This question is for the ladies

It's entirely personal.
Menstruation isn't an illness or ailment but I understand that some women suffer more with pain, bloating, mood swings etc so may not feel in the mood to exercise but I really can't see that it would do anyone any harm.
I exercise regardless of what TOM it is but I'm quite lucky in that I only get cramps for the 1st day or 2 but never strong enough to keep me down.
In a nutshell, there's no right or wrong, just do what you feel is best for yourself.

I always exercise during my period. If I feel particularly awful I will just take it a bit easier. I usually feel better afterwards, it helps with the cramps and bloating and irritability!

You know what, on the weekend I read that certain parts of the cycle might incline us to greater injury risk! Links at that topic:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/742202-menstrual-cycle-related-to-injury-risk-what-the-what

We may have:

- Poorer motor control during menstruation
- Increased ligament/tendon laxity & impaired muscle recovery (during ovulation), thanks to estrogen & other hormones

I am often amazed (and sometimes annoyed) by the things our bodies do behind our backs.

I exercise but I go easy on myself. If I feel like working harder then I do. Depending on the day of the cycle, sometimes it makes me feel better, but at the beginning..not a chance!

I also do not weigh myself that week. I just know better~:)

I usually take 2 days off when it's heavy, other than that I am good to go.

Peronally, there are at least 2 days out of my "cycle" each mos that I'm certain that I would NOT do ANYTHING; however, I think it depends on each individual. Most ppl can atleast "walk"--you know what your body can handle and what it can't; I would say just listen to your body.

All materials I have read have pointed to one answer, yes you still need to be active. You might not strength train but you need to go on a walk. Exercise helps the body handle menstration as well as drinking plenty of water. I know it might suck but it does help energize the body and take some of that feeling away. I will be on day one of menstruation and I will still make it to my zumba classes because I know my body feels better afterwords.

Totally personal interpretation. It's going to REALLY depend on your age range, body type and health, and mental place in your life.

Teenagers and women who've never had kids are likely going to have more intense periods physically, because of the different hormone levels, and it's harder to exercise. I know when I was a teenager, I had cramps so bad I couldn't even get out of bed, even though I wanted to. I literally COULDN'T exercise because I couldn't even walk.

Now that I've had a child, they're much easier physically, but I'm much more exhausted mentally, and have to really work to get the energy up to just get into the workout. I know that when I don't exercise during my period, though, I really feel like crap. If I exercise, I still feel not-so-great, and I'm still tired and all that , but I feel less like crap and less tired than I would if I didn't work up a sweat and get my blood going.

Really, there's no physical reason why the average women shouldn't work out during their period, but just because there isn't, doesn't mean that some women don't need more of a mental break during that time than other people. If you feel like that break is good for you, don't worry about it.

I try to stick to my schedule. That being said, I get really bad ones sometimes and have literally can't do anything (mostly in bed and have even had to call out of work). When that happens I take it easy, drink lots of water and when it lightens back up I go right back to my routine. I try not to let it slow me down too much.

If I'm just crampy or irritable I make myself exercise because it does help with those symptoms.

I have started to take it as a rest period, learned this in yoga. Apparently inversions are bad for your flow. I also surf before or after work (prime feeding time), so for that reason I've been slowing down during my period. I'm pretty active so I use this as a time to clean house, catch up with friends, everything I'm usually too busy for.

I still work out, but I know if I have a particularly bad cycle - and they do happen even with normal healthy women, though I personally have PCOS so do not have normal cycles - it will not be a great workout. This week was the first week since I've been running that I had a bad one and happened to be running on day 1; I wish I had decided to do an easier run, but I don't regret having worked out.