Following on from the previous article, “How to Take Advantage of Your Menstrual Cycle,” we learned that up to 80% of women report symptoms such as acne, bloating, fatigue, and mood changes in the couple of weeks leading up to menstruation. These symptoms qualify as premenstrual syndrome in 20-30% of pre-menopausal women, with symptoms severe enough to interfere with social functioning and life activities, they meet clinical criteria for premenstrual syndrome (PMS) (1,2). PMS is characterised by recurrent, moderate-to-severe affective, physical, and behavioural symptoms that develop during the luteal menstrual cycle and disappear within a few days of menstruation (3). This article will look at the possible causes of PMS and methods to help alleviate the symptoms associated with it.

When it comes to the female body, it’s safe to say how we feel, look, think and perceive things can change dramatically over the course of our cycle. Our body’s hormones control everything from our metabolic function to our pain threshold, to how we eat, and even to how much training we can tolerate. Up to 80% of women report symptoms such as acne, bloating, fatigue, and mood changes in the couple of weeks leading up to menstruation (1,2). Understanding what happens throughout the phases of your cycle can give you valuable insight into why we feel strong and powerful during one phase, to weak and weepy in the other.

Building muscle is hard enough as is - let alone having something possibly impair your potential. Many spend their whole lives trying to get 'too big,' only to find out it's very difficult to get too big! Endurance training (cardio) has an 'interference' effect on strength, power, and muscle hypertrophy gains (1). When added to a resistance training program, it has been shown to negatively impact the amount that can be gained (1, 2). This doesn't mean you can't make progress with some cardio training however - studies have shown you can still make good gains in strength, power, and muscle hypertrophy with the inclusion of cardio training in your resistance training program (1, 2) - it just means you have to be smart about how much and what type of cardio you decide to use. Different types and amounts of cardio have different effects on power, strength, and muscle hypertrophy gains.