Your Hormones, Your Performance: Why Women Don’t Train the Same Every Week (and Why That’s Normal)
Your Hormones, Your Performance: Why Women Don’t Train the Same Every Week (and Why That’s Normal)
Ever noticed that some weeks you feel strong, focused, and energised — and other weeks everything feels heavier, slower, and harder?
That’s not a lack of motivation.That’s biology.
Emerging research shows that the menstrual cycle has a measurable impact on strength, endurance, coordination, recovery, and injury risk — and yet most training and rehab programs still treat women as if hormones don’t exist.
Let’s change that.
🧠 The Female Body Is Not “Smaller Male Physiology”
Women experience monthly hormonal fluctuations driven by estradiol and progesterone — hormones that influence far more than reproduction.
📊 Compared to men, women show greater week-to-week variability in:
VO₂ max (aerobic capacity)
Lactate threshold
Neuromuscular coordination
Recovery speed
Thermoregulation
And yet, most exercise, rehab, and injury-prevention programs are still one-size-fits-all.
🔄 The Menstrual Cycle (Simplified)
Here’s what’s happening behind the scenes:
🌱 Follicular Phase (Days 1–14)
Rising estradiol
Better muscle blood flow
Improved glucose uptake
Increased fat burning
Faster recovery
✅ Often ideal for:
Strength training
High-intensity exercise
Learning new skills
⚡ Ovulation (Around Day 14)
Peak estradiol
Enhanced reaction time and coordination
Increased nervous system activation
📈 Many women feel their best performance here
⚠️ BUT:
Estradiol can temporarily increase ligament laxity
ACL injury risk is higher around ovulation, especially in pivoting sports
🔥 Luteal Phase (Days 15–28)
Progesterone dominates
Core body temperature increases
Fluid retention rises
Insulin sensitivity drops
Endurance and heat tolerance decline
📉 Common experiences:
Fatigue
Brain fog
Reduced motivation
Slower recovery
This is not weakness — it’s physiology.
🏃♀️ Performance Changes Are Real (and Measurable)
Research shows that:
Aerobic performance can improve in the late follicular phase
Strength and coordination often peak around ovulation
Endurance, heat tolerance, and focus can drop in the luteal phase
Some women experience 6–8% performance reductions late in the cycle
That’s the difference between:✔ Feeling strong❌ Feeling flat — despite the same training load
🤕 Hormones, Injury Risk, and Pain Sensitivity
Hormones also affect:
Connective tissue strength
Pain sensitivity
Nervous system reactivity
Recovery capacity
Which helps explain why:
Injuries cluster at certain cycle phases
Pain feels worse during PMS
Recovery takes longer late-cycle
Chronic pain can flare without “new damage”
At Health Wise Chiropractic, we see this constantly — especially with neck pain, low back pain, headaches, hip pain, and overuse injuries.
⚠️ When the Cycle Stops Talking Back: RED-S & Missing Periods
A missed or irregular cycle is not a sign of peak fitness.
📉 Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) occurs when energy intake doesn’t meet training demands.
It can lead to:
Hormonal suppression
Bone loss
Poor recovery
Increased injury risk
Mood and sleep disturbances
🚩 Red flags:
Missing periods
Chronic fatigue
Frequent injuries
Poor training tolerance
Your cycle is a vital sign, not an inconvenience.
💊 What About Hormonal Contraception?
Hormonal contraceptives flatten natural hormone fluctuations — which can be helpful for some women and problematic for others.
📊 Research shows:
Some oral contraceptives reduce strength gains by up to 40%
Core body temperature may increase by 0.3–0.5°C
Long-term injections (e.g. DMPA) can reduce bone density
Responses vary hugely between individuals
There is no universally “good” or “bad” option — only what suits your body, goals, and nervous system.
🧩 Why Two Women Can Respond Completely Differently
One of the biggest takeaways from the research?
👉 Individual variability is massive
Two women with identical training programs may:
Perform better in different phases
Experience opposite symptoms
Recover at different speeds
This is why generic programs fail — and personalised care works.
🌿 What This Means for You (Athlete or Not)
You don’t need to be an elite athlete for this to matter.
Hormones influence:
Pain thresholds
Energy levels
Sleep quality
Stress tolerance
Injury risk
Especially for women:
Training hard
Juggling work and family
Managing stress
Navigating PMS or perimenopause
👐 The Health Wise Chiropractic Approach
At Health Wise Chiropractic, we don’t ignore hormones — we work with them.
We focus on:🧠 Nervous system regulation🦴 Load management across the month💪 Strength and endurance when your body is primed🧘 Recovery when physiology demands it📚 Education that empowers, not restricts
Your body isn’t inconsistent — it’s cyclical.
For more information about how we can help YOU with your muscle pain and improve your underlying dysfunction so the problem doesn’t come back . Please call Health Wise Chiropractic 03 9467 7889 or book online to see one of our Chiropractors in Sunbury or Melton/Strathtulloh Today!
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Kiwior J, Malina M, Liszka W, Kosiń K, Polak A. The influence of sex hormones and the menstrual cycle on women's athletic performance: A literature review. Wiad Lek. 2025;78(11):2433-2441. doi: 10.36740/WLek/211463. PMID: 41518181.
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