Research summary · Women's sport
Menstrual cycle and exercise performance: interpreting group averages
A synthesis evaluates exercise performance across menstrual-cycle phases.
- Publication year
- 2020
- Publication type
- Systematic review and meta-analysis
- Journal
- Sports Medicine
- Population / context
- Women with natural menstrual cycles · Multiple activities
What the publication reports
The pooled findings suggested only a trivial average reduction in performance during the early follicular phase. The authors found substantial variation between studies and recommended an individual approach instead of general cycle-based training rules.
Limits and interpretation
Evidence quality was low. Group averages do not prescribe an individual training calendar, and results should not be assumed to apply to hormonal-contraceptive users or athletes with menstrual disorders.
Read the source
Consult the original record for the full author list, methods, references, funding and competing-interest disclosures.
Original publication / indexed recordDOI: 10.1007/s40279-020-01319-3Full text at the sourceReader discussion
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