The Time Of Month For Muscle

We can all agree that hormonally women are more complicated than men. A recent study from Ruhr-University Bochum in Germany found a way to make that complexity work for a group of women. They took a group of 20 women and concentrated their weight training on one leg during the follicular phase of their menstrual cycle, the two weeks before ovulation that is characterized by higher levels of testosterone and the female sex hormone estradiol. Then, during the proceeding two weeks, known as the luteal phase, they focused on the other leg. Sure enough, at the end of the experiment, the women had 46 percent more muscle mass and 42 percent more strength in the leg they trained during the follicular phase.