WEBVTT - Exercise & your cycle: how to workout in sync with your menstrual cycle 💪 0:00:03.920 --> 0:00:04.840 Goody everybody. 0:00:05.120 --> 0:00:08.479 Sam here with another episode of the Good Life. Now 0:00:08.520 --> 0:00:10.840 I am sounding a bit croaky, and it's not because 0:00:10.840 --> 0:00:12.760 I've had a big weekend, I promise you it is. 0:00:13.160 --> 0:00:15.720 I had my four year old's birthday party, so we 0:00:15.760 --> 0:00:21.440 had a rainbow unicorn slime party, which was nineteen kinder 0:00:21.520 --> 0:00:25.920 kids making their own green slime and purple soap. 0:00:26.840 --> 0:00:28.360 And then I went off to the footy. 0:00:28.920 --> 0:00:33.120 And my beloved Hawks had a very unanticipated wins and 0:00:33.159 --> 0:00:34.680 I think I was cheering a bit too loudly, So 0:00:34.680 --> 0:00:36.279 that's why I'm a little bit croaky, just to give 0:00:36.320 --> 0:00:38.560 you guys a bit. 0:00:37.720 --> 0:00:38.839 Of background knowledge. 0:00:39.000 --> 0:00:41.880 But hopefully I'm not doing the majority of the talking today, 0:00:41.920 --> 0:00:43.959 so that should be okay. Because we've got the incredible 0:00:44.000 --> 0:00:47.320 Gema Lee who is coming on the show, who I 0:00:47.400 --> 0:00:51.120 have heard her explain our menstrual cycles in a way 0:00:51.200 --> 0:00:55.000 that is different to anyone before. Whether your male or female, 0:00:55.080 --> 0:00:57.680 or it's for you or for someone, doesn't matter. Stick around, 0:00:58.160 --> 0:01:00.720 listen to this, You'll absolutely love. And then I'm going 0:01:00.760 --> 0:01:03.040 to tackle some of your food questions, which we get 0:01:03.040 --> 0:01:05.399 a lot of on the show, so hang around for that. 0:01:05.480 --> 0:01:05.960 Afterwards. 0:01:05.959 --> 0:01:31.960 It's all coming up next on the Woode. I am 0:01:32.680 --> 0:01:37.680 joined in the studio today by menstrual cycle expert, qualified 0:01:37.760 --> 0:01:42.560 natural fertility educator and creator of Welsome, which is a 0:01:42.560 --> 0:01:46.160 business that helps women with their menstrual cycle and period. 0:01:46.800 --> 0:01:51.480 Gemially welcome to the wood life. And when I get 0:01:51.560 --> 0:01:55.760 asked about this a lot, and I have done probably 0:01:55.760 --> 0:01:59.040 for fifteen years, even as a personal trainer, And the 0:01:59.120 --> 0:02:03.320 thing that I always found was most women that I 0:02:03.360 --> 0:02:07.720 were working with to help them with their fitness were 0:02:07.760 --> 0:02:13.880 working this out for themselves without any expert guidance. Most 0:02:13.919 --> 0:02:16.640 of them were solving the puzzle of what do I 0:02:16.720 --> 0:02:19.160 do or how do I do it around my menstrual 0:02:19.160 --> 0:02:23.359 cycle from an exercise perspective, based on trial and error, 0:02:23.520 --> 0:02:26.560 and they were kind of working out of this works 0:02:26.560 --> 0:02:30.520 for me planned over a decade. So I'd love to 0:02:30.639 --> 0:02:34.520 learn from you, first of all about the different stages 0:02:34.560 --> 0:02:37.680 of our menstrual cycle, and then from an exercise specifically 0:02:37.960 --> 0:02:41.880 perspective or just movement in general, what are your rules 0:02:42.040 --> 0:02:45.760 around how we should move our bodies train our bodies 0:02:45.840 --> 0:02:47.280 during these different cycles. 