'I coordinated my exercise routine with my cycle. Here's why I'm never going back.'

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I've never considered myself a 'woo woo' person. And I suppose, because of this, I've never tried to be… how you say, in touch with my moon time.

I knew one thing to be true: every month my period would come and I would get painful cramps and cry a lot.

And other than this? To be honest, I never really thought about it.

Watch three men experience period pain. Post continues below.

That was until I learnt about the different phases of the menstrual cycle. There's more than just crampy and non-crampy times of the month. And once I read up on this and how it impacts your body, everything started to make sense.

Like the days when I'd go into the gym and feel like I could lift a car. Or the days where just walking up the stairs to the entrace would exhaust me.

Instead of being frustrated with myself and wondering why 'I could lift this yesterday???', I decided I'd start making my period work for me. Because it's time that little SOB did something helpful for once, right?

So, during *certain* times of the month, I swap pushing myself for an exercise that leans into my cycle stage.

Confused? Intrigued? Also wanting to get more out of your cycle? Allow me to explain the four stages, and the best types of exercise to integrate depending on the week.

The menstrual phase.

Let's start at the beginning, shall we?

As the name goes, this stage of your cycle is when you're on your period. Your uterus is putting in overtime, shedding that lining and your estrogen and progesterone hormones are at their lowest. This means your energy is also at its lowest. Hope that explains why you want to do nothing but curl up in child's pose and eat ice cream…

You might be in pain, you might be extra sleepy, so this is the stage of your cycle where you want to keep it low-key.

When I'm on my period, I lean into super low impact exercise like walking, yoga or sometimes just stretching. The last thing I want to be doing is running or lifting weights, but sometimes it helps to still keep my body moving.

The follicular phase.

Once your period ends, you move into the follicular phase. The 'spring' of your body.

Your uterus is building up all of those cells again so your estrogen increases, along with your energy. You feel like you can lift a little heavier, move a little faster and graduate from the gentle stretches of the week prior.

In my follicular phase, I introduce weights back in but keep it light. You don't want to push yourself too early as your body readjusts after the menstrual phase.

It's also really good time for cardio like walking and jogging, or Pilates — mat or reformer. Especially those exercises that use light dumb bells or just your own body weight.

The ovulation phase.

My queen. The ovulation phase. The short-lived week where you feel your strongest and look your hottest. Ah, ovulation phase, how I love you.

Image: Supplied.

Your uterus is living her best life, releasing eggs, with estrogen and testosterone at their peak, hoping this will be the month you produce that baby.

You might find your mood and libido increase, along with your strength. This is where I take advantage of my inflated ego and boundless energy. I snap back into lifting heavy and pushing myself until failure. You're going to wonder when you turned into the Incredible Hulk.

If running is your thing (I can't relate), it's a great week to go for that PB.

The luteal phase.

Dun dun duuuuuunnnn. The luteal phase. The thorn in every woman's side. The reason all of my clothes feel wrong and I tell off my boyfriend for breathing too loudly.

I used to get so frustrated at myself during the luteal phase, before I even knew what was happening. I felt like I'd suddenly become a hideous ogre with zero strength and was so hard on myself for not being able to do what I was doing just a week earlier.

Once I found out what was happening in my body (my uterus preparing for an entire baby), I started tweaking my routine to work with it.

Similar to the follicular phase, you want to be extra kind to yourself during this week. I still lift weights during the luteal phase, but lighten the load and stop when your body isn't feeling it.

I also love to swim laps at the pool and find this is the perfect time, given the low impact on your body and also the peace it brings to your (likely very angry) mind.

Image: Supplied.

The verdict.

Now look, it's not an exact science, but I found that once I started working with my body instead of against it, I started to feel better in a handful of ways.

Not only did I feel stronger and more fit month-round since I wasn't pushing myself beyond my abilities, but I also was a lot gentler on myself mentally.

Listen to Mamamia's Well podcast, your full body health-check. Post continues below.

I was no longer criticising myself for losing strength or being 'unfit' when I was doing more the day before. Overall, I feel more in touch with myself and more conscious of how my cycle impacts me across the entire month rather than just the few days on my period.

Gone are the days I try to run a 10K when my hormones are plummeting (or ever tbh).

I'm converted.

Feature image: Supplied.