| 1. |
- Bergström, Max, et al.
(författare)
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Tick-tock goes the biological clock : Mother-athlete dilemmas facing elite Scandinavian cross-country skiers
- 2022
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The mother-athlete (MA) dilemma is a social phenomenon that has emerged due to challenges associated with pregnancy and motherhood during a woman’s athletic career. The aims of this study were to explore how MA dilemmas manifest in elite cross-country skiing in Scandinavia and to better understand how female athletes balance their priorities as they initiate, maintain and/or discontinue their role as a MA. Qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interviews with 13 Swedish and Norwegian female cross-country skiers. Thematic analyses revealed four MA-specific dilemmas facing the athletes:1. Biological clock vs. peak performance2. Maintaining fitness vs. training safely3. Receiving support vs. facing deselection4. Balancing competing MA demands.Many of the athletes felt pressured into prioritising either athletic excellence or motherhood, particularly in their early to mid-thirties when the window of opportunity for building a family was considered limited. Further, maintaining fitness and training safely during pregnancy (without risking the unborn baby’s health) was perceived as a challenge, as was balancing the MA role after childbirth (i.e., achieving a successful athletic career and being a good mother). In many cases athletes felt uncertain about the support they may or may not receive from their team or federation and there were expectations of incompatibility surrounding the MA role. More research and educational efforts to promote MA-specific knowledge, as well as developing structured processes and providing policies to support female athletes, are identified as vital steps. These interventions may prolong athletic careers and enhance wellbeing for elite female athletes.
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| 2. |
- Bergström, Max, et al.
(författare)
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Tick-Tock Goes the Biological Clock : Challenges Facing Elite Scandinavian Mother-Athletes
- 2024
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Ingår i: Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal. - : Human Kinetics. - 1938-1581. ; 32:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Challenges facing mother-athletes (MAs) have aroused research and media attention in recent years, with an increasing number of sportswomen attempting to successfully combine pregnancy and motherhood with an elite athletic career. The aims of this study were to explore how MA-specific challenges manifest in elite cross-country skiing in Scandinavia and to better understand how female athletes balance their priorities as they initiate, maintain, and/or discontinue their role as a MA. Qualitative data were collected through semistructured interviews with 13 female cross-country skiers from Norway and Sweden. Thematic analyses revealed four MA-specific challenges facing the athletes: (a) Biological clock versus peak performance, (b) Maintaining fitness versus training safely, (c) Receiving support versus facing deselection, and (d) Balancing competing MA demands. Many of the athletes felt pressured into prioritizing either motherhood or athletic excellence, particularly in their early to mid-30s when the window of opportunity for building a family was considered limited. Further, maintaining fitness and training safely during pregnancy were perceived as a challenge, as was balancing the MA role after childbirth. In many cases, athletes felt uncertain about whether they would receive support from their team or federation. Moreover, there were expectations of incompatibility surrounding the MA role. More research and educational efforts to promote MA-specific knowledge, as well as developing structured processes and providing policies to support female athletes, are identified as vital future steps. These measures may prolong athletic careers and enhance well-being for elite female athletes.
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| 3. |
- Ekenros, Linda, et al.
