Video Transcription

Intro

It’s that time of the month. I know the ladies watching are probably like, “Yeah, I got you.” I feel like if this were a men’s issue, we’d have a million different ways to combat it. With women, there just needs to be more funding in this area.

Women playing sport isn’t a new thing — and neither is menstruation. But only now are we starting to talk about how the menstrual cycle impacts physical performance.

Normalising periods

This happens to around 50 percent of the population, so normalising it is a really big thing. There’s this idea that’s been driven into our heads that you don’t really talk about periods in public — like, don’t say the word “period” too loudly.

You can have training days where you feel on top of the world, like you could do anything, and then other days where you’re just thinking, “Get me out of here.”

I’ve had times where it’s literally state championships and my period is coming. It’s really tormenting, and I’ve had to miss out on competitions because of it.

What is a period?

To really explain why this matters, we need to start with what menstruation actually is. The main reason we have a menstrual cycle is to release an egg from the ovaries.

Eva is an exercise physiologist who specialises in women’s health, and she’s here to help us understand this very complex — and pretty impressive — monthly cycle.

She explains that we break the cycle down into four main phases. We start with our period, also known as the menstrual phase. During this time, when we see bleeding, hormones like estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone are typically at their lowest.

For some people, this phase can be really tough. From day one, the pain can be intense and long-lasting — not just an hour, but all night. Some people experience vomiting, exhaustion, and being completely bedridden. For many, the last place they want to be during their period is the gym. A light run might feel manageable, but weights or intense training can feel impossible.

Others find that during their period they don’t train at all because of fatigue and cramps. The pain can be so intense that even sitting upright feels hard.

Hormones and performance

As we move into the follicular phase, when bleeding stops, testosterone begins to increase. This is often when people feel stronger and have more energy. Leading up to ovulation, there’s a big surge in estrogen.

Estrogen actually helps with pain tolerance, so pain may feel more manageable during this phase. After ovulation, estrogen drops quite suddenly, which can affect how some people feel.

These hormonal changes affect everyone differently. For Abby, this stage of her cycle is particularly challenging.

She tracked her period for about six months and noticed that one to two weeks before her period, she would crash emotionally and physically. She felt depressed, struggled to get out of bed, and had some really difficult thoughts.

If pregnancy doesn’t occur, the body moves into the luteal phase. During this phase, progesterone peaks. Progesterone is an anti-inflammatory hormone and is often associated with feeling calmer and more balanced. As progesterone rises, some people start to feel more energetic again.

For some athletes, about two weeks after their period is when they feel most driven and energised. The week leading up to their period can feel flat, and there’s often an internal awareness that it’s coming — like an internal clock.

As progesterone tapers off, this triggers the start of the bleed, bringing the cycle back to day one of menstruation.

Symptoms and support

At different points throughout the cycle, people may experience different symptoms. So how do you manage this as an athlete?

These experiences are very real, and it’s important to treat everyone as an individual. Understanding and empathising with what happens across the menstrual cycle is key.

Research and understanding

Dr Rachel Harris from the Australian Institute of Sport explains that one of the biggest challenges in managing menstrual cycles in athletes is a lack of research.

Women and girls are significantly underrepresented in research. Only around six percent of sports science and sports medicine research includes women and girls.

Through her work, Dr Harris has monitored training, interviewed athletes, and examined factors like nutrition, sleep, recovery, strength, and performance at different stages of the menstrual cycle.

What the research shows is incredible individual variation. Some athletes feel their best during their period, others just before, just after, or in the middle of their cycle. Despite these differences, women continue to break world records, win gold medals, and achieve championships at every stage of the menstrual cycle.

Using periods to your advantage

While periods can bring difficult symptoms, research also shows they can be used to an athlete’s advantage.

Menstrual cycles often get a bad reputation, but the hormonal changes that occur during puberty and throughout the cycle can be incredibly positive. Estrogen supports bone health, reduces illness risk, and helps protect against injury. Progesterone also plays an important role.

Rather than feeling shame around menstrual cycles, there’s an opportunity to embrace them as something powerful — something that can be worked with at different times of the month.

This research is still new, but we’re already seeing its impact. One example is the US women’s soccer team, who won the 2019 World Cup and credited part of their success to tracking each player’s menstrual cycle.

Understanding what’s happening physiologically allows teams to individualise training — adjusting field time, recovery, strength work, and rest based on where someone is in their cycle. For example, the follicular phase is often associated with muscle building and fat burning, making it a good time to push training. During the luteal or menstrual phases, recovery and muscle protection may be more important.

Changing the culture

This progress is exciting, but there’s still a big cultural hurdle to overcome. We need to talk about menstrual cycles.

When periods aren’t spoken about, the impacts can show up in other ways — like low iron or chronic fatigue — and those consequences can be serious.

Many coaches, trainers, and staff members are still male, and it can feel uncomfortable telling them, “I’ve got my period today.” But there’s also a strong desire to change that — to educate teams and normalise these conversations.

It might feel uncomfortable or awkward at first, but it starts with talking about it. Conversations like this one are exactly where change begins.

“You literally just taught me something — I was like, what?!”