You perform better when you have a tampon in than when you don’t. And don’t let any man, woman or child with a textbook tell you differently.
It’s not the tampon that has superpowers. It's the fact that you are more powerful, capable, speedy, strong, tough, and dextrous during what is called the “low-hormone phase.”
A Quick Health-Class Review
Major phases of your 21- to 35-day cycle are three: The follicular, the ovarian and the luteal.
Credit: The Lowdown Blog
During the follicular phase, your body prepares to release its next egg - around two weeks after you started your last period.
During the luteal phase (second half), and if your egg never met any sperm for dinner and a movie, your uterus begins to thin out, and prepares to shed the lining it’s spent the last few weeks building up. That shedding is, of course, when you bleed and start all over.
The "Low-Hormone" Phase
You see the dark blue stuff in the graph above? That’s estrogen (or oestrogen if you drink with your pinky up).
When estrogen is low during the first 7-10 days of your follicular phase, you get all kinds of benefits:
Higher pain tolerance
Greater force output
Faster recovery
Better dexterity and agility
You build muscle more easily
More energy
The list goes on, but these are the major ones, particularly for female athletes.
WAIT A FRIGGIN' SECOND.
What a great question. My answer: most my coaches were men. I guess I shouldn’t have taken menstruation advice from someone without ovaries.
The truth is, you will often perform better on your period than during the other phases of your cycle, even if you’re cramping.
Paula Radcliff ran Chicago Marathon in 2002 while cramping, but the pain was still not enough to offset all the benefits listed above. She broke the course record.
The Takeaway
If you’re a female who wants to excel in sport, (running, basketball, field hockey, WWE wrestling… anything) your goal should be to align your competition schedule with your period.
In other words, if you can compete while you’re bleeding (typically a day or so after you’ve started bleeding), you will likely compete better.
Last thing: I know you have a girlfriend who might not know this yet, but probably should. Send this article to her, and leave a comment for her below. 💕