In February, a tearful Silje Opseth stood in front of news’s camera. After a season of major sporting fluctuations, the WC had also been a failure for the national team athlete. TEARS: Silje Opseth was very down when news interviewed her in February. Photo: Pia Rivelsrud / news Open heart, she told about pitch-dark thoughts. The sensations were outside the body. She did not feel that she was worth anything. Opseth wanted to end the season, but at the same time the sadness triggered a curiosity in her: – Why were the negative feelings so strong in her? The hobby research project “Silje Opseth” was put into action. For two years, she has logged her menstrual cycle, and now she has also studied him against his own results in the show jumping. – It was interesting, because there was a fairly clear trend of where I was in the cycle and where the results dipped, she tells news. – Frustrated, annoyed and sorry. It takes us back to the WC. Opseth didn’t find his usual level and was wrecked in all competitions. Probably not by chance, the practitioner shows his own research. – Then I was in a bad place in the cycle. I think the hormones play me wrong in certain parts of the cycle. I become very self-critical, unable to think very rationally. It is something I want to practice and use to my advantage in the future, says the 24-year-old. JUMPERS: Opseth is among the best jumpers in the world when everything is right. Photo: Geir Olsen / NTB She can’t do anything about the cycle. But an increased understanding of how she herself works from nature’s side, she hopes can be a turning point in her own career. – When I’m in a bad period, it’s much easier to be able to tell myself that it’s completely natural. It’s just hormones messing things up for me. Then it is easier to get through it. In the past, I’ve just stood and stared, and didn’t understand anything. I was just frustrated, annoyed and sorry, says Opseth. Researcher: – Smart by Silje – I think it’s very smart by Silje, and actually something all sports girls should do. Gaining an understanding of how the menstrual cycle affects how you feel and how it works in training. That’s what former orienteer Hanne Staff says. She is part of the research project FENDURA, which will find out how hormonal and female-specific aspects affect training and performance among women. RESEARCHER: Hanne Staff has previously participated in Mesternes meister on news. Now she is researching women in sport. Photo: Heidi Marie Gøperød / Nordisk Banijay/news According to Staff, sports research previously focused on men and has now been transferred to women. Therefore, there are gaps in the research on how menstruation affects sports performance. – The research does not yet have an unequivocal answer, but the advice from many researchers is precisely that – that one maps one’s own cycle and how one affects oneself, she says. Appreciated for openness Opseth has had a close dialogue with professionals from the Olympiatoppen and the support apparatus for the national team throughout the project. Opseth believes it is important that the trainers understand how she works, so that they have a common understanding of when her body and head are not playing perfectly together. She is praised for her openness – both in the media and internally in the team. – I will be proud. Silje has become a safer and more secure person, and is more comfortable in her own life. The fact that she dares to go out and be open about such things indicates that she feels secure in her own worth. We know that athletes who perform over time are those who are also good outside the jumping hill, says national team coach Christian Meyer. COACH AND STUDENT: Opseth and Meyer. Photo: Geir Olsen / NTB Staff say that there is much more openness about menstruation in sports now than before, but that there is still a way to go. – I think that there are still many people today who do not talk to their trainer about menstruation and these female-specific aspects, she says. – The notice makes the threshold for talking about it lower. It is important that you take the girls seriously, and are curious about how you can facilitate them, adds the researcher. Meyer believes that Opseth takes periodization to a new level, and is confident that the project can produce results on the ski jump. Meyer has noticed that her mood can fluctuate, and is a big fan of how she systematically works to find out why. – It’s very interesting – and it’s creative. I appreciate that the athletes are so eager and curious, says Meyer. This is how the project can help Even if Opseth has become wiser about how the body and head work, the hobby project is far from over. The jumper will now use the knowledge in the training and competitions to come. – We women have a cycle which means that in certain periods we should take it a little more easy, and then we can drive a little more on in other periods. I think it is profitable to put life and training on hold after that. I have noticed it myself, that if I press too hard for too long, I get sick. It is not unusual for me to be ill when I am at my worst, because then the immune system is weakened, says Opseth. – I can put more emphasis on strength and endurance in certain periods, and then I need more rest in others, she adds.
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