0:02:48.120 --> 0:02:50.960 This is a really great question. Thanks Sam. Your spot 0:02:51.000 --> 0:02:52.680 on that these are not really topics that have been 0:02:52.720 --> 0:02:56.040 talked about for a long time in history, and I 0:02:56.040 --> 0:02:58.560 think they've been really shunned and shamed for so long, 0:02:58.600 --> 0:03:02.320 and so we're really starting to have a big percentage 0:03:02.320 --> 0:03:05.800 of and I call them menstruators or born women, really 0:03:05.840 --> 0:03:08.320 starting to be like, hang on a second, you're experiencing 0:03:08.320 --> 0:03:11.120 the same thing I'm experiencing, Like, how can we haven't 0:03:11.120 --> 0:03:13.320 spoken about this, you know, for the first ten years 0:03:13.360 --> 0:03:17.240 by menstrual lives. And I just want to remind everybody 0:03:17.240 --> 0:03:19.760 who's listening to this, regardless of whether you're a male 0:03:19.919 --> 0:03:22.720 or a woman or however you identify, like, you exist 0:03:22.840 --> 0:03:27.040 because you were created through a menstrual cycle. And so 0:03:27.840 --> 0:03:33.880 I'm a really passionate educator for all genders because men 0:03:34.000 --> 0:03:36.680 need education just as much as women do. Whilst it's 0:03:36.720 --> 0:03:40.520 the female experience for women when it comes to sport 0:03:40.600 --> 0:03:43.400 and movement and exercise, is that really a lot of 0:03:43.440 --> 0:03:46.440 these sports that people are really into, we're created for 0:03:46.560 --> 0:03:50.440 men by men. And the reason why that is is 0:03:50.480 --> 0:03:53.960 because men are very stable and so they're an easy 0:03:54.480 --> 0:03:58.040 subject to study. And when we think about that, men 0:03:58.120 --> 0:04:00.760 run on what I educate as a twenty four hour clock. 0:04:00.880 --> 0:04:03.840 So most men like to eat the same thing daily 0:04:03.880 --> 0:04:05.880 for breakfast or the same thing for lunch or the 0:04:05.880 --> 0:04:08.200 same thing for dinner. They like to kind of stick 0:04:08.240 --> 0:04:11.200 within their norms. They find what exercise routine works for them, 0:04:11.240 --> 0:04:13.200 and they're like, got a down pat, We're just going 0:04:13.240 --> 0:04:15.720 to keep doing this. And what we've found over the 0:04:15.800 --> 0:04:19.320 last twenty thirty years in diet culture, we started to 0:04:19.320 --> 0:04:22.920 recognize that women couldn't sustain a diet in inverted brackets 0:04:22.960 --> 0:04:26.120 like men could. And the reason why is because they 0:04:26.240 --> 0:04:28.560 run on this what we call a full week or 0:04:28.560 --> 0:04:31.880 a twenty eight day twenty nine day cycle, and so 0:04:32.000 --> 0:04:34.680 every day is different for them. We're trying to push 0:04:34.720 --> 0:04:37.039 against what's actually the norm, and that actually looks like 0:04:37.160 --> 0:04:40.279 us swimming up the river or swimming against the rip 0:04:40.279 --> 0:04:42.800 in the ocean, and instead of going with the flow 0:04:42.839 --> 0:04:45.400 of what actually suits our body, and so so many 0:04:45.440 --> 0:04:48.200 more men's durators are like, hang on a second, but 0:04:48.240 --> 0:04:51.599 this doesn't feel right. And so I think we're starting 0:04:51.640 --> 0:04:55.480 to really have more open conversations and that's really empowering, 0:04:55.880 --> 0:04:59.160 but also it's really daunting. And so what I hear 0:04:59.240 --> 0:05:01.760 a lot sam women who were like, and I hope 0:05:01.760 --> 0:05:03.720 you don't mind if I swear no, no at all, 0:05:03.800 --> 0:05:05.440 But a lot of women are like, why the fuck 0:05:05.520 --> 0:05:07.720 wasn't I taught this at school? And why has it 0:05:07.760 --> 0:05:10.640 been twenty years or why have I had three kids? 0:05:11.360 --> 0:05:14.520 And I'm entering my premenopause or time in my life 0:05:14.520 --> 0:05:18.880 and I'm only just discovering this ability to adapt and 0:05:18.880 --> 0:05:21.479 live in tune with my cycle. And this can be 0:05:21.560 --> 0:05:24.200 really confronting for a lot of people. And something I 0:05:24.279 --> 0:05:27.640 love about training and sport is I was the tomboy, 0:05:28.000 --> 0:05:30.559 you know. I grew up surfing and skateboarding and playing 0:05:30.600 --> 0:05:32.840 basketball and doing all the boys things and used to 0:05:32.880 --> 0:05:35.599 wear you know, baseball cap to bed. So for me, 0:05:35.720 --> 0:05:38.039 when I got my menstruation for the first time at 0:05:38.120 --> 0:05:40.560 fifteen and a half, like what we would consider