LADIES ONLY!! PLEASE!!

I did. I cramp unbelievably the first couple days, but I made myself anyways. I hurt later, but I felt so much better that I didn't use that as an excuse. I'm still on, and still working out.

Too much cardio makes me dizzy and weak because my cramps/nausea are so bad. The first 2 days I pretty much can only walk for my form of exercise but I make sure to drink enough H2O to make me pee every 10 minutes and that helps a little. Good luck!

I do the routine, but not as vigorous.
Usually, I go through 24oz of water on a normal day (during a workout), at TOM I double it.
I used to get crippling cramps and could barely function through the routine at the lightest setting. As the weight has come off, the cramps have lightened up. I still take an Ibuprofen about an hour beforehand though.
By the end of the workout, I feel like King Kong!!!
Even if I'd rather be sleeping :laugh:

Good luck to you! I hope someone has a useful tip for you.

P.S. Before starting to lose the weight, TOM lasted 7 days solid. Now (right around 40lbs lost total) that punk is down to FIVE!!!

I hate getting my period it's so annoying but i try to excersice and i feel much better then i would sitting around the house, when i get my period i like to play soccer and baseball with my friends and i also like playing other sports and being active instead of sitting on the couch complaining about how much pain i'm in. I think it helps to take my mind off of it!

I know it's crazy to some but I feel much better if I workout. I know it's hard and somedays it's near impossible but I'm always happy afterwards.

It's funny that it works, but it does. ^This, always!

I still do my workout, I just do it A LOT slower. rofl

I do something because I feel better afterwards! If you really don't feel like doing intense cardio, there are some yoga moves which help with cramps. Do something light like that, and you may feel better and have less pain!

Movement and exercise actually help to relieve cramps. It's hard to break past that first wall, but the activity will help them go away faster.

You should also avoid carbohydrates, which make cramps worse.

I wasn't aware of that, thank you!

it's always helped my cramps but recently I stopped taking my b/c and I'm God aweful tired & SO emotional that all I want to do is cry like a baby in the corner the first 2 days. It sucks but I do find that the exercise helps that a little as well.

If I make myself do it, it relieves my cramps & bloat and gives me energy....

I never exercise during any part of my period where I am bleeding enough to require more than a super tiny pad. I am on BC because my cramps reached a point where they caused me to pass out in pain and I was refractory to all OTC pain meds. Even with the pills I find that if I try to exercise during my period my cramps get exponentially worse. My first 2 days are the worst by far. I try not to move away from my heating pad on those days.

All that said, I find regular exercise when I'm NOT on my period makes it shorter and lighter.

Ps. Midol never worked for me. Only heating pads make a difference and not big enough to allow me freedom of movement for more than a minute. So the idea of "pop a pain killer and do it" would NEVER work in my case. Believe me, I tried and ended up groaning on the floor. I also know one of my friends with ovarian cysts would not try to exercise during least she be laid up for an extra day. Another friend with ovarian cysts always exercises during her period because it helps pop them. I think it really depends on the woman.

Mine has never been that bad, but now that I started lifting it has gone from 4 days a week to 2 days per week.....and well I love it!!

I've probably said this 100 times before on MFP but here goes, again. Women who don't have real, hardcore cramps are probably the only one who say that nonsense that exercise helps cramps. No, it doesn't. Not for me at least. Or any of the women in my family. And I workout 6 days a week normally. I just don't even try on Day 1 anymore.

Sitting still and taking Advil works (Ibuprofen in a prostaglandin inhibitor, so it works, unlike Midol.)

My cramps are exacerbated by exercise, which makes sense because your uterus is a MUSCLE, DUH! I also get the nausea and headache, etc.

Skip the first day and ignore these people who say it helps. If you have real hardcore cramps IT. DOES. NOT. Period (no pun intended.)

I seem to be one of the few that doesn't workout for the first couple of days. I should say, though, with endometriosis, my cramps are often times delibitating, and I usually get sick to my stomach for the entire first day. So working out, for me, I've found generally makes a bad day worse. Mine usually only lasts for about 3-4 days, though, so once the first two days are done, I'm good to go.