‘Women are not small men’ Dr Stacy Sims

In her TED Talk, Dr Sims highlights how historically, sports studies were conducted on men and the results assumed to be the same for women. Very little research has been done specifically on women. This lack of science-based information often means women are doing the wrong training, eating the wrong food, not reaching their full potential, and/or often suffering unnecessary discomfort and pain.

Most nutrition and training programs do not account for the menstrual cycle, where there are large, repetitive changes in hormone levels. At DD Triathlon Coaching, we encourage our female athletes to track their menstrual cycle. Tracking allows you to train with your physiology, not against it.  

We recommend menstrual cycle tracking via an app such as WildAi or FitrWoman. It links with your wearable watch to record objective data such as your sleep and resting heart rate, as well as using daily check-ins to gather subjective data such as how well you slept, how stressed you are, how you trained, your eagerness to train, your pains, your appetite and your body image perception. Over time, this helps you notice patterns in how you feel and how you respond to training. You understand why you are feeling flat on certain days or training feels harder than normal. Or when you absolutely nail a session and feel invincible.

At DD Triathlon Coaching, we adjust your training for your ability to respond to stress (i.e. recover) according to the monthly hormonal fluctuations of the menstrual cycle. Training with your physiology and not against it leads to improved health outcomes and improved performance whatever your goal, whether that be smashing your 5k PB, winning an Ironman or completing an ultra.

If you’d like to find out more about how you could be training with your female physiology, drop us a message or and book in for a chat. We’d love to hear from you!