Females; lifting heavy.

[5kgLifter]

I came across this little gem and thought some may find it useful, not only for female readers but also for men since they have girlfriends and wives that may be lifting.

BBC NEWS | Health | Menstrual cycle injury risk link


It comes in particularly useful when deciding on dates to go for 1RM attempts and such, since we can't just decide to stop all heavier lifting for 2 weeks of every month; but what I did find thought provoking was the part about joint integrity and strength at particular times throughout the menstrual cycle which means I can, with that knowledge, make a better choice of date on which to try for a higher 1RM middle-finger DL and so forth and then only need to worry about the normal things, weight load and bad form etc.

[BendtheBar]

Interesting.

One thing that's off topic but related is period headaches. My wife gets brutal headaches when not lifting, but when lifting them go away completely.

[5kgLifter]

Originally Posted by BendtheBar

Interesting.

One thing that's off topic but related is period headaches. My wife gets brutal headaches when not lifting, but when lifting them go away completely.

Yeah, it's no fun; apparently that gets worse at perimenopause and menopause, something to do with the estrogen drop off...maybe best not to mention it to her though, no-one wants to know it'll get worse when it's already hell

[BendtheBar]

This is a good quote (for me) to remember:

Both tissues appear to be vulnerable midway through the menstrual cycle, while the ligaments are at greater risk at the end.

Midway through the cycle, the level of the female sex hormone oestrogen, which gives strength to muscles and ligaments, drops dramatically, resulting in sudden weakness.