Sport Conditioning for Women

Introduction

The focus for training athletes at Twist Conditioning is to be progressive, innovative and creative. With each new day we learn more about how best to train athletes to achieve the desired results, improve performance and push our knowledge further ahead. The complexity of the human body should never be underestimated and when it comes to developing effective conditioning programs attention to details produces greater results.

Many conditioning coaches do not modify their training programs when coaching female athletes, but the body chemistry of a female athlete is significantly different than a male athlete. Understanding gender differences from the obvious to the subtle and applying this knowledge can have a significant impact on training results. Women and men are different – right down to the cellular level.

Physical Differences

Men and women are anatomically unique. The axial skeleton is defined as the principle supportive structure of the body and in males it is comprised of the skull, vertebrae, sternum and ribs. In females the axial skeleton includes the skull, vertebrae and the pelvis. This redrawing of the female axial skeleton helps us understand the basic physics involved in movement for males compared to females. The adult male has a proportionately larger upper body along with a narrow pelvis resulting in a high center of gravity above the pelvis. The design of the male anatomy results in reduced overall stability and the development of a dominant upper body. The female skeleton is smoother and more delicate with a smaller and more rounded thoracic cage. The female pelvis tilts to the anterior (greater lumbar curve), is lower and wider than a male which creates a lower center of gravity (located inside the pelvis) and results in improved overall body stability. The articulation of the female hip joint on the pelvis (the acetabulum where the femur rotates) is at a more lateral and downward angle than a male creating greater rotation at the hip and the production of more 3 dimensional movement. These structural differences have a significant impact on female biomechanics influencing the distribution of weight, forces and stresses during movement. Greater hip width in women creates a less vertical and more angled femur resulting in valgus legs (knock knees) along with a collapse of the arch of the foot. Together these mechanics translate into a vulnerable knee joint that is prone to injury.

Physiological Differences

The majority of the gender differences between males and females begin to surface at puberty when circulating hormones appear. The average man has about twice the muscle mass than the average woman primarily due to testosterone levels. Women have more body fat (18 to 20%) than men (10 to 15%) to provide nourishment during pregnancy. This translates into a lower percentage of lean body mass in women. Female have higher levels of the hormones relaxin and elastin that affect connective tissue making them more flexible than males at all ages. The hormonal fluctuations that occur in females during the menstrual cycle affects every cell influencing overall well being, brain function and physical adaptation. From a cardiovascular perspective boys have a higher VO2 max than girls at all ages but by age 16 they have a 50% greater aerobic capacity that continues through adulthood.

Psycho-social Differences

From an early age (as young as 10) girls choose activities based on the opportunity to network socially when boys are motivated by competition and dominance. Women are very social - emotional creatures with 4 times more neurological connections between the right (creative / emotional) and left (logical / analytical) brain. The female athlete is hard wired differently making the concepts of socialization, learning, skill building and self awareness equally valuable with winning in the sport experience.

The Twist Team!