The Menstrual Cycle & Strength Training: What Lifters Actually Experience – with Brooke Alvar - Evidence Strong

🏋️‍♀️ Extended version of this interview: https://www.patreon.com/evidencestrong/posts/menstrual-cycle-170946802 🏋️‍♀️

What are the experiences with menstrual cycle symptoms in competitive Olympic weightlifters and powerlifters? Brooke Alvar came on the ES Show for the second time to report what she has found so far in her PhD from talking to lifters and their coaches.

Brooke Alvar has a background in exercise and sport science (BSc) and strength and conditioning (MSc), five years of university-level teaching, and almost ten years of coaching experience. Her interests lie in getting athletes as strong as possible for competition, whilst managing their health and wellbeing. Her PhD research aims to understand how the menstrual cycle influences maximal strength performance, neuromuscular function, and subjective measures of wellbeing in strength-sport athletes (weightlifters and powerlifters). Alongside her research and coaching, Brooke teaches within the College of Sport, Health and Engineering at Victoria University.

Enjoy!

Original research paper:

Alvar BE, Harris DM, O’Bryan SJ, Nelson AR. Strength-sport athlete and coach perspectives and training practices throughout the menstrual cycle. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching. 2026:17479541261439786.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/17479541261439786

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The Menstrual Cycle & Strength Training: What Lifters Actually Experience – with Brooke Alvar

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