a 0:05:40.640 --> 0:05:43.760 late bloomer, like, I didn't want to be a girl, 0:05:43.839 --> 0:05:45.320 you know, I didn't want to have to deal with that. 0:05:45.440 --> 0:05:48.280 And so we had an error or where a lot 0:05:48.279 --> 0:05:51.320 of women were happy to not menstruate, they were happy 0:05:51.320 --> 0:05:53.640 to go on hormonal contraception, that were happy to not 0:05:53.680 --> 0:05:56.400 talk about it, whereas fast forward to today, we have 0:05:56.480 --> 0:05:59.040 a lot of young menstruaders and women who were starting 0:05:59.040 --> 0:06:00.880 to be like, hang on a second, is this normal? 0:06:01.000 --> 0:06:01.520 Is this right? 0:06:01.600 --> 0:06:04.240 What's going on? And so when it comes to like 0:06:04.279 --> 0:06:09.080 a sports perspective and movement perspectives, that our hormonal structure 0:06:09.200 --> 0:06:13.599 is completely different and because of that, how we move 0:06:13.839 --> 0:06:17.200 can feel different at different times of our cycle. And 0:06:17.240 --> 0:06:19.520 so when we start to educate women about that, they 0:06:19.560 --> 0:06:21.880 can really start to feel empowered that like, oh, that's 0:06:21.880 --> 0:06:23.680 why that day I just did not want to go 0:06:23.720 --> 0:06:26.279 to the gym. You know, my trainer was telling me 0:06:26.320 --> 0:06:28.800 to do this thing and I just couldn't think of 0:06:28.839 --> 0:06:32.599 anything worse. And looking at the cycle is actually there's 0:06:32.760 --> 0:06:34.240 huge underlying keys there. 0:06:34.480 --> 0:06:37.760 Yeah, I mean, it is an uncomfortable thing. Potentially, I 0:06:38.320 --> 0:06:42.240 understand why it is hard for people to speak about. 0:06:42.600 --> 0:06:46.839 But then even just hearing you and I can. 0:06:46.760 --> 0:06:50.960 See the breakthroughs you must have with people like you 0:06:51.040 --> 0:06:53.760 must have so many people have this epiphany of oh, 0:06:53.800 --> 0:06:56.600 why didn't I just talk about this hard topic earlier 0:06:56.800 --> 0:07:01.039 and would have made such a difference to my life. So, Jemma, 0:07:01.640 --> 0:07:05.600 explain the four stages of the menstrual cycle to me, 0:07:05.640 --> 0:07:09.000 because I actually don't don't understand those four cycles and 0:07:09.040 --> 0:07:11.080 I need to really go back to basics, which I'm 0:07:11.080 --> 0:07:12.280 sure many of our listeners do. 0:07:12.760 --> 0:07:14.920 Okay, So the easiest way to explain them, and it 0:07:14.960 --> 0:07:18.880 is the foundation, literally is I always like to link 0:07:18.920 --> 0:07:22.160 the four phases of the menstrual cycle with the four 0:07:22.200 --> 0:07:24.760 phases of the seasons of the year. And I find 0:07:24.760 --> 0:07:28.080 that's the easiest way because every single person knows what 0:07:28.240 --> 0:07:31.160 summer's like, and every single person knows what's wins is like. 0:07:31.240 --> 0:07:33.440 And when we think of the menstrual cycle, the first 0:07:33.440 --> 0:07:36.000 thing I want to highlight is that when I ask 0:07:36.080 --> 0:07:38.080 this question in like a pre assessment form for a 0:07:38.080 --> 0:07:40.560 new client, or I ask this in schools, is most 0:07:40.600 --> 0:07:44.160 people think the cycle is actually their men's duration. So 0:07:44.200 --> 0:07:47.040 they think, when I'm bleeding, I'm on my cycle. But 0:07:47.160 --> 0:07:50.160 your cycle is actually from day one of men's duration 0:07:50.520 --> 0:07:53.400 through to the next day one of men's duration, So 0:07:53.440 --> 0:07:56.920 it's actually a much longer timeframe. So the menstrual time 0:07:56.960 --> 0:08:00.000 of your cycle, a healthy men's duration is anywhere from 0:08:00.120 --> 0:08:02.600 like three to five days in length. You might not 0:08:02.640 --> 0:08:05.200 bleed all of those days. You might bleed, say the 0:08:05.240 --> 0:08:08.120 first two to three, and then you have some spotting days. 0:08:08.480 --> 0:08:10.920 That's what we consider the first phase of your cycle, 0:08:10.960 --> 0:08:14.880 and that's mens duration. We link that season with winter. 