The woman, the menstrual cycle, and the physical activity
Keywords:
Ciclo menstrual, actividad física y ejercicio físicoAbstract
Background: the insertion of women in physical activity and performance sport was possible thanks to a constant struggle for equal rights. Nowadays there are difficulties related to feminine sport performance planning, because training plans are adapted from models for male athletes, without adapting training to the physiological requirements of female gender.
Objective: to describe aspects related with women, menstrual cycle, and practice physical activity.
Methods: a bibliographic review of the last 20 years was conducted, which included 53 articles published in biomedical databases (Scielo, Pubmed and Medline) as well as theses repositories.
Development: the feminine sexual or genital cycle comprises a series of morphological and functional changes in the ovary and the uterus. The cycles are regulated by complex interactions in the transmission shaft between the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland, the ovaries, and the genital system; the fluctuation of the cycle is 28 days with variations between 20 and 38 days. Different types of hormones work harmonically during the cycle; nevertheless only a few hormones affect the performance sport like estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, insulin, prolactin, and the growth hormone. Physiological and psychological variations take place, affecting women during physical activity practice in a positive and negative way. The inclusion of menstrual cycle in sport performance trainings is recommended taking into account is division in five stages and adaptation of the amount of training for each of the stages.
Conclusions: the relation between the menstrual cycle and sport performance has been studied from many perspectives. There are significant differences in the charge adaptation in different phases of menstrual cycle. It is advisable to include the menstrual cycle variations in the planning of female training.
DeCS:MENSTRUAL CYCLE; MOTOR ACTIVITY; PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING; FEMALE; REVIEW LITERATURE AS TOPIC.
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