is fully active and abundantly vascularized as the corpus luteum (the egg that causes menstruation if not fertilized) is formed.
• Duration: 12 – 14 days

The Pom Method Who is not suitable for it and why?

It should be emphasized that the POM method is not used to rebalance hormones, since it can change body composition during training, but does not act directly on the hormones that regulate the menstrual cycle, estrogen and progesterone. For this reason, it is not recommended for people who are on therapy with contraceptive pill, since the losses that occur during this treatment are not true menses and are due to the hormonal decline of the contraceptive, for this reason they are called false periods and should not cause pain. The POM method is also deprecated in case pathological conditions related to the hormonal spectrum, such as anemia, absence of the menstrual cycle, that is, amenorrhea, as well as in cases of menstrual irregularities. Anyone who suffers from eating disorders may not benefit from the balance of the POM method, which may fit into harmful mechanisms for the delicate situation they are currently in.

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