0:08:15.720 --> 0:08:17.440 I love to ask, you know, well, what is it 0:08:17.520 --> 0:08:19.520 you like to do in winter? How do you feel 0:08:19.520 --> 0:08:22.720 in winter? And most people respond with I don't really 0:08:22.760 --> 0:08:24.800 want to go out. I'm much less you know, much 0:08:24.920 --> 0:08:27.800 less social. I like to just you know, cook more 0:08:27.880 --> 0:08:30.120 warm foods. I like to be a bit more of 0:08:30.120 --> 0:08:32.599 a hermit. I like, you know, I withdraw myself a 0:08:32.640 --> 0:08:35.199 little bit and I'm more of a homebody in winter. 0:08:35.960 --> 0:08:38.520 That's what our ments duration is like this particular I 0:08:38.559 --> 0:08:41.440 call it the inner season, So the inner winter. I 0:08:41.559 --> 0:08:43.920 like to refer to them as the seasons of the 0:08:44.000 --> 0:08:47.640 animals too. So winter is like the bear season, Like 0:08:47.800 --> 0:08:51.160 you're a bear. How do bears move in winter? You know? 0:08:51.200 --> 0:08:54.800 They move? So everything of training, this menstrual time is 0:08:54.880 --> 0:08:58.600 really about slowness. It's about restoration, Like this is the 0:08:58.720 --> 0:09:02.000 taper season for an athlete. So this is what the 0:09:02.040 --> 0:09:05.240 bears want. They want nurture, love and care. And so 0:09:05.800 --> 0:09:11.720 when we're menstruating, the hardest challenge that women face is 0:09:11.720 --> 0:09:14.360 that we live in a very patriarchal world and we're 0:09:14.559 --> 0:09:18.040 very much encouraged to like, oh, anything you can do, 0:09:18.160 --> 0:09:20.840 I can do bleeding, and so it's it's like this 0:09:21.120 --> 0:09:25.280 unhealthy feminism. So I always encourage women that if you're 0:09:25.320 --> 0:09:29.480 menstruating challenge yourself. Like, people will take three days off 0:09:29.480 --> 0:09:31.640 the gym to go to all wedding for a friend. 0:09:31.800 --> 0:09:34.920 That's like a getaway weekend. But they won't take three 0:09:35.000 --> 0:09:39.199 days off to menstruate. And so you can last three 0:09:39.280 --> 0:09:41.280 days for a good celebration at a wedding. But what 0:09:41.320 --> 0:09:44.160 about when you're menstruating, Like, what if The challenge here 0:09:44.200 --> 0:09:47.360 is what if whilst you were menstruating, your body was 0:09:47.440 --> 0:09:50.840 calling for so much care that it meant that you 0:09:50.880 --> 0:09:53.800 could peek and perform better at other times of your cycle. 0:09:54.559 --> 0:09:57.640 But that's the first phase of our seasons of our cycle. 0:09:57.679 --> 0:10:02.160 It's a really good simple introduction. Now the second phase 0:10:02.559 --> 0:10:07.559 is spring. Every woman knows what it's like to menstruate, 0:10:07.920 --> 0:10:10.400 and then a day or two after they finish mensterating 0:10:10.400 --> 0:10:12.960 and they're like, oh my god, I'm back, and you 0:10:13.040 --> 0:10:15.400 start to have this what I call like the dolphin 0:10:15.520 --> 0:10:19.760 attitude where you feel really creative, you feel really joyful 0:10:20.040 --> 0:10:23.560 and expressive. And so this phase of your cycle, in 0:10:23.600 --> 0:10:28.559 the medical terms, they would say this is postminstruation or preovulation, 0:10:29.400 --> 0:10:32.840 and this spring time is where out in the hormonal 0:10:32.880 --> 0:10:36.679 structure our body is starting to become fertile again. So 0:10:37.000 --> 0:10:40.840 where we have esogen rising, estrogen is a confidence hormone. 0:10:41.280 --> 0:10:46.559 As esogen rises, we are literally more playful, we're more creative, 0:10:46.840 --> 0:10:49.760 we are more actionable. So this is a really great 0:10:49.800 --> 0:10:53.559 time of the cycle to try something new because you 0:10:53.640 --> 0:10:56.800 have confidence is going to support your decisions and also 0:10:56.840 --> 0:11:00.840 the new changes. So this dolphin season is literally like 0:11:00.880 --> 0:11:04.199 a dolphin. You're splashing around. It's like rainbows and butterflies. 