It is time for us (educators, teachers, parents and coaches) of female athletes to understand and accept the fact that female athletes are different from male athletes and these differences require a female athlete to train differently than boys / mens. Female athletes are different in height, muscle strength, and have different joint problems than their male counterparts. This does not make athletes mentally or physically weaker in any way. In fact, the unique anatomy and biological makeup of an athlete make her more conducive and more successful than boys / men in certain sports and activities.
It’s also time to get away from female athletes using male conditioning programs and protocols. Girls / women deserve more time and attention in their conditioning programs and we must all work to erase the myths, stereotypes, social pressures and negative attitudes associated with the practice of strength training. Coaches of female athletes may need to educate themselves on how to design a strength and conditioning program for their female athletes and emphasize the importance of continuing a program over a period of weeks, months, and years. Studies have shown that women do not adhere as much to a strength training program compared to men.
When I talk about strength and conditioning, I am not recommending that an athlete join a gym, spend a lot of money, train on exercise machines, or buy large, bulky equipment for their basement. It is important to note that female athletes can train at home or in a comfortable environment with a minimal amount of equipment and space. The use of an air ball, dumbbells, tube bands, or just your body weight, can be effective training aids to provide a great workout for an athlete with little to no dent in the pocket.
Listed below are the keys to developing a proper strength and conditioning program for female athletes. This is what the female athlete should be doing!
1. As a child just starting out in sports or physical activity, training should focus on sports movement, sports strength, and sports balance. In other words, learn to move efficiently within your sport. Work on basic movement skills and foundational skills in your sport. Learn to stop and start, cut, turn or turn. Girls need to learn to move more like tennis players. Tennis players stay forward on the balls of their feet, taking many small steps. They remain in an athletic stance, ready to move, pivoting on the front of the foot, with the knees bent. It is also important to keep your knees on your toes. Emphasize lateral and rotational movement patterns. Perform agility exercises to teach change of direction while squatting in an athletic stance with your knees bent. Strength training should be sport-specific, whole-body, and multi-joint. The hip, foot, trunk, and shoulders control the knee. Start with bodyweight exercises before adding external resistance, and balance training should be incorporated into the conditioning program. Keep training fun. This is like a workout for the training period.
2. At a young age, girls must learn to jump and land to avoid injury, particularly anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injuries. It is extremely important to have quality, controlled landings and soft jump landings, landing like a feather, without shaky knees or hard, loud landings. Land on the balls of your feet with your knees bent and your ankles bent to absorb the force. It is important for coaches to teach and control how a girl handles a jump.
3. At an early age, girls must learn to run properly. Coaches must teach proper form, biomechanics, and gait technique. This will contribute to smooth and efficient movement and help prevent injuries, particularly overuse injuries to the knee, hip, back, foot, and ankle.
4. Emphasize the importance of wearing the right shoes when doing strength training and in practice and games. Women are more carefree and groping, so it’s critical that your shoes or insoles address these issues.
5. It would be ideal for a girl / woman to start a strength and conditioning program at least before high school if she plans to compete and be successful in high school or college in her sport. Training should be throughout the year with the appropriate number of rest periods built into the annual training cycle. High school athletes should definitely do strength training year-round.
6. A strength and conditioning training program should focus on exercises that strengthen the knee joint to help prevent ACL injuries. The quadriceps, especially the vastus medialis and, more importantly, the hamstrings, which typically have much weaker strength compared to the quadriceps in women. It also strengthens the abductors and adductors.
7. Focus on core strength. This does not mean training for looks by getting a six pack. What I mean is to train the chest, abs, and the back and hip area. These are problem areas for many female athletes. Train the core from a standing position, this is more functional and more sport specific. If you’re ever short on time and can only do a few exercises, do some basic work.
8. If the sport requires a lot of throwing motions, train the rotator cuff muscles at the shoulder joint. It also works the muscles of the upper back, the rhomboids, which help stabilize the scapula and take stress off the shoulder joint and musculature.
9. Train in a functional way. Most of the exercises in the training program should be closed-chain (standing, feet on the ground) that incorporates balance, coordination, agility, and proprioception in every movement. Get off the machines and move freely with multi-joint and multiplanar exercises.
10. Emphasize proper nutrition and hydration at an early age. Every year we see osteoporosis in younger and younger people. I highly recommend that athletes and their parents meet with a nutritionist / dietitian to ensure that the athlete receives adequate nutrition on a daily basis in relation to her activity level. It’s safe to say that all female athletes could benefit from a daily multivitamin.
11. As an athlete is maturing (12-13 years of age), the emphasis of training should shift from youth athletic training, to training to improve locomotion, level changes, pushing and pulling movements and rotation. If an athlete has a history of strength training and has developed a good base of strength and flexibility, the athlete can incorporate more advanced forms of training into their program. For example, more advanced plyometric training, speed, power and explosiveness training and power training with Olympic lifts. This is a training period to compete.
Athletes, consult your physician before beginning any new exercise program.