Female athletes manage periods through a mix of menstrual products (tampons, cups, period underwear/swimwear), hormonal birth control to regulate cycles, period tracking apps for planning, and lifestyle adjustments like nutrition, sleep, and stress management, often with support from coaches and healthcare providers, to minimize disruption and maintain performance, with some using innovative gear like period swimwear.
Some female athletes use hormonal birth control to skip their periods entirely during important events, while others might rely on pain relievers to mitigate any discomfort from cramps. And, of course, many folks use tampons or menstrual cups to manage the practical aspect.
So if you were wondering how exactly these female Olympic gymnasts compete with their periods, you have your answer—they just deal with it and earn their medals anyway. And that's to say nothing of the added stress that a bloody leak or rogue tampon string puts on these athletes.
Menstrual cycles generally do not pose problems for female athletes. As to how they handle the cycle, the answer is simple: almost all female athletes wear tampons.
You can do just about anything while on your period. Some girls get cramps really bad, which can limit your enthusiasm. But swimming, horseback riding, gymnastics, running, and other activities are totally possible. Just don't wear white.
Any changes in normal hormone levels can lead to menstrual dysfunction, especially in athletes. This can be caused by overtraining, stress, dieting and weight loss. Typically, menstrual dysfunction occurs when the amount of energy used by athletes exceeds the amount of energy taken in through nutrition.
The woman, who goes by the name of mi-elskincare on TikTok, gave an insight into the beauty tricks that gymnasts use, and also how to avoid any razor bumps or ingrown hairs. She revealed that because she wasn't allowed to wear shorts, the gymnast was shaving every other day.
Professional swimmers often use products like tampons or menstrual cups to absorb blood and prevent leaks. Elite swimmers may also use birth control to shift their periods. While water pressure can temporarily slow the flow of menstruation, your period doesn't stop in the water, so some form of protection is necessary.
Wearing tight-fitting sports underwear or compression shorts can help keep the pad in place, reducing the chances of shifting or bunching up.
The most common menstrual cycle symptoms reported by elite female athletes include: Mood changes. Fatigue. Abdominal cramps (reported by up to 80% of athletes)
What can be said with certainty is that there is no solid evidence that hormonal contraception decreases athletic performance and that many elite female athletes use hormonal contraceptives with no apparent deleterious effects.
Missed periods (amenorrhea) may be caused by stress, under-nutrition, or over-exercise — all of which can lead to something called functional hypothalamic amenorrhea.
Key takeaways: It's totally safe to swim on your period, but if you're worried about leaking, you can always use a tampon, menstrual cup, or period swimwear. In many cases, the water pressure will stop any bleeding you may have while in the swimming pool, sea, or lake.
If you are a female of reproductive age and regularly get your period, you may notice that you feel more tired, less motivated, and potentially weaker around certain times of the month. This is because along with normal hormone fluctuations, training-related factors such as metabolic rate and strength are impacted.
The female athlete triad is a subset of REDs. It describes three interrelated conditions: disordered eating, irregular menstruation, and bone loss. The International Olympic Committee advanced the concept of the female athlete triad with the term REDs in 2014.
'There's actually no evidence to say that periods affect objective running performance – that's to say, you should be able to run a parkrun, 10k or marathon PB on any day of your menstrual cycle.
Pads Are *Not* Designed to Be Worn Swimming
If you bleed, then your blood will have nowhere to go; it will just mix with the water and become diluted. You may even notice a pink trail in the water (depending on how heavy your flow is.)
Unfortunately, pads can be difficult for athletes to use since they tend to be bulky, and if you sweat a lot, you may struggle with finding one that stays in place during competition. "Tampons are not a bad thing," says LaBotz.
There really is no 'right or 'wrong' age for your teen to try tampons, once her period has arrived. Instead, it depends on individual development, comfort, and an understanding of how to use them safely.
Dealing with the practical issues of your period
You can also ask for free tampons to be stocked in the women's locker room, or make sure that you have extras on hand for you and your teammates. You can't control everything about your period, but you can control certain ways to make it more manageable.
If you use a menstrual product, it is highly unlikely that any blood will be released into the water while you swim, she said. In the instance that your period starts while you're in the pool or other body of water, the amount of blood would be so small that it would easily be diluted by the rest of the water.
Julia Roberts
"I think I just hadn't really calculated my sleeve length and the waving, and how those two things would go together and reveal personal things about me. So it wasn't so much a statement as it's just part of the statement I make as a human on the planet, for myself."
The Full Moon is a newer style that's been growing in popularity over the past year or two. The look entails removing the hair from the sides, top, and back while grooming and waxing the hair at the front of the pubic mound into a circle using a stencil and high-precision waxing techniques.
Of the straight women polled, 82% remove some of their pubic hair – but only 15% of respondents say they're completely bare down there.