‘Training the Female Athlete’ Carmen Bott MSc. C.S.C.S. humanmotion carmenbott

1. ‘Training the Female Athlete’Carmen BottMSc. C.S.C.S.www.humanmotion.comwww.carmenbott.com

2. Workshop Goals • Create an awareness of some physiological similarities and differences in genders • Give you some practical strategies that you can apply to your own personal training setting

3. Workshop Overview • Physiological Adaptations to Training • Neuromuscular & strength adaptations • Cardiovascular adaptations • Metabolism and Body Composition • Biomechanical Issues and Potential Injuries

4. Part 1:Physiological Adaptations to Training

5. Section A:Adaptation toResistance Training

6. Gender Differences in Strength The notion of dichotomous populations results from: • Differences in the endocrine system • Cultural and participation factors “Based on opportunities to become engaged and the encouragement to pursue” . . .

7. Strength Differences • Females possess 40-60% of upper-body strength and 70-75% of lower body strength of men (7). • It should not be viewed in absolute terms because it is NOT consistent for all muscle groups

8. Strength Differences • Corrected for muscle mass, strength was no differentand . . . • Based on strength to lean body mass ratio, women are about equal in strength to men – when strength is calculated per X-sectional area of muscle

9. Conclusions & Implications • Well-trained females often resemble athletic males MORE CLOSELY than their female peers! • And muscle tissue has the same force development capability independent of gender.

10. Fiber Type Distribution • Is also similar between genders, but males may have a greater % of FT fibers and a larger Type II to Type I fiber ratio. • However, it has been shown that women may be able to use a greater proportion of stored elastic energy during activities in which the muscle is pre-stretched (SSC vertical jump) (7).

11. Long Term Strength Adaptation • Is the same . . while, gradually increasing muscular hypertrophy contributes to strength development primarily during the later weeks and months of training (9), the nervous system contributes to further strength development.

12. Long Term Strength Adaptation • Px ~ When female athletes are exposed to two training sessions of high intensity and short duration per day versus one session of longer duration per day, they improve their max strength and max voluntary neural activation of the trained muscles (9).

13. Muscle Fatigue and Functional Power Loss • New research suggests well-trained females actually lose less strength than males during the course of a rigorous work-out and recover their muscular prowess more rapidly after an exhausting bout of exercise (3).

14. Truths, Myths and Misconceptions

15. R.T. will cause females to become larger and heavier Truth! Women with : • a genetic predisposition to hypertrophy • who participate in high volume, high intensity training will see substantial increases in limb circumference.

16. Women should use different R.T. training methods than men • Myth! No evidence that women are more likely to be injured from RT than men • All participants should follow the same principles of training (overload, specificity, individualization & variation) regardless of gender – rate of progression is individual not gender dependant.

17. Women should avoid high intensity and high load training • Myth! In fact, training loads that are substantially below those necessary for physiologic adaptations absolutely will not help women achieve strength and/or muscularity goals • This seems to be less of a problem with men ~ why?

18. Hormone Influences • Women with higher FTES levels have greater potential for muscle strength and hypertrophy • GH can be influenced by training protocols that elicit high levels of blood lactate (eg 4x10 reps, 1 min off, large muscle groups) • = muscle development over time

19. Section B:Cardiovascular Response and Adaptation to Training

20. Characteristics of Blood • Adults have 5 litres of blood • Consists of plasma and blood cells • Plasma is clear and yellowish • Red blood cells make up 40-45% of total quantity of blood – this is called the hemotocrit

22. Hematocrit (Hct) • The % of red blood cells • Normal Hct Males 40-54% or 41-55% • Females 37-50% or 36-48% (24) • Red colour of blood is caused by a ferrous (iron-rich) protein called Hemoglobin (Hb)

23. Males versus Females • Hb binds to O2. • Men have avg 15.6 g/dL per 100 ml of blood, women have 13.8 g/dL grams due to menstruation losses, lower blood levels of androgenic steroids and diet. • Therefore women’s O2 transport is lower because of the lower levels of Hb

24. Performance Implications of Low Hb • EG: If Hb decreases from 10 to 9 millimoles per litre, the blood will be capable of transporting 10% less oxygen. • VO2 max then decreases by 10% • Body switches to anaerobic system and lactate is formed earlier

25. Also . . . • When Hb decreases • HR increases • Because the heart must circulate more blood to maintain the same level of O2 transport (24)

26. Heart Rate and Stroke Volume • HR max is generally the same in both genders • But… Women have a lower stroke volume which is a result of: 1. Smaller heart, small ventricles and lower testosterone 2. Smaller blood volume

27. Cardiovascular Adaptation • CV response is generally the same for men and women • Dependant on the intensity and duration of the exercise • Adaptation is due to changes, both centrally and peripherally, which facilitate oxygen delivery to the working muscles

28. Capacity for Aerobic Power: Men vs. Women (before menopause) • Before puberty there are no differences (11). • After…there are 3 basic physiological differences between men and women that affect the capacity for aerobic power

29. These differences are because Females have: • 1. a higher % of body fat • 2. A smaller O2 carrying capacity • 3. A smaller muscle fiber area

30. Differences • Body fat and weight are corrected mathematically (per kg of lean tissue), the differences are lessened to approx 5% • The remaining % is either still a difference in conditioning or more likely a sex related difference in the ability to transport and utilize oxygen.

