Push Personal Fitness - Women Training Differences

Should We Train Women the Same as Men?

There is a functional difference.

How the female differs from the male are main issues when training a person. A trainer must be able to recognize many functional differences. Most trainers do not allow for differences between men and women. They train and provide nutritional guidance that does not fit the female trainee. The following are areas of concern: 1. Postural consideration for the female 2. Orthopedic concerns in a female 3. Hormonal and nutritional considerations 4. Exercise selection and program design strategies for females

Head carriage
First rib angle
Shoulder girdle posture
Pelvic tilt

How does footwear influence a females posture? High heels can and do cause considerable postural problems. According to Paul Chek as the high heel increases the kinetic chain must progressively compensate. This simply means the higher the heel the more your body must adapt postural to keep your eyes level with the horizon. There are many dysfunctions associated with high heels such as:

Hyperextension of the knees
Hyperlordosis
Flat back All of the above can lead to back, hip, and knee and ankle pain.

Women also have flexibility issues that men do not in general. They do indeed possess stabilizer weakness in a much higher degree as males. This is due to a number of factors such as poor postural habits, child bearing, and child handling and seated working environment. Women also go through puberty and weakness developed during these years can remain for a lifetime if not corrected of addressed.

Another area of concern is the total lack of exercise participation and overuse of machine training.

The following are a few orthopedic dysfunctions women face that their male counterparts may not.

Women are more likely than men to suffer from thoracic outlet syndrome and problems with ankle, knee, hip, sacroiliac, back and shoulder pain/dysfunction through improper training. The reasons cited are:

Lack of baseline strength
Less muscle mass
Less experience in sports
Under-use of closed chain exercises
Poorly designed footwear
Exercise machines and equipment not designed for females
Lack of emphasis on upper torso development

Theses are just a sample of the problems a personal trainer must keep in mind when designing a program for women.

Women also have nutritional considerations that must be addressed. Simply stated diets do not work. They commonly cause the following:

Increased quantity of lipogenic enzymes
Decreased quantity of lipolytic enzymes
Increased size of fat cells
Decreased lean body mass
Decreased basal metabolic rate
Each diet makes it harder to restore normal basal metabolic rate Fat fighting

Fat fighting tips for females.

Increase lean muscle mass through resistance training
Use compound exercises
Balance between cardiovascular and resistance training
Eat soon after exercise
Avoid large meals late at night

Call or write Push Personal fitness for more information 760.519.0045
A special thanks to Paul Chek and The Chek Institute for information received.