From hormones to lifting stones – studying complexities of strength training

Irish Times

2 days ago

Your PhD looked at how female athletes perform in elite sports – tell us more.
We have done a lot of research with female rugby players, looking at training performance and coaching styles as well as the impact of factors like menstruation and using the contraceptive pill. Historically, research on sports and training performance has been focused on men, and we wanted to see whether men and women need to train or exercise differently, and whether women need different resources and pathways to train and perform optimally.
What did you do to answer those questions?
We used lots of different methods. We analysed GPS data from Six Nations matches to track the demands of the games on female athletes, and we measured muscle gain and performance in female athletes over time. We also interviewed athletes and strength and conditioning coaches from around the world about their perceptions and experiences.
What did you find about training and performance schedules?
Research shows that, in relative terms, men and women gain muscle at the same rates with the same training schedules. The coaches told us, though, that while the technical training in the gym was the same for men and women, they often used different styles of coaching.
The women often benefited from more emphasis on lifting technique, as they may not have been taught at an early age, as the men often were. That points to the need for more supportive pathways for female athletes early on.
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And what about menstruation and hormonal contraceptives?
We found that based on the current body of evidence, there's no reason to suggest that hormonal contraceptives affect how much muscle you gain when doing gym-based exercise. There's also no evidence to suggest that the menstrual cycle phase has an objective effect.
But our research with players showed their lived experience, that they perceive the menstrual cycle to have an impact on their performance. It could be that with the changes in hormones, it feels harder to produce the same force with our muscles, or the symptoms that go along with menstruation could also be playing a role here.
What are you working on now?
I'm a lecturer now in DCU School of Health and Human Performance, and I'm expanding the work on hormones and how they affect strength and health more generally. We are starting a project to look at the effects of testosterone replacement therapy.
This is not just for athletes, and it refers to therapy to help people who have symptoms of low levels of testosterone, such as low mood and fatigue. We will look at how the therapy can affect things like motivation to exercise and energy levels and muscle gain.
Are you an athlete yourself?
I'm always a massive advocate for strength training, and I regularly train in powerlifting. I also recently competed in a stone-lifting competition in Armagh.
Stone lifting?
Yes, it's an area I'm interested in from a lot of angles. I'm working with a sports historian to study the history of strength in Irish culture, and we have been looking at these large 'lifting stones' that are found in many parts of the country.
They are often near graveyards and ports and other places where people would congregate, and men would each try to lift the stones to the waist or chest, as a competition. It's a real link with our past, when you go to lift these stones, you are putting your hands in the same spots as people would have done maybe centuries ago. It's like reaching into the past.