Eckhoff’s Golden Grip: – Golden Season After Menstruation

– There is no one to do it. Why not do something new? Tiril Eckhoff says to Dagbladet.

Eckhoff won the World Cup overall. It also became historic when he achieved seven consecutive victories in consecutive sprints, in one and the same season.

There are many factors that have made the Bærum girl the best in the world in the last year. Among other things, he has had fewer people in the support apparatus around him and has taken mental measures on the shooting range.

– I’ve done very well. I can’t describe it all myself. It has moved so incredibly well. I’ve never been involved in this before, says Eckhoff, who is now known as a complete biathlete.

The best biathlete in the world has also periodized her training according to when she is menstruating, something that very few female athletes do. This year it has been about training when it has been the most active of the cycle, she explains.

– The training has become more behind me and my cycle, so in a way it has become more individualized, she says.

On the “Kant ut” podcast, Eckhoff explained in October that he thinks it pays to train hard when you ovulate. Then it produces estrogen and progesterone. Something like a woman’s testosterone, he noted.

– Then you develop lighter muscles and then you are often very alert and in a good mood. Then it pays to exercise and train hard.

This is how she explains success

Investigating girls and menstruation

– I think it’s completely crude, says PhD fellow Tina Pettersen Engseth of what Eckhoff has accomplished.

Pettersen is a doctoral fellow in the FENDURA project, which investigates whether menstruation and contraception mean that women should exercise differently. It also emphasizes that many women can benefit by adapting their training to their own cycle.

– Especially maybe considering the tough sessions, where you should be on top. That in itself can provide better quality as well as motivation in what you’re doing, he emphasizes.

They investigate, among other things, how the menstrual cycle and the use of hormonal contraceptives can affect the quality and performance of training in cross-country skiers and biathletes.

Training theory as we know it relies heavily on men, explains Pettersen Engseth.

– We see that the research has been carried out mainly in men and in men. The argument for not including women has been that we are very complex, he says.

– Surveys show that athletes themselves report that they notice a difference in performance. Especially in the days leading up to the bleeding, they notice a decrease in their performance and how they feel.

In 2019, NRK wrote about up-and-coming skier Kjersti Nordberg who had her career ruined because no one knew enough about menstruation and contraception.

How to train after a cycle is the way to go for girls, Eckhoff believes.

– Then you can understand why you are very tired for a few days or why you are in very good shape. For me, it has been an aha experience.

– I think that the girls are given both contraceptive pills and hormonal preparations, I feel that there is such a small threshold for it. And the side effects can be quite serious. But I am not a doctor and I think it is good that they are investigating it, he says.

Come further in Italy

According to Eckhoff, who dedicates much of the credit for the successful season to his Italian coach Patrick Oberegger, they have gone further with cycling training in Italy than in Norway.

– In Italy, they have gone a little further. They’ve been doing strength training and girls. So they’ve been doing cycle-based strength training.

– How do coaches react when you train in this way?

– Norwegian coaches are a bit like that, yes yes, you can hold on to Tiril, he says and laughs before continuing:

– But I really wanted to do it to see.