Loles Vives was 12 years old when she first menstruated. “Go to the shower. And if they tell you you can’t, don’t mind,” said her sister.. In the late 1960s, there were many myths associated with the period, such as that it is better not to take a bath so that the blood does not clot. Loles had a track and field competition that afternoon. “You’re going to break your record today. Your period will make you run more,” her mother predicted. She was. Although there are fewer myths and taboos about menstruation today, there are still very few studies on its effect on high performance.
“Since it concerns women, there has been little interest in studying it; “If you complained while competing, it was a sign of weakness and used as an argument not to play certain sports.” You’re alive, that was the first women Falling 12 seconds at 100 meters in Spain 44 years ago, is still active and won the over 65 longitude title at the World Masters last March. “Significant advances have been made in the last 15 years, but much more is needed to know how to behave,” says the biologist, who is also an expert in sports nutrition.
A diagnosis shared by Lluís Cortés. “The way the rule is applied in the biggest competition has changed a lot,” explains the former women’s coach of Barça and the current coach of the Ukrainian women’s football team. “When I started 18 years ago, actors had a hard time saying they were having their period.. Now it has changed a lot, there is more information, both players and coaches are better prepared, and it is no longer taboo to be a physiological process that can affect the performance of athletes in Spain”.
A taboo only half broken
As in the Ukrainian team, a doctor in Barça interviewed the players to adapt the menstrual period to the competition. But while in Barcelona the players naturally discuss this with Cortés, the situation is not the same for the Ukrainians. At Barça, they talk about it more openly, it’s also a cultural issue. It’s a little more taboo in Ukraine.”
They started at Barça through the Innovation Center a pioneering program on the phases of menstruation. For four years, female Barça players fill out a daily questionnaire with several questions, including their menstrual cycle, and blood and saliva samples are taken each week to find out how often their menstrual cycles are.
“Each player’s cycle is different, and also some of them were erratic and a few months didn’t come so it was very complicated to make an estimate. It may be easier in individual sports, but managing 24 players is very complex,” explains Cortés.At Barça, I only had to change two squads. by two players experiencing very severe menstrual cycles. In training, especially when there was an annoying rule, one would adapt and still act like a wildcard. But I didn’t have to adapt too much either.”
“The first thing you need to know when training a girl is to know when her menstrual period comes,” says Vives, who says there are coaches who intervene depending on what stage of the menstrual cycle the athlete is in. “When you start menstruating, hormones (testosterone, estrogen and progesterone) are at their lowest level and it is recommended to reduce the training load. In the follicular phase, immediately after menstruation, it can promote greater strength work. During the ovulation phase, the muscles become looser and more prone to injury, which is a dangerous moment. And the luteal phase is good for cardiovascular work if the egg is not fertilized.”.
“Every woman is a world”
Some athletes take birth control pills before important competitions to avoid bleeding or stomachaches during the most important moment of the season. “Every woman is a world; some don’t even realize it, others go through terrible times and there are situations where it can change from one month to the next,” notes Vives. Thought I’d leave a mark, but girl [Marta Perarnau, exfutbolista del Betis y Rayo Vallecano y que actualmente juega en el Atlético San Luis de México] she’s having bad times, she has premenstrual syndrome, feels more bloated, has more fluid retention, and sometimes needs to take ibuprofen for pain.”
“There is a lack of scientific evidence to take more drastic measures”adds Vives, citing recent research by Lauren Colenso-Semple and Stuart Phillips of McMaster University, Canada, and Kirsty Elliott-Sale of Manchester Metropolitan University. “I have no doubt that if the rule had affected men, the incidence in sports would have been much more studied,” says the biologist specializing in sports nutrition.
Loles Vives was 12 years old when she first menstruated. “Go to the shower. And if they tell you you can’t, don’t mind,” said her sister.. In the late 1960s, there were many myths associated with the period, such as that it is better not to take a bath so that the blood does not clot. Loles had a track and field competition that afternoon. “You’re going to break your record today. Your period will make you run more,” her mother predicted. She was. Although there are fewer myths and taboos about menstruation today, there are still very few studies on its effect on high performance.
“Since it concerns women, there has been little interest in studying it; “If you complained while competing, it was a sign of weakness and used as an argument not to play certain sports.” You’re alive, that was the first women Falling 12 seconds at 100 meters in Spain 44 years ago, is still active and won the over 65 longitude title at the World Masters last March. “Significant advances have been made in the last 15 years, but much more is needed to know how to behave,” says the biologist, who is also an expert in sports nutrition.
A diagnosis shared by Lluís Cortés. “The way the rule is applied in the biggest competition has changed a lot,” explains the former women’s coach of Barça and the current coach of the Ukrainian women’s football team. “When I started 18 years ago, actors had a hard time saying they were having their period.. Now it has changed a lot, there is more information, both players and coaches are better prepared, and it is no longer taboo to be a physiological process that can affect the performance of athletes in Spain”.
A taboo only half broken
As in the Ukrainian team, a doctor in Barça interviewed the players to adapt the menstrual period to the competition. But while in Barcelona the players naturally discuss this with Cortés, the situation is not the same for the Ukrainians. At Barça, they talk about it more openly, it’s also a cultural issue. It’s a little more taboo in Ukraine.”
They started at Barça through the Innovation Center a pioneering program on the phases of menstruation. For four years, female Barça players fill out a daily questionnaire with several questions, including their menstrual cycle, and blood and saliva samples are taken each week to find out how often their menstrual cycles are.
“Each player’s cycle is different, and also some of them were erratic and a few months didn’t come so it was very complicated to make an estimate. It may be easier in individual sports, but managing 24 players is very complex,” explains Cortés.At Barça, I only had to change two squads. by two players experiencing very severe menstrual cycles. In training, especially when there was an annoying rule, one would adapt and still act like a wildcard. But I didn’t have to adapt too much either.”
“The first thing you need to know when training a girl is to know when her menstrual period comes,” says Vives, who says there are coaches who intervene depending on what stage of the menstrual cycle the athlete is in. “When you start menstruating, hormones (testosterone, estrogen and progesterone) are at their lowest level and it is recommended to reduce the training load. In the follicular phase, immediately after menstruation, it can promote greater strength work. During the ovulation phase, the muscles become looser and more prone to injury, which is a dangerous moment. And the luteal phase is good for cardiovascular work if the egg is not fertilized.”.
“Every woman is a world”
Some athletes take birth control pills before important competitions to avoid bleeding or stomachaches during the most important moment of the season. “Every woman is a world; some don’t even realize it, others go through terrible times and there are situations where it can change from one month to the next,” notes Vives. Thought I’d leave a mark, but girl [Marta Perarnau, exfutbolista del Betis y Rayo Vallecano y que actualmente juega en el Atlético San Luis de México] she’s having bad times, she has premenstrual syndrome, feels more bloated, has more fluid retention, and sometimes needs to take ibuprofen for pain.”
“There is a lack of scientific evidence to take more drastic measures”adds Vives, citing recent research by Lauren Colenso-Semple and Stuart Phillips of McMaster University, Canada, and Kirsty Elliott-Sale of Manchester Metropolitan University. “I have no doubt that if the rule had affected men, the incidence in sports would have been much more studied,” says the biologist specializing in sports nutrition.