(författare)
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Perceived impact of the menstrual cycle and hormonal contraceptives on physical exercise and performance in 1,086 athletes from 57 sports
- 2022
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Physiology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 1664-042X. ; 13
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Female athletes train and compete under the potential influence of hormonal fluctuations during the menstrual cycle or during use of various hormonal contraceptives. Dysmenorrhea and premenstrual symptoms are common in the general population, as well as side effects of hormonal contraceptives. More detailed knowledge concerning prevalence and perceived impact of these symptoms on training and performance in different sports is required. The aim of the study was to 1) characterize perceptions of training and performance during the menstrual cycle phases and by hormonal contraceptive use in a large population of female athletes; 2) explore whether symptoms experienced are related to perceived performance; and 3) examine potential differences in these factors between athletes at different levels of performance. The study was based on self-reported data from 1,086 athletes from 57 sports at different performance levels via a web-based questionnaire. Thirty-seven percent (n = 407) of the athletes did not use hormonal contraceptives. In this group, menstrual cycle related symptoms were common across all athlete levels, particularly dysmenorrhea (74%, n = 300) and premenstrual symptoms (78%, n = 318), which also influenced perceived performance of aerobic fitness, muscle strength, mental sharpness, balance, and sleep quality. Sixty-three percent (n = 679) of the athletes used various hormonal contraceptives and 40% (n = 272) perceived a variety of side-effects. Physical performance was experienced equally independent of time-point of the pill-chart except for the period of inactive pills, which was associated with more negative impact. Nonetheless, only 18% (n = 191) of the athletes considered menstrual cycle or hormonal contraceptive issues when planning their training or competitions. These results indicate that greater focus is needed to identify and effectively treat different menstrual cycle and hormonal contraceptive related symptoms on an individual level.
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| 4. |
- Ihalainen, Johanna K., et al.
(författare)
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Body composition, energy availability, training, and menstrual status in female runners
- 2021
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Ingår i: International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance. - : Human Kinetics. - 1555-0265 .- 1555-0273. ; 16:7, s. 1043-1048
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: To determine body composition, energy availability, training load, and menstrual status in young elite endurance running athletes (ATH) over 1 year, and in a secondary analysis, to investigate how these factors differ between nonrunning controls (CON), amenorrheic (AME), and eumenorrheic (EUM) ATH. Correlations to injury, illness, and performance were also examined. Methods: 13 ATH and 8 CON completed the Low Energy Availability in Females Questionnaire. Anthropometric, energy intake, and peak oxygen uptake assessments were made at 4 time points throughout the year: at baseline post competition season, post general preparation, post-specific preparation, and post competition season the following year. Logs of physical activity, menstrual cycle, illness, and injury were kept by all participants. Performance was defined using the highest International Association of Athletics Federations points prior to and after the study. Results: ATH had significantly lower body mass (P=.008), fat percentage (P<.001), and body mass index (P=.027) compared with CON, while energy availability did not differ between ATH and CON. The Low Energy Availability in Females Questionnaire score was higher in ATH than in CON (P=.028), and 8 ATH (vs zero CON) were AME. The AME had significantly more injury days (P=.041) and ran less (P=.046) than EUM, while total annual running distance was positively related to changes in performance in ATH (r=.62, P=.043, n=11). Conclusions: More than half of this group of runners was AME, and they were injured more and ran less than their EUM counterparts. Furthermore, only the EUM runners increased their performance over the course of the year.
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| 5. |
- McGawley, Kerry, 1978-, et al.
(författare)
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A review of sex differences in biathlon and nordic skiing
- 2023
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- INTRODUCTION: Data primarily derived from summer sports show that sex differences in endurance performance are around 10–15% and these differences are explained primarily by differences in body size and composition and higher haemoglobin concentrations in men (Sandbakk et al., 2018). The aim of this study was to provide a comprehensive literature review of the documented sex differences in performance and performance-determining factors in the winter Olympic endurance skiing sports of cross-country skiing (XCS), biathlon (BIA) and Nordic combined (NC).METHODS: Article databases of the US National Library of Medicine (PubMed), ScienceDirect and SPORTDiscus were searched using the search terms (gender OR sex differences AND [cross country skiing OR biathlon OR nordic combined]). Additional relevant literature was obtained from the reference lists of the published papers. An expert panel of seven researchers with published studies involving at least one of the included sports were also invited to suggest additional articles that could be considered for inclusion. Inclusion criteria were: 1) direct sex comparisons in one or more of the included sports and 2) competitive athletes > 15 years old. A total of 45 articles were identified for inclusion.RESULTS: Elite men ski 9–16% faster than performance-matched women during XCS and BIA competitions. These sex differences are typically larger in uphill terrain and smaller in downhill terrain. No studies have investigated performance differences between women and men in NC, although an analysis of the 2021 World Championships showed that the top 3 women skied ~ 14% slower over 5 km than the men skied over 10 km. These sex differences in skiing performance coincide with differences in body composition (i.e., more muscle mass in men, especially in the upper body) and aerobic capacity (i.e., higher lactate thresholds and VO2max in men), which impact upon sub-technique use and cycle length. Despite the higher relative mass of the rifle for women compared with men in BIA, no sex differences were associated with skiing with versus without the rifle.DISCUSSION: Sex differences in endurance skiing performance are comparable to those reported for summer endurance sports. However, the varying terrain, use of multiple sub-techniques and significant contributions from the upper and lower body impose unique demands on endurance skiers and influence sex differences. Further, women have historically competed over shorter distances than men in skiing, so true sex differences are likely to be underestimated.REFERENCES:Sandbakk et al., 2018. Int J Sports Physiol Perform 13: 2–8
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| 6. |
- Sandbakk, Øyvind, et al.
