Staying active at “that time of the month”

Follow me on Twitter @RobShmerling This past August, her exuberance, emotion and enthusiasm had already made Fu Yuanhui the most famous Chinese athlete at the Olympics. After winning a bronze medal in the women’s 100-meter backstroke with a personal best, she nearly exploded with excitement: “I was so fast! I’m really pleased! I’ve already… expended my primordial powers!” Her interview went viral with millions of hits worldwide. Then she said something truly shocking: she was having her period. Noticing that the swimmer was grimacing after her relay team narrowly missed medaling, an interviewer asked if she had a stomachache. Yuanhui answered “It’s because I just got my period yesterday, so I’m still a bit weak and really tired. But this isn’t an excuse for not swimming well.” When the New York Times, NPR and other media outlets covered the story of the Chinese swimmer who dared to mention that she was having her period as if it were the perfectly natural thing that it is, they focused on the fact that she’d violated a cultural taboo — indeed, it is virtually unheard of for women in China to publicly mention menstruation. But, they also missed an opportunity to counter the common misconception that menstruation impairs athletic performance or that it’s unsafe or inappropriate to swim while having your period. Menstruation and athletics I recall classmates in high school sitting out basketball practice because they had their periods. I assumed it wa...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Exercise and Fitness Women's Health Source Type: blogs