Being a woman in rowing can sometimes feel like having to pretend you are on a flat straight road, but it is an uphill battle. Every month, a woman may dread the days when her period is due, as it may bring painful period cramps and poor sleep, just to name a few effects.
Throughout the menstrual cycle, a woman’s performance in rowing can be significantly affected, due to hormone fluctuations throughout the month. These have been associated with an increase in the likelihood of getting injured, which can be very worrying in the run-up to major races.
Not only is there a concern among many women of getting a painful period just before competing, but also the fear of losing their period altogether due to excessive amounts of stress on their bodies from an intensive training regime.
RED-S
In recent years, the awareness of RED-S (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport) has been on the rise. RED-S can occur in both male and female athletes and occurs when there is a mismatch between energy expenditure and intake.
Some of the main symptoms include increased illness and injury, decreased performance, and a struggle to get a proper recovery. But one of the main symptoms in women is the loss of a period. A woman losing her period can have detrimental side effects, such as reduced fertility and increased risk of early-onset osteoporosis, a condition that weakens the bones in the body and increases their susceptibility to break. Leander athlete Isy Hawes went through RED-S and explained how the most challenging part was “having to accept I’d have to stop training and that I couldn’t continue without stepping back and recovering”.
As such, raising awareness – especially for those new to women’s sport – on the importance of fuelling the body well and monitoring their menstrual cycle is crucial when looking at how women should be training, including in rowing.
Coaching
The number of female coaches in rowing has always been small but recent initiatives all over the world are hoping to bring more women into coaching. This is pivotal as both personal experiences and research can mean a better understanding of the best way to train as a woman. While we have come on leaps and bounds in the last decade, male coaches could also benefit from an increased understanding of how training plans may need to differ for their female athletes, which only comes with more research and willingness to learn.
Talking more about how a woman’s menstrual cycle may affect training removes the stigma for girls getting started in competitive sport. Not only that, but it also further highlights the need to ensure that women can train sustainably, in line with their cycles, to avoid injuries where possible.
Top tip for managing rowing and your period:
- Use a period tracker app. Tracking your menstrual cycle can help prepare for any potential discomfort but also knowing what phase of your cycle you are in will allow you to train optimally for your body at the given time.
- Make sure to warm up and stretch. Warming up before a session is crucial for preventing injury both when you’re on and off your period. But stretching can relieve period pains. Just make sure it is gentle and not overdone as that can also lead to injuries.
- Maintain a good diet and stay hydrated! You lose more fluid when you are on your period so make sure to drink plenty of water and fuel before each session.
- Communicate with coaches and teammates. If you are struggling with your period, make sure to let your coaches know so they can adapt training for you. Also talking to your teammates about it can really help, as a problem shared is a problem halved.
- Don’t be hard on yourself. All bodies are different and listening to it is important. Sometimes not going as hard on a session or having a light week is important for keeping your body and mind healthy.
Two-time GB Olympian, Rebecca Edwards, explained: “The more I learnt about my symptoms and how my body reacts throughout my cycle, the better I was able to cope with my period as a high-performance athlete.”
One of the main things she swears by is the use of a period tracking app to track both when her period is but also her symptoms. She says that by doing this, “it helps particularly around racing or trials to know that these are all normal symptoms and things I can cope with even under extreme pressure.”
The need for a deeper understanding of how the menstrual cycle affects an athlete is clear in not just rowing but all sports. For women to perform at their best, sporting bodies such as World Rowing and GB Rowing need more female representation at the governance level, so these challenges can be front and centre on the agenda.
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