A quick note first: I do not menstruate. This post comes from reading the research and learning from the riders I coach, and it will keep evolving as the science does.
Does your cycle affect performance?
The honest answer from the research is: a little, on average, and a lot for some individuals. Large reviews have found only small average changes in performance across the cycle. But averages hide big differences between people. Some riders feel no change at all. Others notice clear patterns in energy, sleep, recovery, mood or symptoms.
Track it
The most useful thing you can do is track your cycle alongside your training: how you feel, how you sleep, symptoms, and how sessions go. After a few months, patterns usually appear. Then we plan around them, moving harder sessions to days you tend to feel better and adding recovery where you need it.
Hormonal contraception
Research suggests hormonal contraception may have a small negative effect on performance on average, but again with lots of individual variation. It is a personal and medical decision, and not something to change for performance reasons without speaking to a doctor.
Fuel enough
Missing or irregular periods can be a sign of not eating enough for the training you are doing. That is serious, affecting bone health, performance and recovery, and it needs a doctor. Fuelling well is part of training. See how many carbs per hour when cycling?.
Talk about it
Riders should feel comfortable raising this with their coach. It is part of the planning, like work, sleep or travel. We are coaches, so anything medical goes to a doctor, but the training side we can help with.
What tracking might look like
Log your cycle in an app or alongside training in TrainingPeaks.
Note energy, sleep, mood, symptoms and how sessions felt, on a simple 1 to 5 scale.
After three or four cycles, look for patterns.
Plan around what you find, rather than generic phase rules.
Practical tips
Keep hard sessions flexible so you can move them by a day or two.
Fuel well throughout, especially if appetite changes.
Have a plan for symptoms on race day, discussed with a GP if needed.
Pay attention to sleep and recovery, which can vary across the cycle.
Perimenopause and menopause
Hormonal changes later in life can affect sleep, recovery, body composition and bone health. Strength training and good fuelling become even more important. As always, medical questions go to a doctor.
Want help with this?
Want a plan that adapts to you? We build this into riders' weeks all the time. Book a free 30-minute call or drop us a line.
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Saddle up.
