CHELSEA WOMEN HAVE become the first football club in the world to tailor their training methods to suit the menstrual cycles of its players.
In an exclusive by The Telegraph, Kate Rowan writes that the Women’s Super League side have been working on this landmark initiative since August in an effort to improve performance levels and reduce injuries.
The club is devising individual plans for players based on the phases of their menstrual cycle in what could be a revolutionary step for female athletes.
Chelsea manager Emma Hayes first came up with the idea to look into the menstrual cycle of her players after her side’s defeat to Arsenal in the 2016 FA Cup final.
“We had a lot of players in and around their period for that game,” she explained to The Telegraph. “I remember watching players close the ball down and thinking everything was reactive and second-best. That was the starting point.
“It is fair to say, I am a female coach in an industry where women have always been treated like small men.
“The application of anything from rehab to strength and conditioning to tactical all come from the basis of what men do.
“And we have to have a better understanding of that because our education failed us at school; we didn’t get taught about our reproduction systems. It comes from a place of wanting to know more about ourselves and understanding how we can improve our performance.”