(författare)
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Preparing for the Nordic Skiing Events at the Beijing Olympics in 2022 : Evidence-Based Recommendations and Unanswered Questions
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Science in Sport and Exercise. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2096-6709 .- 2662-1371. ; 3:3, s. 257-269
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- At the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, the XC skiing, biathlon and nordic combined events will be held at altitudes of ~ 1700 m above sea level, possibly in cold environmental conditions and while requiring adjustment to several time zones. However, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may lead to sub-optimal preparations. The current commentary provides the following evidence-based recommendations for the Olympic preparations: make sure to have extensive experience of training (> 60 days annually) and competition at or above the altitude of competition (~ 1700 m), to optimize and individualize your strategies for acclimatization and competition. In preparing for the Olympics, 10–14 days at ~ 1700 m seems to optimize performance at this altitude effectively. An alternative strategy involves two–three weeks of training at > 2000 m, followed by 7–10 days of tapering off at ~ 1700 m. During each of the last 3 or 4 days prior to departure, shift your sleeping and eating schedule by 0.5–1 h towards the time zone in Beijing. In addition, we recommend that you arrive in Beijing one day earlier for each hour change in time zone, followed by appropriate timing of exposure to daylight, meals, social contacts, and naps, in combination with a gradual increase in training load. Optimize your own individual procedures for warming-up, as well as for maintaining body temperature during the period between the warm-up and competition, effective treatment of asthma (if necessary) and pacing at ~ 1700 m with cold ambient temperatures. Although we hope that these recommendations will be helpful in preparing for the Beijing Olympics in 2022, there is a clear need for more solid evidence gained through new sophisticated experiments and observational studies.
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| 7. |
- Sandbakk, Øyvind, et al.
(författare)
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The Evolution of World-Class Endurance Training: The Scientist's View on Current and Future Trends
- 2023
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Ingår i: International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance. - : Human Kinetics. - 1555-0265 .- 1555-0273. ; 18:8, s. 885-889
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Elite sport is continuously evolving. World records keep falling and athletes from a longer list of countries are involved.Purpose: This commentary was designed to provide insights into present and future trends associated with world-class endurance training based on the perspectives, experience, and knowledge of an expert panel of 25 applied sport scientists.Results: The key drivers of development observed in the past 10-15 years were related to (1) more accessible scientific knowledge for coaches and athletes combined with (2) better integration of practical and scientific exchange across multidisciplinary perspectives within professionalized elite athlete support structures, as well as (3) utilization of new technological advances. Based on these perspectives, we discerned and exemplified the main trends in the practice of endurance sports into the following categories: better understanding of sport-specific demands; improved competition execution; larger, more specific, and more precise training loads; improved training quality; and a more professional and healthier lifestyle. The main areas expected to drive future improvements were associated with more extensive use of advanced technology for monitoring and prescribing training and recovery, more precise use of environmental and nutritional interventions, better understanding of athlete- equipment interactions, and greater emphasis on preventing injuries and illnesses.Conclusions: These expert insights can serve as a platform and inspiration to develop new hypotheses and ideas, encourage future collaboration between researchers and sport practitioners, and, perhaps most important, stimulate curiosity and further collaborative studies about the training, physiology, and performance of endurance athletes.
