FITIV splits your cycle into four phases: Menstrual, Follicular, Ovulation, and Luteal. Here's what each one means, how FITIV calculates it, and what the research says about how it can affect your body.
What Happens in Each Phase?
- Menstrual — your period, when flow occurs
- Follicular — the stretch after your period, before ovulation
- Ovulation — the estimated midpoint of your cycle
- Luteal — the stretch after ovulation, before your next period
Your follicular phase is the one most likely to change length from cycle to cycle. Your luteal phase stays more consistent, since it's calculated as a fixed stretch counting back from your predicted next period. A longer period stretches your menstrual phase and shortens your follicular phase, it doesn't push your other phases later.
How Does My Phase Affect Recovery and Vitals?
Heart rate variability, a key recovery signal, tends to run higher during the follicular phase and lower during the luteal phase. This is one reason your Recovery data may look a little different depending on where you are in your cycle, without anything being wrong.
| ℹ️ Pro tip: Use your phase to help explain a Recovery or Strain reading that looks different than usual. It's a helpful lens, not a training rule. |
How Does My Phase Affect Training?
Some people feel a small dip in exercise performance early in the follicular phase, though this varies a lot from person to person and isn't consistent enough to build a training rule around. FITIV doesn't prescribe phase-based training plans. Use your phase as context for interpreting your own data, not as a fixed rule for how to train.
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FAQ's - Frequently Asked Questions
Should I train differently depending on my phase?
FITIV doesn't prescribe a training plan by phase. Use it as context for your own data, not a rule to follow.
Why does my luteal phase always show the same length while my follicular phase changes?
The luteal phase is calculated as a fixed stretch counting back from your predicted next period. Since your follicular phase fills whatever's left after your period and before ovulation, it's the phase that absorbs most of the variation.
Can I use my phase to plan around fertility?
No. FITIV's phase view gives context for training and recovery, not for fertility planning or birth control.
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- The FITIV Support Team