0:11:04.240 --> 0:11:07.840 And think about the outer seasons here when it's spring 0:11:07.960 --> 0:11:10.920 outside of us, and knowing that you and I both 0:11:10.960 --> 0:11:14.400 in winter. When spring arrives in september's here and then 0:11:14.480 --> 0:11:17.319 you know we're moving into October here in the Southern hemisphere, 0:11:17.720 --> 0:11:21.160 people start to just be more joyful, you know, people 0:11:21.200 --> 0:11:23.400 start to like come more alive and they want to 0:11:23.440 --> 0:11:25.840 do more things, be more social, have more picnics, have 0:11:25.920 --> 0:11:28.480 more get togethers. And that's how we are in our 0:11:28.520 --> 0:11:29.160 cycle too. 0:11:29.520 --> 0:11:33.640 It's a wonderful analogy. I mean, that's the positive of it, 0:11:33.720 --> 0:11:35.719 you know. So yes, there'll be times where you need 0:11:35.760 --> 0:11:37.800 to listen to your body and wine things down, But 0:11:37.840 --> 0:11:39.800 the flip side is there are times when you'll be 0:11:39.800 --> 0:11:42.120 able to ramp things up. In fact, it's an opportune 0:11:42.200 --> 0:11:44.960 moment to ramp things up. I've really needed this. This 0:11:45.040 --> 0:11:47.800 has been great. Okay, we come out of the dolphin stage. 0:11:48.320 --> 0:11:49.160 We're in spring. 0:11:49.679 --> 0:11:52.160 I'm assuming we now go into summer. 0:11:52.240 --> 0:11:57.280 Your assumption is correct. Okay, Summer is the season of ovulation. 0:11:57.440 --> 0:12:01.280 It's the shortest season of the cycle. Think about summer 0:12:01.280 --> 0:12:04.160 in the outer world. You know, when summer comes, it's like, 0:12:04.200 --> 0:12:08.480 oh my god, finally some warm weather. You've got days 0:12:08.480 --> 0:12:09.960 where you just want to be at the beach. The 0:12:10.000 --> 0:12:12.400 sun sets really late because the day late savings, and 0:12:12.440 --> 0:12:15.200 so in Chinese medicine, they actually call the summer season 0:12:15.240 --> 0:12:18.040 the fire season, and that's the season where you just 0:12:18.240 --> 0:12:20.040 want to do it all. Yeah, you have all this 0:12:20.280 --> 0:12:21.720 energy and you're like, Okay, I'm going to do this 0:12:21.720 --> 0:12:22.959 in the morning, and then I have this plan for 0:12:23.080 --> 0:12:24.360 lunchtime and the dinner we're going to do this, and 0:12:24.360 --> 0:12:26.160 then after dinner we're going to go see these people. 0:12:26.720 --> 0:12:29.360 And so summer is very much like that with your 0:12:29.520 --> 0:12:31.679 energy and the way that you train or move your 0:12:31.720 --> 0:12:35.800 body is that it's like the peak. This summer time 0:12:36.520 --> 0:12:38.720 is where if you are a female and you're a 0:12:38.720 --> 0:12:40.760 mens strator, not on homon or birth control. But if 0:12:40.800 --> 0:12:43.080 you are a mens durator and you were trying to 0:12:43.160 --> 0:12:48.520 improve your speed, your agility, or your weightlifting, this is 0:12:48.559 --> 0:12:50.840 the time that you want to really peak or aim 0:12:50.920 --> 0:12:53.120 to peak for that in your session. So let's just 0:12:53.120 --> 0:12:55.920 say you do group training. This is the time you 0:12:56.000 --> 0:12:58.800 know in yourself to up to up your weights or 0:12:58.840 --> 0:13:02.160 to push yourself a little bit harder. So that summer 0:13:02.200 --> 0:13:05.000 time I call there's two animals for this time. The 0:13:05.000 --> 0:13:07.640 first one is the peacock. You know, women love showing 0:13:07.679 --> 0:13:10.760 themselves off at this season, and that's because their peak 0:13:10.880 --> 0:13:13.640 fertility is occurring at this particular time and they are 0:13:13.679 --> 0:13:17.079 putting themselves out there. That's when women want to be seen. 0:13:17.160 --> 0:13:20.439 They feel sassier, they feel sexier. I also sometimes call 0:13:20.520 --> 0:13:25.080 this the Beyonce phase because that's how you feel in summer. 