When you're on your period it can be tempting to cancel all plans and lie low with a hot water bottle for a couple of days.
But the team at Bodyform are on a mission to help us enjoy fitness at all points during our menstrual cycle.
Their new campaign video features runners with scraped knees, boxers with bloody noses and ballet dancers with raw toes, with the ultimate message that "no blood should hold us back".
The advert marks the launch of their 'Red.Fit' campaign, which aims to tackle "the last taboo" in women's sport by empowering women to keep active while on their periods.
The brand has teamed up with sports scientist Georgie Bruinvels to create the Red.Fit hub - an online space offering women the information they need in order to feel energised and motivated throughout the month.
"Because there’s a lack of information about the female body and how it changes during our menstrual cycle, women are often held back from knowing why and how to keep active throughout the entirety of their cycle,” says Bruinvels.
The hub, created in partnership with St. Mary’s University, Twickenham, and University College London, is split up into four sections: bleed, peak, burn and fight.
Each section represents a stage our body goes through during our menstrual cycle.
At each of these stages our hormone levels (in particular, oestrogen and progesterone) are constantly changing, so we feel different, mentally and physically, at different times.
The hub offers tips for each stage, such as what exercises to do during 'bleed' to ease stomach cramps and what food to eat during 'burn' to keep yourself fuelled for working out.
The team at Frame gyms, natural fast food restaurant Leon and performance coach Faye Downey all participate in articles and videos.
Bruinvels is currently two years into her PHD looking into the effect of the menstrual cycle on women’s health and exercise and the hub will be regularly updated with easy-to-digest findings from her ongoing research.
“Joining with Bodyform to conduct research in this area is the first step towards empowering women to not to let anything, including their periods, hold them back from any kind of physical activity – no matter how big or small," she says.
Marketing director at Bodyform, Nicola Coronado, adds: “Menstruation really is 'the last taboo' for women in sport, simply because we lack knowledge and understanding of this subject area.
"Using our partnership with St. Mary’s University, Twickenham and UCL will help us to challenge these category stereotypes and transform the consumer mindset when it comes to the perceived barriers around periods and exercise."
