The Hormonal Athlete

Why I'm doing this

Perimenopause isn't the finish line.

I'm Nihal. I'm 42, half British, half Egyptian, and I live in Spain. I've always trained hard, and it's how I self-regulate, stay grounded and push the limits of what I'm capable of.

Then I hit my 40s and my body changed the rules. Perimenopause, PMDD, ADHD, all at once, and suddenly I couldn't train the way I always had.

I've never accepted the status quo, so when doctors dismissed me, I went looking for answers. What I found surprised me: most of what we know about training, fuelling and recovering is based on studies of men, not women. The more women I spoke to, the more I realised how many of us are being told to just slow down and do less.

I'm finding out, with data and science, whether I can become the fittest version of myself in my 40s. And filming all of it, to share what I learn along the way.

      The premise
    

A documentary series. Each season I take on a physical challenge most people would call unrealistic for a woman my age, and use data and science to find out whether I can actually do it, while going through perimenopause and living with PMDD and ADHD.

Directed and produced by

40BPM, a production company specialising in health and fitness brands.

The goals

Each season focused on a goal most people would call unrealistic for a woman in her 40s.

Season one In production

HYROX Women's Pro. Solo.
Under 1:10:00.

A time that would put me in roughly the top 5% of women racing. Race day 13 November 2026.

— days to race day 00:00:00

Season two

Not revealed yet

Announced closer to the time

Locked

Season three

Not revealed yet

Announced closer to the time

Locked

Watch on YouTube Follow on Instagram

The team

Working with a team of elite sports specialists.

Leading the science

Dr David Castol

Sports doctor

David is a sports doctor with over 15 years in medicine and the last 11 as a team physician at the highest level of professional cycling, working with EF Education-EasyPost and elite athletes including Olympic road race champion Richard Carapaz. His approach combines medicine, physiology, nutrition and performance analysis into a plan built around the individual athlete, starting with detailed assessment to maximise performance while minimising the risk of injury.

This season he runs every test, writes my running programme and manages my nutrition.

Method

Tested, fuelled and coached the way elite athletes are.

Everything measured, so the numbers decide the training.

Resting metabolic rate

What my body burns at rest, measured rather than estimated. Sets the fuelling target everything else works from.

VO2 max

The maximum amount of oxygen my body can use during intense exercise. Measures aerobic capacity and tracks whether that capacity is actually increasing across the season.

Lactate threshold

The intensity at which lactate accumulates in the blood faster than it can be cleared. Marks the ceiling of sustainable effort and the precise pace I can hold before fatigue takes over.

Body composition

A test, not a target. It tells us whether I'm holding the muscle to train hard enough, and to keep going.

Nutrition

Off the back of the testing, David writes the nutrition. Daily calories and macros, adjusted to the training day rather than set once and forgotten.

Illustrative chart of hormone levels mapped across the days of the menstrual cycle

Every cycle

Everything mapped against my cycle

Symptoms, mood and training load, tracked against every test result, alongside sleep, HRV and daily load.

The people around this

The specialists I'm working with and putting the questions to.

Eric Gallart

Strength and HYROX coach, Never Quit Training

Builds the strength and HYROX work the running programme sits on top of.

James Wellington

Physiotherapist, James Wellington Physiotherapy

Keeps me on the start line.

Dr Mohamed Abdelghani

Consultant psychiatrist, Nurify Medical. ADHD and mood

“What does ADHD actually cost an athlete, and what helps?”

Sumeeta and Gemma

Co-founders, SYNC. Cycle and wearable data

“Can wearable data tell me when to train hard, and when not to?”

More conversations are being booked. Researchers, clinicians and coaches, get in touch.

HOW I GOT HERE

Dedicated to the person who taught me to always aim for the stars.

My father was an orthopaedic surgeon, my best friend, my mentor and my coach, the person who believed in me more than anyone. He led by example, and he taught me to aim for the stars: that no dream was too big, that I should always have a mind of my own, and that whatever your race, gender or background, if you put your mind to something, you can achieve it.

In 2012 I lost my beloved father to cancer, and the grief was unbearable. I was angry, lost and couldn't face life without him. So I turned to movement to put myself back together, and it's how I've regulated ever since. It started with amateur boxing, then powerlifting, CrossFit and HYROX, with kitesurfing, wakeboarding, skiing, snowboarding and motorbiking along the way. With every new sport, I pushed my mind and body a little further.

The last message he sent me said: work hard and focus, it's the secret of success. I've lived by it every day since.

This one's for you, Dad. My biggest cheerleader.

How far can we push our physical limits in our 40s and
through perimenopause?