An athlete’s menstrual cycle can provide a lot of important information about their overall health, including whether they’re getting the proper nutrition, training too hard, and if their bones are getting what they need to be as strong as possible.
Some athletes, especially those in sports that emphasize leanness, may believe that not having periods (amenorrhea) will help them go from normalcy to excellence. In fact, amenorrhea can be a sign of relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S), a syndrome of poor health and declining athletic performance that happens when athletes do not get enough fuel through food to support the energy demands of their daily lives and training.
How your menstrual cycle can impact exercise and athletic training?
There are two main phases of the menstrual cycle: The follicular phase happens during the first half of your cycle. The luteal phase is the second half of your cycle. These two halves feature distinctly different hormone levels, with lower levels during the follicular phase and higher levels during the luteal phase.
The follicular phase and athletic performance
With a lower level of hormones during the first phase of your menstrual cycle, your body is primed to maximize hard training efforts. This means your body is better able to access stored carbohydrates, making this an ideal time for high-intensity training. It’s also easier to build and maintain muscle, which means this is also a great time to emphasize muscle-building exercises.
The follicular phase starts with day one of your cycle. You’ve recently lost some blood, so your body has a greater need for iron. Also, due to the shedding of the uterine lining during this time, there are a few days of increased inflammation. But during this lower hormone phase, hydration is easier, and you have a more even, cooler body temperature.
The luteal phase and athletic performance
During the back half of your menstrual cycle, your body is preparing for your next period or pregnancy, if you happened to conceive during this cycle. This means your hormones are running at a higher level, due to an increase in estrogen and progesterone. More hormones mean a decrease in anabolic, or muscle-building, capacity. This means that it’s time to take it easier, focusing on lower-intensity workouts with more recovery time.
Also, rather than being able to easily access stored carbohydrates, your increase in hormones has that energy locked up tight. Now, your body needs fuel from extra carbs and calories from the outside (that is, your plate). Plus, your body also needs more water during the luteal phase – more hormones means a greater risk of dehydration.
Missed periods (amenorrhea) may be caused by stress, under-nutrition, or over-exercise — all of which can lead to something called functional hypothalamic amenorrhea. Other causes of secondary amenorrhea include polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), pituitary abnormalities, and thyroid dysfunction, among others.
The following circumstances are potential causes of concern and should be evaluated by a doctor:
- a young woman has not gotten her period by the age of 15, or within five years of breast development
- a young woman misses three or more consecutive cycles after her first menstrual cycle
Menstrual Cycle-Based Training Program
Strength can be developed by overloading the neuromuscular system through resistance training program. Recently, there is a discussion that training program which is optimized according to the athletes’ menstrual cycle would be more beneficial. Estradiol enhances the ability of muscle fibers to produce force, which is a skeletal muscle’s intrinsic quality.
Therefore, it is crucial to know that the female athletes may adjust their resistance training individually in connection to their menstrual cycle when creating periodized resistance training regimens.