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| 8. |
- Taipale-Mikkonen, Ritva S., et al.
(författare)
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Influence of Menstrual Cycle or Hormonal Contraceptive Phase on Physiological Variables Monitored During Treadmill Testing
- 2021
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Physiology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-042X. ; 12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: To examine the influence of menstrual cycle (MC) and hormonal contraceptive (HC) cycle phases on physiological variables monitored during incremental treadmill testing in physically active women (eumenorrheic, EUM = 16 and monophasic HC-users, CHC = 12).Methods: Four running tests to exhaustion were performed at bleeding, mid follicular (mid FOL)/active 1, ovulation/active 2, and mid luteal (mid LUT)/inactive. HC and MC phases were confirmed from serum hormones. Heart rate (HR), blood lactate (Bla), and V˙V˙O2 were monitored, while aerobic (AerT) and anaerobic (AnaT) thresholds were determined. V˙V˙O2peak, maximal running speed (RUNpeak), and total running time (RUNtotal) were recorded.Results: No significant changes were observed in V˙V˙O2 or Bla at AerT or AnaT across phases in either group. At maximal effort, absolute and relative V˙V˙O2peak, RUNpeak, and RUNtotal remained stable across phases in both groups. No significant fluctuations in HRmax were observed across phases, but HR at both AerT and AnaT tended to be lower in EUM than in CHC across phases.Conclusion: Hormonal fluctuations over the MC and HC do not systematically influence physiological variables monitored during incremental treadmill testing. Between group differences in HR at AerT and AnaT underline why HR-based training should be prescribed individually, while recording of MC or HC use when testing should be encouraged as phase may explain minor, but possibly meaningful, changes in, e.g., Bla concentrations or differences in HR response.
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| 9. |
- von Rosen, Philip, et al.
(författare)
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Offered Support and Knowledge about the Menstrual Cycle in the Athletic Community: A Cross-Sectional Study of 1086 Female Athletes
- 2022
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Ingår i: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. - : MDPI. - 1661-7827 .- 1660-4601. ; 19:19
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Many female athletes perceive that symptoms related to the menstrual cycle such as dysmenorrhea, premenstrual symptoms, amenorrhea or side-effects of hormonal contraceptives negatively impact their training, performance, and general well-being. Knowledge and communication about female athletes’ health is therefore important in the sport community. The aims of this study were to explore the level of knowledge and communication about menstrual cycle issues and use of hormonal contraceptives in the athletic community and to describe the kinds of medical support offered to female athletes. A total of 1086 Swedish and Norwegian athletes from 57 different sports responded to a web-based questionnaire. Of these, 58% (n = 627) practiced team sports and 42% (n = 459) individual sports. Twenty-six percent (n = 278) of the athletes perceived their knowledge about female athlete health to be poor/very poor and the knowledge was most often acquired from medical staff. Fifty-three percent (n = 572) of the athletes perceived the knowledge acquired of their coaches as poor/very poor, even though a significantly (p < 0.001) higher proportion of athletes with a female coach (30%, n = 31) rated their coach’s knowledge as very good/good, compared to athletes with a male coach (5%, n = 31). Only 11% (n = 116) of the athletes discussed female health issues with their coach. The majority (81%, n = 842) of the athletes partly to strongly agreed that female athlete health is considered a taboo topic in the athletic community. Forty-seven percent (n = 510) of the athletes had access to a physiotherapist, while only three percent (n = 29) had access to a gynecologist. Low perceived knowledge, lack of communication and support demonstrate the need for a multi-professional medical team and enhanced educational efforts focused on female athlete health in the athletic community.
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