Build Momentum Toward Consistent Exercise Habits in the Ovulatory Phase
As we continue exploring how habit formation changes with the menstrual cycle, we’ll take a closer look at the ovulatory phase. In case you missed it, check out the follicular phase post to learn why starting a new routine early in the cycle can create long-term habits that stick!
Ovulation is marked by a dramatic, albeit brief surge in estrogen, paired with a similarly short, but less intense surge of testosterone. As a result, the verbal and social centers in your brain come alive making you feel more energetic and inclined toward outward expression.
The ovulatory phase is a very powerful time for menstruating women. This mid-cycle inflection point is a time to capitalize on your brain chemistry and continue building the foundations of a strong exercise habit.
Estrogen and testosterone awaken the verbal and social centers in your brain making you feel more energetic and inclined toward outward expression during ovulation. This phase is when your brain is ripe with language—use it to your advantage!
Say It Out Loud
With estrogen peaking, your ability to interpret and recall verbal information is heightened whereas spatial navigation becomes more of a challenge. [4]
With verbal memory optimized, consider writing your workouts out on paper and referring to them during your session.
With regards to a new habit, it might be harder to pick up new patterns during this estrogenic transition, but you’ll be more attuned to verbal cues and instruction from a coach or teacher. This is a great time to try a group fitness session or use your own language to teach a friend what you’ve been working on.
Talk about your new habit with friends and loved ones to enroll them in your success. Literally say it out loud during your practice in the form of mantra, self-guided form checks, or words of encouragement.
The ovulatory phase is when your brain is ripe with language—use it to your advantage!
Stack Your Habit
One common way to reinforce a new habit is to stack it with either something you want to do or something you have to do.
For example:
You want to listen to another chapter of your audiobook—do this while you’re working out.
You want to catch up with your best friend—invite her on a walk around the neighborhood.
You want a cup of tea—meditate for 5 minutes while the water boils.
You have to take your dog for a walk—use this as a warm-up for your workout.
You have to do laundry—use the wash time to wrap up anything you might be working on and prep for your workout and then use the drying time for your session.
You have to take biorhythm breaks—add 30 squats after every trip to the bathroom.
With energy levels typically higher during the ovulatory phase, habit-stacking may come more easily and feel like less of a hurdle.
Remember, you can create big change with little effort when you accumulate multiple habit-forming opportunities throughout your day.
Imagine the woman you want to be. Think of what her daily life, her habits, and routines would be. Start showing up to those habits and routines, start building them, step by step, day by day.
You don’t become her by magic. You build her. Start building.
—Jamie Varon
Identify Your Hook
As we identified in the follicular phase, estrogen activates the reward centers of the brain.
In the estrogenic transition that occurs during ovulation, it’s important to get to the root desire driving your movement habit. You must understand and define the reward you get from showing up to help make the habit stick.
Try this ➞ Jot down what motivates you and be as detailed as possible. Instead of simply writing, “I want to feel better,” perhaps it’s something like, “I want to have energy to play with my dog after work” or “I want to be in a good mood when I wake up.”
Make it personal and make it specific.
The reward may not always be obvious at first. For instance, you may feel tired during the first week of early-morning workouts as your body adjusts to the new routine. However, after a few weeks, when you notice you’re sleeping better and your energy levels improve, that becomes the reward you show up for.
Beware of extrinsic rewards—validation/praise from outside yourself—and focus instead on the intrinsic driver behind moving your body. Once you find something that keeps you coming back, the practice becomes something you look forward to and the habit forms itself.
Here is a feel-good workout for the ovulatory phase that I always look forward to!
Up next: put your unstoppable exercise habit to the test in the luteal phase!
Vitti, A. (2020). In the Flo: Unlock Your Hormonal Advantage and Revolutionize Your Life. HarperCollins Publishers.
Hausmann, M., Slabbekoorn, D., Van Goozen, S. H., Cohen-Kettenis, P. T., & Güntürkün, O. (2000). Sex hormones affect spatial abilities during the menstrual cycle. Behavioral neuroscience, 114(6), 1245–1250. https://doi.org/10.1037//0735-7044.114.6.1245
J.C. Dreher, P.J. Schmidt, P. Kohn, D. Furman, D. Rubinow, K.F. Berman Menstrual cycle phase modulates reward-related neural function in women PNAS, 104 (2007), pp. 2465-2470, 10.1073/pnas.0605569104
Dema Hussain, Sarah Hanafi, Kyoko Konishi, Wayne G. Brake, Véronique D. Bohbot. Modulation of spatial and response strategies by phase of the menstrual cycle in women tested in a virtual navigation task. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2016; 70: 108 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.05.008