0:13:26.040 --> 0:13:29.280 And the second animal is the lioness. Now, this is 0:13:29.280 --> 0:13:34.079 a really important important part here is the lioness phase 0:13:34.440 --> 0:13:39.160 is very much about the prow It's about the leadership, 0:13:39.240 --> 0:13:43.000 but it's also about the don't f and tell me 0:13:43.080 --> 0:13:46.000 what to do because I know my body so well. 0:13:46.400 --> 0:13:50.280 But I like to also share the lioness because a 0:13:50.320 --> 0:13:53.360 lot of women don't recognize that they can be a 0:13:53.440 --> 0:13:57.480 b tch sometimes too, And a lot of society says, well, 0:13:57.480 --> 0:14:00.880 that's when you're pre minstrual. However, if there is something 0:14:01.120 --> 0:14:04.160 underlying going on in your life and you haven't addressed it, 0:14:04.760 --> 0:14:07.120 let's just say you've had a challenging conversation with someone 0:14:07.120 --> 0:14:09.480 at work and they've been itching at you behind your 0:14:09.480 --> 0:14:11.280 back and you want to just tell them where to go. 0:14:11.960 --> 0:14:13.920 If you haven't dealt with that, when you have your 0:14:14.000 --> 0:14:17.880 peak of confidence and you're ready to show the world 0:14:17.880 --> 0:14:21.240 who you are, when you're ovulating, that side's going to 0:14:21.280 --> 0:14:23.000 come out too. And that's why I like to throw 0:14:23.040 --> 0:14:26.000 it in as the liones, is that you can really 0:14:27.520 --> 0:14:30.880 put your stance there. And so for people in heterosexual couples, 0:14:31.480 --> 0:14:33.360 is that this is where women are most likely going 0:14:33.360 --> 0:14:36.520 to convince their male partners to buy a house, or 0:14:37.200 --> 0:14:39.600 you know, let's get married on this particular day, or 0:14:40.280 --> 0:14:43.440 convince them of something that otherwise they wouldn't be as 0:14:43.480 --> 0:14:47.640 convincing in sharing. So this ovulatory time is where we're 0:14:47.680 --> 0:14:50.960 really full, like summer, and it can be hot, it 0:14:51.000 --> 0:14:55.080 can be fiery, and it only lasts three or four days, 0:14:55.080 --> 0:14:58.400 so it's quite a short season, but when you're aware 0:14:58.400 --> 0:15:01.240 of that and you're training PBS and all of that, 0:15:01.280 --> 0:15:03.240 it can be a really really powerful time. 0:15:04.200 --> 0:15:04.600 Love that. 0:15:04.800 --> 0:15:07.800 I mean, the animal analogy too, is just bloody brilliant. 0:15:07.840 --> 0:15:08.560 I'm not going to lie. 0:15:08.600 --> 0:15:11.160 I really paint such a vivid bitchure. 0:15:11.200 --> 0:15:14.120 I love it all right, let's thank you, Let's do autumn. 0:15:14.360 --> 0:15:18.080 So autumn is the longest phase of the cycle for 0:15:18.160 --> 0:15:22.840 those who have a consistently healthy length cycle. But autumn 0:15:22.880 --> 0:15:25.600 is generally the longest. It's like eleven to fourteen days 0:15:25.600 --> 0:15:28.280 in length, so it's like around half the length of 0:15:28.320 --> 0:15:31.000 the cycle. In the medicine world or the medical world, 0:15:31.000 --> 0:15:34.560 we call that the louteal phase of the cycle, and 0:15:34.560 --> 0:15:37.680 that's because of the lutinizing hormone and progesterone. So this 0:15:37.720 --> 0:15:41.360 is the progesterone dominant part of the cycle. So we've 0:15:41.400 --> 0:15:44.320 gone from the first half being focused around estrogen, the 0:15:44.400 --> 0:15:47.960 second half flips and all of a sudden focused around progesterone. 0:15:48.680 --> 0:15:55.960 That progesterone cycle is really more analytical, it's more disruptive. 