It' A Girl Thing

PMS. It happens. Mood swings, bloating, cravings, lethargy, cramps, achy muscles. Sometimes being a girl sucks, but we've been singing that tune for some time now. What PMS looks like for me is laziness, salt/sugar combo cravings and cramps (sometimes my joints ache too).

So last night when the line between knowing I should go to the gym and feeling too cramptastic to actually get my butt there, was blurred, I took to Twitter. There were multiple excuses all lined up on my lips waiting for the right moment; my choices were Hardcore (which I haven't played in quite some time) or TRX (which I'm not really a fan of), my cramps were getting worse, Shawn was home and we could all lay on the couch together, I was tired, it would probably be more fun to go to Walmart to replenish my glitter glue supply. So Brenda told me to get there because she was going to be there. Jo said she was playing. All of a sudden two people, who probably wouldn't let me gracefully or quietly not show up, kind of expect me at the gym. Where's my shoes?
Drive to the gym: ugly. Warmup: feeling heavy and oofy and yucky. Then Hardcore starts and....sweating, exerting, laughing, almost puking, stretching, hopping, (silently) cursing. No cramps. No "omg, I want to curl up in the fetal position and watch My Girl and cry because he needs his glasses and pass the bowl of popcorn with peanut butter m&m's scattered throughout!". Working out felt good. It felt amazing, mentally, that I pushed through excuses that would have stopped me not long ago. It felt awesome to workout with two women who are strong and smart and KEEP UP with them. It felt fantastic to stretch and move my body when it really needed it the most.
If you use PMS or a heavy day as an excuse to skip your workout, rethink it. Working out while PMS'y can increase your energy, it's a distraction, it can reduce bloating, it boosts circulation which makes you look and feel better, it speeds up your metabolism which can help control cravings (after you've just worked out, you are less likely to jump into something processed), and the endorphins that are released while working out can help with stabilizing mood swings. The effects of one workout aren't likely to last throughout an entire cycle, but they can alleviate some symptoms. Pretty good reason to get to the gym.