Effects of menstrual cycle phase on athletic performance

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 (VO2max > or = 50 ml.kg-1.min-1) were tested during t...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Medicine and science in sports and exercise 1995-03, Vol.27 (3), p.437-444
Main Authors: LEBRUN, C. M, MCKENZIE, D. C, PRIOR, J. C, TAUNTON, J. E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adipose Tissue
Adolescent
Adult
Anaerobic Threshold - physiology
Biological and medical sciences
Body Weight
Estradiol - blood
Female
Follicular Phase - physiology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Heart Rate - physiology
Hematocrit
Hemoglobins - analysis
Humans
Luteal Phase - physiology
Menstrual Cycle - physiology
Muscle Contraction - physiology
Muscle, Skeletal - physiology
Oxygen Consumption - physiology
Physical Endurance - physiology
Progesterone - blood
Pulmonary Gas Exchange - physiology
Respiration - physiology
Skinfold Thickness
Space life sciences
Sports - physiology
Vertebrates: body movement. Posture. Locomotion. Flight. Swimming. Physical exercise. Rest. Sports
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary: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 (VO2max > or = 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 VO2max), or isokinetic strength of knee flexion and extension. Both absolute and relative VO2max, 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.
ISSN:0195-9131
1530-0315
DOI:10.1249/00005768-199503000-00022