31. Less Muscle Mass • In endurance trained women, they have 85% of the muscle fiber area of endurance trained men (11)…

32. Part 2:Metabolism and Body Composition

33. Fat Metabolism • Fat is stored in the form of triglycerides (TG) • TG are made up of FFA molecules held together by a molecule of glycerol • Body fat is stored in fat cells called adipocytes • 50,000–60,000 kcal are stored in fat cells

34. Fat Metabolism • 2,000-3,000 kcal are stored in muscle (IMTG) and blood. • During exercise TG (FFA) in fat cells, muscle and blood can be broken down (lipolysis) and used as fuel by the exercising muscles.

35. Storage • Women have higher % fat than men • 20-25% is healthy for non-athlete women and 10-15% is healthy for men. (13) • 10-13% is essential for female athletes • Mobilization refers to the process of releasing fat from storage sites in the body.

36. Enzymes • 2 main enzymes that regulate mobilization of FFA: • hormone sensitive lipase (HSL) • lipoprotein lipase (LPL) • Epinephrine stimulates lipolysis; it binds to receptors and activate HSL

37. Enzymes • HSL responsiveness to epinephrine is enhanced due to an increase in body temperature and a greater concentration of epinephrine blood vs at rest • An endurance-trained individual, HSL responsiveness is enhanced, HSL can be activated by a lower concentration of Epinephrine

38. Enzymes • Therefore a metabolic training effect of aerobic exercise is: enhanced receptiveness to mobilize and break apart TG for energy. • *Obesity (>35% bf) blunts this responsiveness

39. Enzymes • LPL is the gatekeeper that controls the distribution of fat in the various storage depots of the body • Research has shown that abdominal adipocytes are more sensitive to receptor stimulation and are therefore easier to mobilize than fat located in the hip & thigh area.

40. Storage • Because there are more “alpha receptors” in females around the hip and thigh region, this would favor the storage of fat as opposed to the mobilization of fat in this area. • Women also have a greater LPL concentration & activity in the hip and thigh region

41. Estrogen and Lipolysis • Estrogen may aid in the mobilization of fat from adipose tissue • Inhibits the hormone LPL • Estrogen has been shown to enhance epinephrine production • Been reported to stimulate the production of growth hormone

42. Growth Hormone • Growth hormone inhibits the uptake of glucose by active tissues and increases the mobilization of FFA from adipose tissue • GH inhibits insulin production from the pancreas and stimulating HSL • This would decrease glucose metabolism & increase FFA utilization during exercise

43. Intensity • As exercise intensity increases, so does total energy expenditure • Even though % from fat is less, TOTAL fat calories are GREATER because there is a greater absolute energy expenditure (13)

44. General Px for Optimizing Fat Metabolism • LSD will mobilize fat but this method takes way too long! • High intensity training burns more calories • Cross train to avoid overuse injuries = ability to do more work • LT approach ~ Improve structural integrity to do more work over time

45. Specific Px • Moderately heavy, low repetition training - increases a woman’s metabolic rate more than light weight, high repetition training • Bodybuilder routines have too much volume and hypertrophy may occur – the tension stimulus is of long duration and the rest periods are too short (60 sec) = hypertrophy

46. Specific Px • Superset OPPOSING exercises (exercises that do not contribute to fatigue of the other) • Use bodyweight exercises (forces women to work harder)* compare a push-up to a chest press • Prescribe intervals ONLY – no LSD CARDIO! Yes, I repeat NO CARDIO! Go for the ‘afterburn’

47. Specific Px • Keep the program consistent for exactly 4 weeks • Replace volume (multiple sets) with more total body exercises • *remember: total volume per muscle group equals hypertrophy!

48. Specific Px • No crunches, no curls - Remove all isolation exercises, even ‘prehab’ work • Select 4 multi-joint free weight exercises: A squat, a push or press, a pull and a lunge • Cycle through in a circuit versus a horizonal Px

49. Specific Px • 3 sessions per week, All ‘F.W.T.B.E.’ (no body-part training workouts) • Expect 90% commitment (anything less will not get results) • Download free fat loss workouts at www.carmenbott.com

50. PART 3:Biomechanics & Potential for Injury