Menstruation based training – no evidence
One More Time For The People In The Back
1) There is insufficient high-quality evidence to confirm or refute universal menstrual cycle phase based responses in [sports]women This is more than a lack of consensus amongst the scientific community, this is a lack of credible data
2) This means that [sports]women should establish their own ovarian hormone profiles through a combination of subjective AND objective measures. The objective measures are mandatory for actual [rather than guessed] profiles and subsequent phases. – please remember that the menstrual cycle is just one of the ovarian hormone profiles that [sports]women can experience
3) Only then can [sports]woman truly test/monitor their individual responses to fluctuations in oestrogen and progesterone. This needs to be done over multiple timepoints/cycles. Please remember that not all [sports]women are affected by their ovarian hormones.
4) If changes in response to fluctuations in oestrogen and progesterone are noted, action can be taken to mitigate against [adverse changes] or leverage [positive changes] these responses – please remember that medals have been won, and records set, on every day of the menstrual cycle and across all ovarian hormone profiles.
5) There is no such thing as menstrual cycle phased based training. This is a social media thing and is NOT a scientific concept.
6) Female athletes [sport practitioners and researchers]: learn about your [your athletes] bodies and listen to them – it’s what all good athletes [practitioner/researchers] do. Train for the demands of your sport. Fuel for the demands of your sport. TRAIN AS ATHLETES.
Lets stop talking about training women as women. What does this mean and what is it based on? No one is talking about training men as men. TRAIN AS ATHLETES. If you do this, ovarian hormone profiles will automatically be included, same as every other aspect of your physiology is.
Don’t use bad practices or bad practitioners as an excuse for bad science. Something is not always better than nothing. Equality is not equity.