An emerging sports training methodology known as 'menstrual cycle phase-based training' has sparked interest across media, fitness circles and academic research focusing on female athletic performance.
The approach involves adjusting training intensity and volume according to different phases of the menstrual cycle. While proponents of the approach suggest that it might yield superior performance, the evidence supporting the approach is scant, and existing studies lack robust methods for detecting menstrual cycle phases.
Jenna Gillen, a professor in U of T’s Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, has been awarded a seed grant from the Tanenbaum Institute for Science in Sport (TISS) to investigate the approach.
“Given the attention this method has garnered among coaches and athletes, there's a pressing need for high-quality research to ascertain if the menstrual cycle should be a pivotal and widely applied consideration in female training program design,” says Gillen.
The study is a first of its kind and will involve 24 recreationally active females, who will take part in six sprint interval training sessions, on a cycle ergometer, during either the follicular or luteal phase of their menstrual cycle.
Gillen’s team hopes the findings will provide insights for coaches and athletes and hypothesizes that there will be no difference in the improvement in aerobic and anaerobic performance, or skeletal muscle metabolism, following follicular and luteal phase-based sprint interval training in women with regular menstruation.
Gillen's study, along with three other pilot studies supported with seed grants, was chosen for its potential to contribute to the mission of TISS — to translate scientific discoveries into innovations that can dramatically impact the health and performance of athletes across all populations.