Mayo Clinic expert take: How your menstrual cycle affects your workouts

You know how hard it is to get to the gym on a bad period day. Cramps, fatigue, heavy bleeding and emotional roller coasters can all get in the way. But do you know how your cycle and your workouts affect each other even when you’re not bleeding?

Virginia Olsen, P.T., a wellness physical therapist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, sat down to talk about periods and exercise, and how they’re connected.

One week you could be crushing your workouts and feeling good. The next week you might feel slow and sluggish and have no idea why. No changes in your diet, sleep habits or stress level? It could be your hormones.