Train smarter with Jessica Ennis-Hill

Jennis, the workout app from Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, claims that you can build up to 15 per cent of extra lean muscle if you focus on resistance and strength training in the first half of your menstrual cycle. And it’s all thanks to cycle mapping.

Cycle mapping is a scientific method of adapting your fitness routine to your menstrual cycle for maximum physical and psychological benefits – and the Olympic champion swears by it.

The workout app Jennis breaks down the different phases of a menstrual cycle, and personalises your fitness regime accordingly. Try an Intense Lower Body Blast during the luteal phase or a Back Tension Reliever during the premenstrual phase – Ennis-Hill herself will be your guide.

“It’s so important to be able to tap into who you are and how you are best suited to exercise at certain times,” she says. “Understanding our hormones and how to exercise best as women can be powerful.”

Read on for Ennis-Hill’s top tips on how to train at your best and move with your hormones.

“We often get stuck doing the same style of workouts. But if we adapt the activity that we do in those different phases, you get an added advantage of doing the right thing at the right time. Jennis basically prescribes you with the right kind of exercise to do in the right phases, and it just adds to that variety. It’s a really essential and clever way to exercise.”

“Having some kind of plan and structure to what you do definitely helps – sticking with one exercise like running or high-intensity [workouts] everyday is not necessarily the most beneficial way of exercising. Try lots of different ways to move your body and see what works for you during certain times.”

“So many of us go through our cycles thinking, ‘Oh, this is just something that happens,’ and you have to get on with it. But if you understand your individual cycle more, you can compare and contrast from month to month – then you become in control of how you feel and adapt the way you move your body. That’s a massive motivating factor for me and helps me keep focus.”

“It’s all about understanding the symptoms that you experience through the month and your mood levels. For example, in your luteal phase, if you were to push too hard – like high-intensity sessions – there’s research that says you’re more likely to pick up injuries and have issues. When you’re armed with this knowledge, you’re more in tune with your body.”

“So many of us get stuck in that feeling that we can’t rest, when our bodies are saying, ‘I don’t feel 100 per cent up to it.’

[When that happens to me] I’m either going to rest and allow my body to recover or I’m going to do something really low level – 10 or 20 minutes, just moving my body in some way. The app is an amazing tool to help you understand that rest and recovery is key.”

Jennis: Women's movement coach
The hormone intelligence app
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