None of my coaches ever asked me about my menstrual cycle, and none of my training was ever adjusted based on how I was feeling or what phase my hormones were in. None of the female-specific hydration or recovery protocols were mentioned.
Most of us spend the majority of our daily life sitting at our desks in front of computers. Then we spend our evenings slouching looking at our phones. Then we wake up and get in the aero position for hours on our bikes. Sometimes I think I look like a T-Rex with arms in front and shoulders forward.
In my previous post, I explained and gave sample workouts for a menstruating female athlete. However, this covers only half of the female population.
It is amazing how much stuff we need to bring with us for a triathlon race! Even after years being in the sport, I still find myself spending too much time organizing and going over my checklist of things I need or may need for my race.
Endurance events like Ironman train not only your physical body but also your mind. Mental toughness is one of the greatest benefits that one can gain from completing an ultra-distance event.
We keep hearing how important it is to stay hydrated, particularly during exercise, and especially in hot conditions. We all know it, yet so many athletes end up in the medical tent after a hot race due to fluid imbalance in their bodies.
A general understanding of female physiology is largely missing in the domain of female athlete training. It is essential to know how to work with her body, not against it, to achieve the best possible results. Coach Kat talks about The Effects of Contraception on Female Athletes’ Performance in her TrainingPeaks article.
As the number of women in perimenopause and menopause increases in the triathlon community, it is important that we as coaches, athletes and fitness professionals are prepared to address their specific needs. Coach Kat talks about the best training approach for these athletes in her TrainingPeaks article.
Sweat testing assessment is an important part of the Sports Nutritionist fluid intake recommendations for athletes.
It is based on the premise that body mass losses during exercise are reflective of fluid loss. As such, the change in body mass after exercise can be used to estimate whole body sweat loss during exercise.
Female athletes face the challenge of training their bodies during one of the most variable periods of their lives, the menstrual cycle. Although many can relate to the taboo and discomfort around this topic, studies show that proper planning and structure are critical to their success! Coach Kat talks about the power of female hormones in this TrainingPeaks article.
Copyright 2022 CKTri LLC