In 2020, 94% of all surveyed sports performance research was revealed to have been tested on men and then extrapolated to girls and women as ‘small men’. In grassroots sport, understanding, discussing, and training with, rather than against, the female body is still taboo, awkward, or pushed aside. When we automatically apply warm up and training guidelines tested on male athletes to girls and women, we can even increase the risk of injury — especially to the knees, hips, and ankles.

Considerations of the menstrual cycle are rapidly spreading through elite sport and in time will trickle down to grassroots because it is relevant to all girls and women who want to be active, healthy and reach their sporting potential. In September 2025, the  UEFA consensus statement  issued expert-agreed guidelines on the menstrual cycle, to standardise practices, reduce stigma, and support player health and performance in women’s football.

This is the most common question we are asked by grassroots coaches and rest easy, in a nutshell the answer is no. There is no universal guidance on how to adapt training around the menstrual cycle so as a coach, you will never need to direct your athletes to train in a certain way for each phase. Your role as coach is to create the positive conditions, openness, shared understanding and language to enable your athletes to suggest and apply their own adaptations.

We care deeply that our education translates the latest science for your benefit. So it's important to tell you that the research is exciting but still emerging. There are conflicting findings, variation between studies, and too few high-quality trials to offer universal, phase-specific training advice.

So be wary of anyone who claims you should train a certain way in each phase, there is currently no strong evidence to support this. You can perform on any day of your cycle; your strength, fitness, technique, and power remain consistent.

Our mission is to give you the knowledge and tools to make informed decisions about your health and training, reduce injury risk, control the ‘controllables’ and stay in sport for as long as possible.

Since 2020, research into female physiology in sport has really taken off! But as we note above, it is still early days - there are conflicting findings, variation between studies, and too few high-quality trials to offer universal, phase-specific training advice. We provide a detailed list of academic sources in our Members’ Area but click here to read six important research articles.

“Yes, people will notice — and it’s a good thing. It shows your openness, commitment, and leadership in supporting girls to train safely and effectively.”

We will give you the skills, knowledge and confidence to talk about girls’ bodies in a way that is safe, empowering and supportive. As an early adopter, an innovator and someone who is open, acknowledging that girls are different from boys and should likely train, fuel and recover differently as a result, then yes, people will likely talk about you. But we will equip you to lead, to inspire and to explain why as a coach you want the best for your athletes.

Firstly brilliant that you are on board with the idea. Thank you for this. Secondly, we can help - we can provide in-person workshops throughout London and the South East. For those clubs, schools and academies further afield and overseas, we have found that you just need one club member who feels strongly about supporting girls and women, willing to be a focal point and deliver our education in your local community. Some clubs and academies nominate their Safeguarding or Welfare officer to carry out this role. We provide everything needed to deliver our cutting edge education (parent communications, presentation, speakers notes, handouts, participant feedback forms) in a fun, informal and engaging way for all in your community to benefit.