How to exercise around your period: ultrarunning champion with ‘rock star arms’ teaches women to sync workouts with their menstrual cycle
- Natalie Dau’s life goal is to inspire people to live healthy lives. Her current focus is to help women train their bodies in sync with their menstrual cycles
- The 51-year-old, Singapore-based ultra-athlete explains how syncing your workouts with your cycle can optimise your performance
Natalie Dau was always sporty as a teenager in Perth, Western Australia. But the now-celebrated 51-year-old ultrarunner remembers being debilitated for a few days every month during her period.
“It was awful – I’ve had such bad experiences of lying on a footpath at 6am, mid-run, doubled over in pain when I’ve pushed too hard during my period,” she says over Zoom from Singapore, her home for the last two decades with her Welsh husband, Matt, and 14-year-old daughter, Lilliana.
“This was the catalyst for everything; I knew something had to change. Now I am super aware of my body and can better predict what may happen, and plan ahead according to what hormones will be in my system in that week.”
Dau, an accomplished athlete who has taken gold in eight ultra races in the women’s category, and represented Asia in the Spartan World Championships, has made it her life’s work to inspire more people to live healthy lives.
Bouncing back from those and after having a baby, she realised she had a natural ability for endurance racing. So she enlisted coaches and advisers to help her compete – and win.
