Response of women using oral contraception to exercise in the heat.

Purpose: To compare the response of long-term oral contraceptive users (WomenOC; n = 8) to naturally menstruating women (WomenNM; n = 8) at rest and during exercise in temperate (TEMP; 22 °C) and hot (HEAT; 35 °C) conditions.

Methods: Participants performed a three-stage cycling trial in each condition at 90, 135, and 180% of lactate threshold 1 (total = 52.5 min).