Women's football has a clear difference with men's: the rule. Hormonal cycles directly interfere with the performance of soccer players. For this reason, Chelsea have wanted to adapt their training sessions to the cycles of their players.
During the last Women's Soccer World Cup in France 2019, the United States concentration hotel was filled with posters. On the posters appeared the competition calendar and the menstrual cycles of the 23 called together with the days of the contraceptive pill. Since 2010, Dawn Scott has been one of the top performance coaches for the US national team. She was the one who noticed that the menstrual cycle had an influence on sports performance since there was a greater risk of injury.
As of 2016, the monitoring of the cycles of each player summoned on a more regular basis began. In 2018, a study was carried out with Dr. Georgie Bruinvels, a researcher on the subject and who had created an application called FitrWoman. It was concluded that the premenstrual stage and during the period is the most unfavorable time for sports practice due to the hormonal change that occurs at that time. The strategy carried out was a program that included changes in diet, sleeping hours and workloads in training.
FitrWoman, the app used by Chelsea Women
After the defeat in the 2016 FA Cup final against Arsenal, the Chelsea Women's coach, Emma Hayes, noticed that most of the players were in full menstruation, so she considered it interesting to measure its effects. Hayes together with Eva Woods, her assistant, made the team download FitrWoman, the app developed by Bruinvels so that they can keep a daily record of their menstrual cycle and thus be able to adjust the training, in addition to knowing closely how much the period affects performance .
Controlling these factors helps reduce the number of injuries since menstruation is an inflammatory process that increases the likelihood of muscle and ligament damage. In menstruation the reaction time decreases and increases the likelihood of muscle injuries. Stretching, yoga and reaction work should be practiced with little physical load. In addition, it is recommended eat fish for its anti-inflammatory properties.
In phase II (preovulation, days 5-14) the soccer players feel better, but the risk of muscle injury increases. During phase III, between ovulation and pre-menstruation (days 14-25) inflammation increases and mood swings also begin. In the IV phase (pre-menstruation), mood swings continue, reaction capacity and coordination decrease, and muscle pain and recovery time increase. During this stage, they recommend reaction exercises to try to keep the soccer player as fit as possible.
Do soccer players use the contraceptive pill?
Perhaps many wonder how they do to avoid having the rule on game days. The continued use of contraceptive methods It allows to regulate the cycles and reduce the pre-menstrual and menstrual symptoms. It can even delay menstruation and make you not have it during the tournament or competition. This is not healthy or recommended, since monthly hormonal cycles are necessary for all women. In the long term it could pose health risks.
In addition, a combined estrogen and progesterone pill can cause weight gain, as well as overheating of the body, which means that during intense exercise some women may feel hotter than others and therefore need to hydrate more.