Female-specific training and nutrition
Our hormones govern most processes in the body. And sex hormones influence more than just the reproductive system – estrogen, progesterone and several other hormones that fluctuate throughout women’s lives have a profound effect on how we cope with and adapt to training, how we metabolise energy, how we sleep, how we maintain the right body temperature.
Conventional training approaches are based on sports science studies conducted (mostly) on male subjects. Some studies have mixed gender subjects and some even study exclusively female subjects, but only in recent years has sports science begun to acknowledge that studies on women need to differentiate between menstruation status, contraception and hormone phases.
As these studies emerge, there is a new movement towards changing conventions when it comes to training, fueling, hydration and recovery for women. This approach needs to be personalised to each woman’s personal circumstances. Coach Abby has undertaken Stacy Sims’ groundbreaking course, ‘Women Are Not Small Men’ which looks at this new science and how to put it into practise.
If you are not a small man and you would like to incorporate this approach into your training, get in touch! We offer consultations or this can be incorporated into full-service triathlon coaching.
