Importance Of Strength Training For Female Athletes

=>If You’re A Parent Or A Female Athlete Please Read!!!

Over the last two decades we have seen more women compete in sports and not just at a national or professional level, junior high and high school participation is on the rise as well.  With this participation and acceptance of females on the competitive stage many things negatively impact the up and coming female athlete(s) such as anatomical considerations, hormone changes, and like the men they face injury but at a much greater degree. 

I’m going to do my best to better explain these issues and circumstances to give you a much more clear understanding why your daughters talent without strength training may be doing her more harm than good.

Special Characteristics Of Female Athletes

 Have you ever heard, “men are from mars, women are from Venus?” when it comes to body, bone, joint, and ligament structure truer words couldn’t be spoken.  In comparison with men, womenThe length of lower extremities makes up almost  56% of the total height in men, compared with 51.2% in women. In the realm of athletic discipline where agility, balance, and kinesthetic awareness is very important (i.e. gymnastics and soccer), a shorter stature and wider hip region provide women a lower center of gravity, which does provide an advantage but wheres there an advantage there is also a disadvantage.  With this wider hip region many things are affected from the hips such as femoral anteversion, genu val gum resultingin what is known as a “Q angle.”  This Q angle greatly affects the knee joint and predisposes the female athlete with anterior knee problems such as torn ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), peripatellar bursitis, and patella tendinitis to name the most common prepubescent years.  However, during puberty because of the dominant hormone found in males muscle mass begins to increase to much greater degree than in young women. By the time the young men leave high school and reach adulthood there bodies comprise almost 80% of cross-sectional muscle tissue compared to that of 55% found in young adult women.  As a result, max effort strength, explosive power, bone density, the ability to maintain a high metabolism, and recover after intense bouts of physical activity are greatly reduced. To better prove my point, studies have also showed us that females have more hamstring flexibility and reduced strength in the quads and hamstrings which is believe to be responsible for the dreaded (ACL) tear. These differences don’t just apply to the hip and knee joints.  Other areas greatly affected are the elbow, shoulder, and ankle joint.

Does She Have Too Much Muscle?

 Female Strength Training and Injury Prevention

With the explosion of female sports, it’s important for athletes, parents, and coaches to understand the importance of a well balanced strength and conditioning program.  A consistent program as well as sound nutrition is vital for obtaining optimum performance, improving posture, self-image, teamwork, goal setting, and injury.  While these things are greatly important and necessary, they aren’t the end all but do greatly improve the athletes chances of staying on the field, out of the doctors, and off the bench.

Here’s another way of saying the same thing, young athletes are becoming injured due to the fact that they participate in multiple sports at a much younger age.  Travel ball, multiple games, tournaments, sports, pushy parents, school work, and friends also make the list due to the fact that they are additional stresses.  These things help to lead to laziness on the field and the class room because kids are exhausted.  Please make sure that if it’s worth doing, it needs to be done right!!

Your strength and conditionin program should include the following elements in order to help make you more successful on the field and off it.

• A General Warm Up-this is used to elevate the HR and may include calesthetics, light jogging, or foam rolling
• A Dynamic Warm Up-this is a warm up that involves you moving and mimicking your movements on the field and in the gym
• Pre-hab/Re-hab-address any injured, sore, or previous injury that you may have
• Strength Training-This involves free weighted-compound exercises focusing on technique while helping you reach max strength and explosive power
• Cool down/stretching/foam rolling-it’s important to maintain flexibility of all limbs and reduce muscle soreness
• Post Workout Nutrition-VERY-VERY important! you’ll want to replinish your body and muscles with a carb/protein blend usually 2:1 in favor of carbs to proteins

Example Strength and Conditionging Program

13 year old Sierra Kellems goes through one of our lower body strength days performing the following exercises and setting PR’s in the box squat performing 3 reps with 135lbs and carring 85lbs in the farmer walk for 120′  GREAT JOB SIERRA!!!!!

Concept 2 Rower 3-5 minutes

lower body dynamic warm up 5-7 minutes

TKE’S (Terminal Knee Extensions) 3×15 each leg

Box Squat; 5×3

Sled Acceleration Starts 4×10-15 yards

GHR (Glute Ham Raise)-Probably the most important piece of equipment we have here

Faremer Carries for core, neck, and grip work

Please post your thoughts and comments below on these two things as well as any other thoughts you may have

1. What do you think will help correct ahtletes, coaches, parents, and teachers knowledge on the importance of strength training for feamale and young athletes
2. Why do you think coaches favor the guys in the weight room at school?

Thank you for taking the time to read this!!

-Travis Self-Strength Coach/CPT

References:

1. Author and Doctor-Hrvoje Klobu?ar, MD, MSc from the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Medical School University of Zagreb for providing the figure of anatomic differences between genders.
2. About.com-Orthopedics

Allison Stokke