133. Myths & Fallacies, Women & Strength Training pt. 2

Sports Mastery

EMILY PAPPAS, M.S. EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY

WHY is there a disparity of women in the weight room compared to men? It all derives from how women have been viewed in sport since the early 1900s. Why females view lifting as a guy thing stems from years and years of misinformation and cultivation of societal norms that are currently inhibiting our female athletes success.

Emily brings to light these common myths:

1. Q angle, Hormones, and Injury risks ( Alluding it is due to a "structural deficiency" perpetuates a culture that assumes females are less fit for sport. When in fact SOME females have wider hips, some do not. ACL injuries were considered an epidemic 10 years after females were allowed to engage in sport under the NCAA umbrella....yet those females were not pushed to the weight room like men. Rather than explaining this epidemic as a structural or hormonal default, we need to consider the overall systemic strength of our female athletes).

2. Lifting makes you bulky: this statement is not only incorrect but fails to recognize the neurological adaptations gained in strength training (beyond a small amount of "mass") that aids in athletic performance

3. MISSED PERIODS ARE NORMAL FOR FEMALES: completely false and a disastrous mindset. Missing periods (outside of other health issues like PCOS) are defined by REDs as due to low energy availability. This could be a entire topic in itself talking about the relationship females have with food, fear of carbs, lack of protein, body composition anxiety, and how simple nutrition education is the key to helping solve these problems.

4. ORAL CONTRACEPTIVES:t o help regulate periods (again completely false and a misguided belief that could actually lead to long term low bone density as the female ages)

5. LIFTING TOO YOUNG IS DANGEROUS: this is a huge one that applies to males as well

How we as coaches can help educate our parents, other coaches, and our athletes on the importance of strength training and how to create an environment that encourages females...

Emily Pappas holds a master's of science in Kinesiology & Exercise Physiology and is the founder of Relentless Athletics. Relentless is a company driven by science that specializes in the development of female athletes. Relentless consists of a team of passionate and well-educated female sport physiologists & athletic trainers who work to provide proper education and training centered around scientifically-based approaches to strength training, sports nutrition, and sports injury rehabilitation that is specific to the female athlete population.

Emily R Pappas M.S. Exercise Physiology Founder of Relentless Athletics Adjunct at Temple University