Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 28, 2025
Skeletal Muscle Gender Dimorphism from Proteomics
Published on: December 14, 2011
Muscle Performance during the Menstrual Cycle Correlates with Psychological Well-Being, but Not Fluctuations in Sex
Tine Vrist Dam1, Line Barner Dalgaard1, Vassilis Sevdalis1
1Section of Sport Science, Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus, DENMARK.
Purpose:
We aimed to study variations in strength and power performance during the menstrual cycle (MC) in eumenorrheic young women and during the pill cycle in oral contraceptives (OC) users.
Methods:
Forty healthy, normal-weight women between 18 and 35 yr (n = 30 eumenorrheic women; n = 10 OC users) completed this prospective cohort study. Seven to nine times during the MC/pill-cycle, the participants completed a physical performance test series, a questionnaire about psychological well-being, blood sampling, and determination of body mass. The physical tests included isometric handgrip strength, elbow flexor strength, countermovement jump (CMJ) height, and a 10-s Wingate bike test.
Results:
No direct correlation was observed between the variations in sex hormones and physical performance parameters. However, positive correlations were observed between physical performance outcomes and self-reported motivation, perception of own physical performance level, pleasure level, and arousal level. CMJ was 6% lower in the late luteal phase (LL) compared with the midluteal phase (ML) (P = 0.04). Wingate peak power was 3% lower in early follicular (EF) compared with the ML (P = 0.04). Furthermore, Wingate average power was 2%-5% lower in LL compared with all other MC phases. In line with these observations, physical pain was higher in EF and LL, and the pleasure level was lower in EF compared with the other MC phases. In OC users, we observed no variation in performance and self-reported parameters between the placebo-pill phase and the OC-pill phase.
Conclusions:
Impairments in CMJ and Wingate performance were observed at the end and start of MC compared with other MC phases, which were associated with lower psychological well-being, but not the sex hormone fluctuations.
More Related Videos
09:05Rodent Estrous Cycle Monitoring Utilizing Vaginal Lavage: No Such Thing As a Normal Cycle
Published on: August 30, 2021
07:32Use of Galvanic Skin Responses, Salivary Biomarkers, and Self-reports to Assess Undergraduate Student Performance During a Laboratory Exam Activity
Published on: February 10, 2016
Related Concept Videos
01:22Hormonal Regulation of the Menstrual Cycle
At puberty, GnRH begins a pulsatile release pattern, which triggers the anterior pituitary gland to secrete follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). The frequency and amplitude of GnRH pulses vary across the menstrual cycle, with faster pulses favoring LH release and slower pulses favoring FSH...
01:28Menopause
01:19The Menstrual Cycle
The menstrual phase occurs from days 1 to 5 and involves the shedding of the stratum functionalis, as a...
01:27Exercise and Muscle Performance
Endurance exercises
Endurance exercises involve running, swimming, or cycling, which require repetitive movements with low force output. When a person engages in endurance exercise, a few noticeable changes occur in their skeletal muscles. For instance, the number of capillaries...
01:30Hormonal Control of the Ovarian Cycle
Before puberty, the hypothalamus releases GnRH in a low frequency, low amplitude pulsatile manner. This along with the immature hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis activity, results in low estrogen levels and the absence of a fully functional ovarian cycle. At puberty, GnRH secretion increases in both frequency and...
01:18Menses Phase
When fertilization does not occur, the corpus luteum deteriorates, causing a significant drop in the levels of estrogen and progesterone in the body. This hormonal decrease triggers the release of prostaglandins, which cause the uterine...