Self care: the best exercises to do whilst on your period.

How many of you are saying “exercise? On my period? Are ya kiddin’ me?!” We hear you, Moxette, we hear you… but it doesn’t have to be that way!

Exercising during period week can actually be a game-changer; it not only increases oxygen supply to your muscles, but it releases endorphins that generally make you feel more YAY than NAY. We’ve done our research and here are our MoxieHQ tried and tested exercise go-tos.

YOGA

Exercise doesn’t have to be intense to be effective - doing some light yoga can actually alleviate lower back pain, cramps and even the fatigue that you feel during your period.

SWIMMING

So it turns out you can still enjoy regular waves whilst riding the crimson one. We know that some of you wouldn’t even dream of going swimming whilst on your period - we’ve all had that nightmare where we bleed out into the pool and die it a lovely shade of period - but this is actually incredibly unlikely to happen because of the size and position of your vaginal cavity, as well as the counter-pressure of the water (AND, especially if you’re wearing a tampon).

In practice, with a trusty Moxie tampon in place and the calming flow of the water, we found that some light swimming actually helped to relieve our menstrual cramps and just generally made us feel better for moving (no pools were harmed during this experiment).

SEX

We kid you not, Moxette; having (consensual, safe) sex whilst on your period relieves all kinds of period woes. Getting frisky releases endorphins and oxytocin (often dubbed ‘the love hormone’) in our bodies which can improve our mood and reduce the perception of pain. Orgasms are also said to relieve period pain (find us a better excuse - we’ll wait).

HIIT

High intensity interval training (HIIT) is said to be more effective during your period and you burn more fat - the drop in your estrogen and progesterone levels during your period basically gives your body access to more fuel, which in turn actually helps you to push harder.

SCENIC WALKING

We say 'scenic' because regular walking is just – regular shmegular. Find a picturesque park, a not-too-intense hiking trail or your favourite stretch of beach... Walking is low impact, gets the blood pumping and isn’t too strenuous on the body. Totally manageable, especially in the early days of your cycle when you may not feel like doing a whole lot.

If you’re just feeling too bloaty, too ouchy, too gasy, too bleedy to do much at all, just lay low and go with your flow, Moxette. You’ll get your mojo back another day.