0:15:56.120 --> 0:15:58.440 We have a big peak and then we have a 0:15:58.440 --> 0:16:02.320 big dip, and so so this particular phase of your cycle, 0:16:02.600 --> 0:16:04.800 I call this the turtle phase. It's where you're like, 0:16:04.840 --> 0:16:06.040 you want to be out in the world, and then 0:16:06.080 --> 0:16:07.200 you don't want to be out of the world. You 0:16:07.240 --> 0:16:08.200 want to be out in the world, and then you 0:16:08.240 --> 0:16:09.440 don't want to be out in the world. And so 0:16:10.040 --> 0:16:13.720 after summer has finished, so Southern Hemispherians, this is where 0:16:13.760 --> 0:16:15.800 like February March comes and people like, I don't want 0:16:15.800 --> 0:16:17.880 to deal with autumn. I just want someone to keep going. 0:16:17.920 --> 0:16:20.280 I've loved summer, I love the heat, I love the fire. 0:16:20.400 --> 0:16:22.960 I just want this more. And so instead of them 0:16:23.000 --> 0:16:25.320 dealing with autumn, they go traveling overseas where it's hotter. 0:16:26.120 --> 0:16:28.600 And that's because a lot of the you know, the 0:16:28.680 --> 0:16:31.960 people in the world, unless you love the cold, avoid autumn. 0:16:32.200 --> 0:16:34.240 And so that's the same and said to be true 0:16:34.240 --> 0:16:36.760 in our mental cycle is that we've just gone through 0:16:36.760 --> 0:16:41.000 this huge lead up, like amazing spring and fantastic summer, 0:16:41.000 --> 0:16:43.720 and then we're like, oh, autumn, great, what do we 0:16:43.800 --> 0:16:46.600 do here? This is where you want to take your 0:16:46.640 --> 0:16:51.480 training and your movement outside, balancing with natural fresh air 0:16:52.000 --> 0:16:53.760 being on the ground. So whether it's on the beach 0:16:53.880 --> 0:16:56.960 or in a park, or going hiking or riding your bike, 0:16:57.120 --> 0:17:00.800 like being outside in the elements is very very grounding 0:17:01.000 --> 0:17:04.600 for women in their pre menstrual, post of litory, autumn 0:17:04.600 --> 0:17:07.879 phase of their cycle. So I call this at the 0:17:08.000 --> 0:17:11.280 long and strong movement. So this is where you are 0:17:11.320 --> 0:17:14.800 more likely to do, like if we use weights as 0:17:14.800 --> 0:17:18.560 an example, you're more likely to do maybe a heavier 0:17:18.680 --> 0:17:22.080 weight and less reps as opposed to light away and 0:17:22.200 --> 0:17:25.040 faster reps. And so this is where the body wants 0:17:25.040 --> 0:17:28.720 that long and strong style movement. And that's because our 0:17:28.720 --> 0:17:32.520 body is really getting all the things done in preparation 0:17:32.840 --> 0:17:36.919 for the bear to hibernate in the cave. And so 0:17:37.400 --> 0:17:39.359 when we think about the menstrual cave, we want to 0:17:39.440 --> 0:17:41.560 kind of get all the things done. So for women, 0:17:41.840 --> 0:17:44.120 this is where you might notice this in your wife. 0:17:44.400 --> 0:17:46.359 I'm just going to clean the cutlery drawer and then 0:17:46.359 --> 0:17:51.080 all of a sudden, the whole kitchens redecorated, and you're like, what, Like, 0:17:51.200 --> 0:17:53.160 I was gone for five minutes, what just happened? 0:17:53.840 --> 0:17:54.359 So true? 0:17:54.600 --> 0:17:57.560 Yeah, and so that's that same like our brain, So 0:17:57.880 --> 0:18:00.680 like the chemicals in our brain around these hormones are 0:18:00.720 --> 0:18:04.679 triggered about finishing everything off and preparing for our winter. 0:18:04.880 --> 0:18:08.200 And that's what harvesting and autumn's all about. So try 0:18:08.200 --> 0:18:11.000 to make at least a plan once a cycle, in 0:18:11.040 --> 0:18:13.200 this time of your cycle to go out in nature. 0:18:14.680 --> 0:18:16.960 And that's why I kind of call it that turtle phase. 