Hannah Dower is a PhD student working with the Western Bulldogs AFLW club to investigate the impact of the menstrual cycle and contraceptive use on elite athlete performance. Hannah has a Bachelor in Sports Science, a Masters in Exercise Physiology and a 10-year career in strength and conditioning so she is EXTREMELY qualified to answer all our menstrual cycle and PMS questions!

You might remember an episode from a few months ago where we shared about our experiences of PMS. We received so many messages from you guys saying you felt exactly the same so we decided to bring in an expert to explain everything about the menstrual cycle and PMS.

We speak about what the menstrual cycle actually is, what is happening with our hormones at various stages of our cycle, the importance of tracking your cycle, the difference between PMS and PMDD, and if we should train differently at different stages of our cycles.

WE MENTIONED

Hannah recommended the book ‘Blood: The science, medicine and mythology of menstruation by Dr Jennifer Gunter https://www.hachette.com.au/dr-jennifer-gunter/blood-the-science-medicine-and-mythology-of-menstruation

The episode in which we talked about our own PMS symptoms is called ‘Steph's one and only one night stand’ from July 2024. You can listen here https://pod.fo/e/257ddf

The International Association For Premenstrual Disorders (IAPMD) has more information about PMDD https://iapmd.org/toolkit

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Steph Claire Smith @stephclairesmith on Instagram & @steph_claire_smith on TikTok
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