Cristian Yanez, Diego Calderon, Jose David Peralta, German Jimenez, Oscar Henriquez, Liliana Vergara, Julio Angulo, Nestor Ochoa

Menstrual cycle on internal and external load in amateur women CrossFit players

Introduction

Menstrual cycle on internal and external load in amateur women crossfit players. Examine how the menstrual cycle influences internal/external training load, heart rate variability, strength, and power in amateur women CrossFit players. Findings reveal no significant impact on performance.

Abstract

Background: Female physical performance can be influenced by perceived, physiological, and physical factors, making it an important field for further research. Aims: The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of the menstrual cycle (MC) on the cardiovascular and neuromuscular load of amateur women athletes in CrossFit® during real training situations. Methods: Resistance-trained CrossFit® athletes (without oral contraception) and eumenorrheic women participated in this study (age: 29.6 ± 4.06 years; height: 1.59.3 ± 0.06 m; body mass: 61.22 ± 4.59 kg). A cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted to evaluate heart rate variability (rMSSD), upper-body strength, muscular endurance, and power performance. The data were analyzed using a one-way repeated-measures ANOVA and the nonparametric Friedman test to assess significant differences among the follicular, ovulatory, and luteal phases for all assessments. The significance was set at p ≤ 0.05. Result: Results revealed no significant differences between the menstrual cycle phases in performance: (HRV RMSSD: H: 0.830, p: 0.443, η2: 0.038), (Push up test: H: 0.041, p: 0.959, η2: 0.002), (countermovement jump: H: 11.921, p: 0.050, η2: 0.362), (rate force development CMJ: H: 1.242, p: 0.299, η2: 0.056), (squat jump: H: 0.439, p: 0.648, η2: 0.020), (rate force development SJ: H: 1.703, p: 0.194, η2: 0.075), (isometric mid-thigh pull: H: 0.019, p: 0.981, η2: 9.132x10-4). Performance is not altered during the MC in female CrossFit® trained athletes. Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that the menstrual cycle does not significantly influence internal and external training load, heart rate variability, or strength and power performance in this population.

Review

This study critically examines the often-debated influence of the menstrual cycle (MC) on the physiological and performance parameters of amateur women CrossFit athletes. The research addresses a pertinent gap in the literature by investigating how internal (cardiovascular load via HRV) and external (strength, power, endurance) training loads fluctuate across the follicular, ovulatory, and luteal phases within a real-world training context. This is particularly relevant given the increasing participation of women in high-intensity functional training like CrossFit, and the widespread interest among athletes and coaches in understanding how biological cycles might impact training efficacy and performance. The focus on eumenorrheic women not using oral contraception enhances the study's ability to isolate the natural hormonal fluctuations of the MC. The methodology employed a cross-sectional, descriptive design, assessing various markers of performance and physiological load. Key measurements included heart rate variability (rMSSD), upper-body strength (push-up test), muscular endurance, and power performance via countermovement jump (CMJ), squat jump (SJ), and isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP). Statistical analysis, using both parametric and non-parametric tests, aimed to identify significant differences between MC phases. Importantly, the abstract reports a consistent finding across most assessed variables: no significant differences were observed in HRV, strength, or power performance across the follicular, ovulatory, and luteal phases. This leads to the overarching conclusion that performance and training load are not significantly altered during the MC in this specific population. From the abstract, the study's strength lies in its practical relevance to amateur female CrossFit athletes and its comprehensive approach to measuring both internal and external loads. The control for oral contraception is also a crucial aspect. However, a notable omission from the abstract is the sample size (N), which is essential for evaluating the statistical power of the findings and the generalizability of the results. While the conclusion of no significant difference is clearly stated, the reported p-value of 0.050 for the countermovement jump (CMJ) warrants further consideration, as it sits precisely on the conventional threshold for significance and suggests a marginal effect that could be relevant with a larger sample or different statistical interpretation. Nonetheless, the overall conclusion provides valuable insights, suggesting that for amateur female CrossFit athletes, specific training periodization based on MC phases may not be a critical factor for optimizing performance.

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