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Little is said about the menstrual cycle in top-class sport, but there is enormous potential in it. The footballers of the Swiss national team are among the few athletes who base their training on this.
A shake for the first cycle phase, an ice bath just before menstruation and all the data on the period from the trainer on the smartphone: Rarely in top-class sport are menstruation discussed as openly as in the Swiss national team.
In preparation for the 2022 European Championship, every detail counts for women footballers – and so does the cycle. “We talk about training, tactics and nutrition – it’s completely normal to also talk about your menstruation,” says athletics trainer Mélanie Pauli. She has been involved with cycle-specific training for a long time and is considered a luminary in this field.
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Mélanie Pauli has been promoting cycle-specific training for years.
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Missing data
How big the effect of cycle-specific training actually is cannot yet be scientifically proven. “This is mainly due to the lack of studies on this,” explains team doctor Tanja Hetling. “We always trained the same as the men, without taking the female cycle into account.” Explicit data on women’s sports have only been collected for a few years and are therefore still in their infancy.
Legend:
Tanja Hetling accompanies the Swiss national team as team doctor.
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Nevertheless, a lot would have worked – the coaches see the successes, summarizes Mélanie Pauli: “We are already seeing significant progress. If we waited for concrete studies, we wouldn’t be any further in ten years.” Luana Bühler confirms the progress. The Swiss national player says that thanks to the adapted training, she feels a clear increase in performance “in certain cycle phases I need more regeneration, in others I can train especially in the strength area”. This not only allows you to train more effectively, but also prevents injuries.
The national team’s goalkeeper, Gaëlle Thalmann, also notes an influence of the cycle on her performance. She is not alone in this: According to one According to a BBC survey, the menstrual cycle influences the performance of more than 60 percent of competitive athletes. Thalmann supports your regeneration differently depending on the phase – for example with an ice bath, more stretching exercises or an adapted diet.
Measuring is key
What can a hobby athlete take away from these findings? “The most important thing is that you listen to your body and, for example, keep a cycle diary. This would make it clear in which phases you train best and what feels right for your body,” says athletics trainer Pauli, and continues: “Because each cycle is individual and has to be approached accordingly.”
However, many clubs are not as far as the Swiss national team. This is also due to the fact that many coaches are still afraid of contact. “The coach is often a man and is therefore often overwhelmed with these questions,” says Pauli.
For the athletics trainer, it would be a big step if you could simply talk about the topic without inhibitions. “My cycle belongs to me, it’s absolutely normal to talk about it.”
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