ROAR is one of the most recommended books on training around the menstrual cycle, and it’s easy to see why: it takes female physiology seriously in a field that mostly ignored it for decades. That doesn’t mean every claim in it survived closer scrutiny.

What holds up

The core message, that women aren’t small men and blanket-applying male-derived research is a real gap, is well supported and worth internalizing. General guidance on fueling adequately and recovery also holds up fine against broader nutrition research.

What deserves more skepticism

Some of the specific cycle-phase training and nutrition prescriptions go further than the underlying studies support, several of which are small or preliminary. Treating those as settled science oversells the certainty.

Where I land

Useful for the mindset shift, worth reading with a critical eye on the specific protocols. I took the framework, not the rulebook.