LE3 .A278 2023

2023

Kendall, Karen D.

Acadia University

Bachelor of Kinesiology

Honours

Biology

Kinesiology

There is a growing number of females participating in sport and reaching higher levels of performance. Although research around female physiology and menstrual cycles (MC) is a rowing field, the influence of MC phase on female athlete performance remains unclear. The study investigated the alterations in aerobic performance across the ovulation, mid-luteal, and menstruation phases of the MC in female runners. Through an observational repeated measures study design, five subjects monitored their MC timeline, using daily MC logs and ovulation testing (OVRY® Corduroy Enterprises Ltd), and MC symptoms across three MCs. Performance was measured using a 5km self-paced time trail during the mid-luteal, ovulation, and menstruation phases across two MCs, in which heart rate (HR) and rate of perceived exertion (RPE) were recorded. MC symptoms, motivation levels, and discomfort levels were measured prior to each performance test to compliment the quantitively performance values. Through a one-way ANOVA with repeated measures, there were no statistically significant differences in performance found between ovulation, mid-luteal, and menstruation phases of the MC, F(2, 8) = 1.006, p = 0.408. Trends showed that subjects had a poorer performance during the menstruation phase when compared to the ovulation and mid-luteal phases. HR was 6.7 bpm lower at lap 5 of the performance test during menstruation compared to the ovulation phase. Subject's pace at lap 5 was 0.11 m/s slower during the menstruation phase when compared to the ovulation phase. These findings suggest performing aerobic activity during the menstruation phase may be more difficult and tailoring aerobic training to be completed during the ovulation phase may be beneficial for coaches to get the highest performance output from athletes.

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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:3972