LGFA and Orreco team up to promote ground-breaking FitrWoman app 

The Ladies Gaelic Football Association (LGFA) and Orreco are pleased to announce a groundbreaking technology partnership which will see LGFA promote a new app for women, created by the world-leading Irish sports data, biomarker and performance experts.

 

FitrWoman provides personalised day-to-day evidence based training and nutrition suggestions tailored to the changing hormones in a woman’s cycle. 

 

It also allows access to insights gleaned by Orreco’s two decades of working with top athletes including Olympic legend Sonia O’Sullivan and encourages women to maintain and manager their exercise regimes. 

 

The FitrWoman app help women, no matter what the sport and no matter what the goal, to take the guesswork out of training.

 

Under the partnership, Orreco scientists and performance experts will also work with the LGFA to deliver provincial coach education workshops and provincial player education workshops and will conduct LGFA specific research for the specialised area of ‘the female athlete’ to benefit girls and women playing Ladies Gaelic Football.

 

Historically, there has been a lack of research conducted in female athletes and more and more elite female athletes have spoken out about the issue. As the anatomy and physiology of men and women is very different, training requirements also differ.

 

Research is gradually emerging to highlight how exercise and nutrition can be altered to optimise training and performance and to reduce injury risk in women, but more is needed. Women need to train as women and not as men.

 

LGFA/FitrWoman ambassadors Noelle Healy (Dublin), Tracey Leonard (Galway), Noelle Gormley (Sligo), Bernie Breen (Wexford), Sinéad Delahunty (Tipperary) and Marian McGuinness (Armagh) were present at today’s Croke Park launch.

 

Research by Orreco and FitrWoman shows that one in two women has stopped exercising because of the menstrual cycle while more than half say they are embarrassed by their periods, a survey by Irish data and sports performance experts Orreco has revealed. 

 

Young women are the most severely impacted group with 73% of all 16-24 year olds saying their menstrual cycle has caused them to stop exercising or playing sport at some point.

 

A significant reason behind the decision to stop exercising (54%) was the fear of ‘showing’ – the appearance of blood – with many women preferring to hide any physical signs of a period and 76% citing associated symptoms. 

 

The opinion poll of over 1,000 Irish and British women was carried out by Populus for FitrWoman. The new app, which is available free on IOS and Android, empowers women with the knowledge of their own physiology, allowing them to exercise smarter by adapting training and nutrition in line with hormone changes throughout their menstrual cycle. 

 

Orreco has pioneered research around the needs of female athletes – its first client was Olympic medalist Sonia O’Sullivan - and says the FitrWoman app will now help bring that expertise to millions of women worldwide. 

 

Speaking about the new partnership, Ladies Gaelic Football Association Helen O’Rourke commented: “The FitrWoman app is an essential download for our players and all female athletes. We have heard anecdotal evidence for many years relating to the effects of the menstrual cycle on player training, performance and recovery.

 

“We are now delighted to officially endorse the FitrWoman app, which will provide our players with key tips and insights, while also providing further understanding around the challenges associated with the menstrual cycle.”

 

Orreco’s Product Development Manager Gráinne Conefrey said: “FitrWoman provides the latest insights, research and tips specifically focused on female athletes.

 

“The app is a one-stop shop that allows users to keep track of their own cycle while also viewing key training and nutrition suggestions which change depending on a user’s phase. 

 

“Our goal is to give exercising women a competitive edge at all times during their menstrual cycle. By tailoring training and nutrition in line with the fluctuations in hormones throughout the cycle, women can learn to adapt training to gain maximum benefits, reduce injury risk, and know when to prioritise recovery.”