0:18:17.040 --> 0:18:20.359 It's that in between both worlds as you get ready 0:18:20.400 --> 0:18:23.479 to transition into what we call the you know, the 0:18:23.520 --> 0:18:25.919 rebirth of the cycle, and that's where we get to 0:18:26.320 --> 0:18:28.879 literally taper. And I just want to wrap up by 0:18:28.920 --> 0:18:33.040 saying that, imagine if men every single four weeks they 0:18:33.080 --> 0:18:36.439 got an opportunity for three days to just veg the 0:18:36.680 --> 0:18:39.600 f out and not have to answer to anybody and 0:18:39.680 --> 0:18:42.760 not have to reply or respond or turn up like 0:18:42.840 --> 0:18:47.480 they would be much stronger, you know, supportive men. Women 0:18:47.560 --> 0:18:49.720 are the same. We are going to be stronger and 0:18:49.840 --> 0:18:54.800 supportive women if we get that time to nurture ourselves 0:18:54.960 --> 0:18:58.600 and allow ourselves to, you know, step into what do 0:18:58.680 --> 0:19:00.480 I need right now? And how am I going to 0:19:00.480 --> 0:19:03.040 support myself? And what would I do differently compared to 0:19:03.119 --> 0:19:06.040 last cycle. So I got round about this forever, but 0:19:06.359 --> 0:19:08.600 I think I think that's the summary you're looking for. 0:19:09.200 --> 0:19:13.040 I absolutely love it, and I keep thinking when you 0:19:13.200 --> 0:19:17.320 understand it, you can work with it so much better. 0:19:17.640 --> 0:19:20.440 If you don't understand it, which, to be honest, after 0:19:20.480 --> 0:19:23.800 twenty two years in the industry, until the last forty minutes, 0:19:23.800 --> 0:19:26.560 I didn't realize how little I did understand it. This 0:19:26.680 --> 0:19:28.040 analogy has been just brilliant. 0:19:28.760 --> 0:19:31.199 We'll leave it there, Gemma, as much as we could go, 0:19:31.280 --> 0:19:31.840 I'm sure. 0:19:31.720 --> 0:19:34.200 Down many many other rabbit holes and visit many other 0:19:34.240 --> 0:19:39.080 animals bears, dolphins, peacock's, lionessa's turtles and the life I've 0:19:39.119 --> 0:19:41.920 loved it. Where can our listeners find you? And where 0:19:41.960 --> 0:19:44.040 can they find out a bit more about what you do? 0:19:44.040 --> 0:19:47.040 Because I'm sure as much as you've helped thousands of 0:19:47.080 --> 0:19:50.320 people today, you've probably also spiked the interest of many 0:19:50.880 --> 0:19:51.720 of those as well. 0:19:51.760 --> 0:19:53.960 To find out a bit more? Where can people find you? 0:19:54.200 --> 0:19:57.200 Thanks Sam? The first step I actually recommend for everyone 0:19:57.200 --> 0:19:59.040 if you're listening to this the way to get to 0:19:59.119 --> 0:20:01.399 really know wh where am I in my cycle and 0:20:01.440 --> 0:20:04.159 what phase am I in? Is I actually have on 0:20:04.200 --> 0:20:07.400 my website it's a free menstrual cycle tracker. It's principal. 0:20:07.440 --> 0:20:12.080 It comes with video guides on the seasons on what like, 0:20:12.160 --> 0:20:13.800 how to use it, how to use it if you're 0:20:13.880 --> 0:20:16.960 on hormonal contraception, how to use it if you're pregnant, 0:20:16.960 --> 0:20:18.560 how to use it if you don't have your period 0:20:18.600 --> 0:20:21.879 at the moment for whatever medical or health reason. If 0:20:21.920 --> 0:20:24.320 you just go to Welson, which is we double L 0:20:24.480 --> 0:20:28.680 S O M E dot com forward slash l y 0:20:29.000 --> 0:20:31.320 C for Love your Cycle, and you're just it's a 0:20:31.320 --> 0:20:33.639 free download, so people can just get that access it 0:20:33.680 --> 0:20:36.080 as much as they want. Once you've got it, you 0:20:36.080 --> 0:20:38.280 can revisit and download as much as you want. But 0:20:38.640 --> 0:20:42.199 that's the best place to start. Welson Underscore GEMI Lee 0:20:42.480 --> 0:20:46.800 j E m A LW on Instagram. I love talking 0:20:46.800 --> 0:20:52.320 about this topic to all because it's it's it's awakening. 0:20:52.400 --> 0:20:55.360 People hear it and they're like, oh my god, I've 0:20:55.400 --> 0:20:58.719 been feeling this like. It's not a teaching, it's a remembering. 0:20:59.000 --> 0:21:01.520 So that's where they can find me to learn more. 0:21:01.800 --> 0:21:03.000 Thanks so much, Sam. 0:21:02.840 --> 0:21:04.840 Thank you so so much. I love that you've got 0:21:04.840 --> 0:21:07.160