Experts: Cycle-Sync Workouts Are 'Marketing, Not Evidence' — SkimNews
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- Google searches for "cycle-syncing" rose 740% since 2022, with more than 55,000 TikTok videos using the #cyclesyncing hashtag, most shared by fitness and wellness creators rather than medical or research experts.
- Kelly McNulty, a researcher at Leeds Beckett University specialising in menstrual cycles and exercise, told the BBC there is "no research to support" phase-based exercise prescriptions, calling the trend "a trend based on marketing rather than any kind of research or evidence."
- Cycle-tracking apps and programmes are designed around regular 21-to-35-day menstrual cycles, making their recommendations less applicable to people with irregular periods or those using hormonal contraception.
- Dr Faye Bate, a medical doctor and women's health expert, warned that repeatedly telling women they are likely to be weaker or less capable at certain cycle points could create a "nocebo" effect where negative expectations themselves influence how someone feels or performs.
- McNulty cautioned that routinely easing off resistance training could limit strength progress, noting that strength training is particularly important for women given their higher risk of osteoporosis later in life.
- Both McNulty and Dr Bate advocated being "cycle-aware" — tracking individual patterns and tuning in to how you feel at different points — rather than following rigid, phase-based rules.
Why it matters: The viral #cyclesyncing trend has reached 55,000-plus TikTok posts and a 740% surge in Google searches since 2022, yet exercise physiologists say blanket phase-based workout prescriptions aren't grounded in research. Women may be unnecessarily limiting strength training — critical for osteoporosis prevention — based on marketing-driven guidance that ignores individual cycle variation.
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