Articles Index-Sports and Fitness
 
Considerations for Female Clients
 
Equal but not the Same
The female body, particularly at joint structures such as the wrist, shoulder, knee and ankle, is smaller. And women are typically more energy-efficient than men are, with men being stronger when calculated by absolute strength.
 
A woman's energy efficiency is likely to be a physiological necessity when you consider that the female body is designed to carry a developing foetus for nine months in what would have been unpredictable times over the span of human development. In fact, Australian researcher Robbie Parker reported that females use approximately 40% less energy than men when walking the same distance. The female's greater 'Q' angle has been associated with an increased prevalence of non-contact ACL injuries. Because of an increased
 
 
'Q' angle and wider pelvis, the female exerciseror athlete suffers medial rotational instability of the lower extremity more frequently than males. The best cure is functional exercise with specific attention being given to core and hip stabilisers. Exercises recruiting the hip extensor mechanismin concert with good core stabilisation aid femalesboth aesthetically and functionally. Surgeons also note that in females there is less space in the condylar notch through which the ACL passes. When the condylar notch is small, the ACL is predisposed to unwanted friction, particularly if the legs are not functionally stable.
 
The Keys to a Stronger Body
These differences should not be viewed as risk of injury. Keep in mind, however, that just as women are anatomically or physiologically different from men, there is a large degree of variation among women as well.
 
Flexibility First
The first step in any exercise programme is to restore flexibility to muscles that are restricting or altering joint motion. As a woman's flexibility improves, she should choose exercises that improve functional stability, particularly in the core/pelvis region, which is imperative for injury prevention in all sports. The most important muscle for a woman to restore and maintain optimal levels of function is the transverses abdominis (TVA). The TVA, through its relationship with the thorasiclumbar fascia, is intimate with the breathing apparatus, the paraspinal and deep stabiliser muscles of the spine, the pelvic floor, the hamstrings, and the peroneal muscles of the lower leg and foot. Commonly associated with older, sedentary women, incontinence is actually a common complaint among exercising women. Nygaard et al. found that 47% of exercising females at an average age of 38.5 years suffered from incontinence. By exercising the TVA, the exerciser often improves both incontinence and stability of the spine, pelvis and legs - a double benefit! This is because the pelvic floor and the deep stabiliser muscles of the back. This simple procedure is described in Paul Chek's Equal, but not the Same correspondence course.
 
Free-weights for a Strong, Functional Body
Another important step toward improving function in the female body is to minimise the use of machines. Machines are bolted to the floor, have a guided resistance and most often require exercises to be performed from a seated position. Such a training environment does not develop the stabiliser or postural mechanisms of the body, leaving the door wide open for injury. This is a frequent occurrence even after achieving what would appear to be high levels of fitness using a machine-based programme. To develop functional stability and strength, begin all workouts with the free-weight or free-body exercise that requires the use of the greatest number of muscles and joints, such as lunges or standing dumbbell presses. Then, if your conditioning level is high, choose another similar, but slightly less challenging free-weight exercise. Finally, progress to machine training for an additional two to four exercises.
 
Women need not be concerned that adding free-weight exercises to their programme will result in large muscles. Females naturally have higher levels of oestrogen and much lower levels of the muscle-building hormone, testosterone, than males. Female body builders spend between three and five hours a day in the gym trying to achieve the muscle development other women fear. In fact, putting muscle mass on a female is so challenging that many female body builders turn to anabolic steroids for assistance.
 
Powering Up
Power or high-speed exercises should only be performed after optimal flexibility to all major working joints has been restored, and adequate levels of functional stability and strength have been achieved. Whenever the amplitude or velocity of an exercise is increased, the forces through the joints, muscles and connective tissues significantly increase. Athletic trainers should also be aware that females are significantly weaker than males and are prone to injury when exposed to plyometric exercises used for male athletes of the same training age (Scientific Physical Therapy). In fact, most sports are won and lost through the performance of 'power movements'. Inadequate stability or strength results in an increased risk for injury.
 
Step by Step
The female athlete wanting the most from her body both functionally and aesthetically will reap significant benefits from estoring function to the TVA, which is frequently dysfunctional after childbearing, caesarean section or hysterectomy.
 
1. Increase flexibility by setting aside time each day to stretch.
2. Exercises done with a stability ball are ideal for increasing core stability and strength. Perform these and free-weight exercises at the beginning of an exercise programme and move on to machine exercises only when the nervous system is fatigued from the more complex exercises.
3. After a course of 8 -16 weeks of progressive stability and strength-training exercises, power-training exercises such as plyometrics should be added - always remembering that females need gender-specific doses of eccentric exercises.
 
As an athletic trainer, it is important to step back and assess your female clients' needs from the beginning. Every athlete has different training needs and should never be put on a 'canned' athletic training programme. Detailed assessment tools and programming information for the female athlete can be found in Paul Chek's Equal, But Not the Same Correspondence Course.
 
A successful exercise programme must include the following elements, each of which builds upon the other:
1. Flexibility
2. Stability
3. Strength
4. Power
 
References:
1. Nygaard, I et al. Obstet Gynecol., Exercise and Incontinence, 75:848:851, 1990.
2. Parker, R. Fat Loss in Pre-menopausal Women (lecture handout), 1998.
3. Network New Zealand National Health and Fitness Convention Auckland, New Zealand. June, 1998.
 
For more information contact our UK distributor at: The Round Barn, Gibraltar Farm, Wick Street, Firle, East Sussex, BN8 6NB
Tel: +44 (0) 1273 856860
info@paulchekseminarsuk.com
www.chekseminars.com
 
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