Hormonal
Menstrual cycle phase and oral contraceptive use do not significantly influence exercise performance or muscular hypertrophy in response to resistance training.
Train consistently regardless of your cycle phase. There is no evidence that you will lose muscle gains or performance by training during your luteal phase or while on birth control. Focus on progressive overload and consistency rather than phase-specific modifications.
A broad review reveals that the differences between the follicular and luteal phases and between OC active and placebo phases are not associated with marked differences in exercise performance and appear unlikely to influence muscular hypertrophy in response to resistance exercise training.
Why this rating
Based on narrative review and meta-analysis of sparse data; many studies lacked rigorous phase verification.
Source
Menstrual cycle hormones and oral contraceptives: a multimethod systems physiology-based review of their impact on key aspects of female physiology
Alysha C. D’Souza et al. · Journal of Applied Physiology · 2023
DOI 10.1152/japplphysiol.00346.2023
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