Reply to: Comment on: “The Effects of Menstrual Cycle Phase on Exercise Performance in Eumenorrheic Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis” and “The Effects of Oral Contraceptives on Exercise Performance in Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis”

[1] are active researchers in the field of thermoregulation, and believe their work is more suited to a specific meta-analysis investigating the effects of menstrual cycle phase on exercise performance in eumenorrheic women and oral contraceptive users in response to ambient heat stress or as part of a wider review of the effects of menstrual cycle phase on performance in response to different environmental conditions. [...]this design would not confirm that ovulation has taken place, which is a key indicator of eumenorrhea, as the mid-luteal rise in oestrogen and progesterone can occur in the absence of ovulation [13]. [...]the phase "ranges" for serum oestrogen and progesterone are broad and overlapping; for example, the follicular, ovulatory and luteal phases are characterised by oestradiol concentrations of 72-529, 205-786 and 235-1309 pmol·L-1, respectively As such, urinary ovulation detection kits provide additional context for interpreting hormonal data. [...]it is important to note that urinary ovulation detection kits are prospective (i.e., are used to predict phases), while blood samples are retrospective (i.e., used to confirm phases). [12]: "The authors refer to a previous paper as their reference for this, yet up to 50% of (highly) physically active women may have luteal phase-deficient and/or anovulatory cycles that would provide a false-positive result with this methodological recommendation."