Medicine Redefined

181. The Truth About Menstrual Cycle Training & Hormonal Impacts on Performance | Shawn Arent, PhD, CSCS

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Aug 18, 2025
Guest
Shawn Arent
Dr. Shawn Arent, a leading expert in human performance, discusses fascinating insights on female physiology, debunking myths about the menstrual cycle’s impact on athletic performance. He reveals the critical roles of thyroid hormones and their connection to metabolism. The conversation also touches on the influence of catecholamines in stress and energy during training. Arent speculates on the future of performance enhancement through GLP-1 agonists and myostatin inhibitors, providing a fresh perspective on optimizing health and performance for athletes.
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INSIGHT

Cycle Phase Has Limited Impact

  • Menstrual cycle phase has minimal consistent effect on acute strength or adaptation for most female athletes.
  • Shawn Arent recommends autoregulation based on symptoms rather than rigidly programming by phase.
ADVICE

Autoregulate Training By Symptoms

  • Monitor how an athlete feels and modify training and diet based on symptoms rather than cycle phase.
  • Avoid long blocks of reduced progression just because of assumed phase effects.
ANECDOTE

Soccer Team Injury Turnaround

  • Arent reduced an elite women's soccer team's ACL injuries from five times national average to one season-ending ACL in six years.
  • They did this without cycle-based programming, focusing on strength, periodization, nutrition, and recovery.
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