Effects of menstrual cycle phase on athletic performance

TLDR

The study examined how menstrual cycle phase affects aerobic capacity, anaerobic capacity, isokinetic strength, and high‑intensity endurance in women. Sixteen eumenorrheic women with high VO₂max were tested in early follicular and midluteal phases, confirmed by estradiol and progesterone assays. Results showed no significant differences in most performance and cardiorespiratory measures, but VO₂max was slightly lower in the luteal phase, indicating a modest negative effect of menstrual cycle hormones on aerobic capacity while other metrics remained unchanged.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of menstrual cycle phase on four selected indices of athletic performance: aerobic capacity, anaerobic capacity, isokinetic strength, and high intensity endurance. Sixteen eumenorrheic women (V̇O2max ≥ 50 ml·kg−1·min−1) were tested during the early follicular (F) and midluteal (L) phases of the menstrual cycle. Cycle phases were confirmed by serum estradiol and progesterone assays. No significant differences were observed between F and L tests in weight, percent body fat, sum of skinfolds, hemoglobin concentration, hematocrit, maximum heart rate, maximum minute ventilation, maximum respiratory exchange ratio, anaerobic performance, endurance time to fatigue (at 90% of V̇O2max), or isokinetic strength of knee flexion and extension. Both absolute and relative V̇O2max, however, were slightly lower in L than in F (F = 3.19 ± 0.09·min−1, L = 3.13 ± 0.08·min−1, P = 0.04; and F = 53.7 ± 0.9 ml·kg−1·min−1, L = 52.8 ± 0.8 ml·kg−1·min−1, P = 0.06). These results suggest that the cyclic increases in endogenous female steroid hormones of an ovulatory menstrual cycle may have a slight, deleterious influence on aerobic capacity, with potential implications for individual athletes. Nevertheless, the cycle phase did not impact significantly on the majority of the other performance tests and cardiorespiratory variables measured in this study.