Girls do sports? Girls lift weights? Girls sweat? Yep! And so they should. Title IX should be a no brainer, though I still think we have a way to go in executing it. Nonetheless, there are quite the list of benefits to sports and exercise for women—particularly young women.
I make no efforts to hide my criticism of our educational system for stripping Physical Education (and the Arts) from the curriculum to allow more time to teach to the standardized tests. If only the Department of Education would set standards for physical fitness… (the “Common Core” might take on a new meaning). There is absolutely no reason to think that women should not have the same opportunities as the boys when it comes to physical exercise and sports. Indeed, I might argue that it is critical to get girls into sports conditioning early rather than later, for many reasons.
Self-Confidence. Sports and physical readiness do wonders to support a child’s self confidence. Girls need not be sidelined or relegated to academics and the arts while boys get celebrated for athleticism.
Body image. Isn’t it time that we dump the frail image of beauty and welcome the many shapes of women? Isn’t it time for athletic to be the new standard of beauty? Perhaps, rather than encouraging extreme weightloss and disordered eating, we could encourage healthy eating and body composition? Sports and exercise make positive changes to the body that can enable women to improve themselves rather than trying to look like an unrealistic ideal.
Bones. Weight-bearing exercise prior to the first menses has been demonstrated to substantially increase the woman’s bone mineral density. The more minerals in the bones at a young age, the less risk of osteoporosis in later life.
ACL protection. Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears are increasingly prevalent among young atheletes (particularly) females. As a female matures, the hips widen and increase the angle between the femur (thigh bone) and the tibia (shin), i.e., the “Q-angle”. The greater the Q-angle the greater the potential for an ACL injury. Protection of the ACL, however, comes from the hips and not the knee, per se. Thus, it is critical to emphasize hip strength in developing females (and males, as well) and watch for the signs that might indicate an increased risk of an ACL injury. In particular, parents and coaches should watch the athlete’s knees during jumping and landing. If the knees move inward as the athlete jumps or lands, this is a sign of weak hip muscles. The hip is not strong enough to stabilize the femur. In a perfect storm, the ACL is unprotected.
Sports performance. Let’s face it. We want to see our daughters do well in sports, too. Proper conditioning in the off-season (and training in-season) will maximize performance and reduce inury. As with the boys, the girls should be encouraged to participate in multiple sports and to allow time for physical conditioning. Sadly, it seems that the sports most commonly participated in by girls are the ones (in my experience) that are most likely to demand year-around participation—soccer, volleyball, basketball, and softball. These also tend to have coaches that want to control all aspects of the athlete’s participation. Parents, simply, need to stand up to these coaches. It is, of course, the athlete’s performance and ability to progress that will be most desired by college recruiters—not what club your daughter played for or the number of tournaments she plays in to “be seen”.
So, what should your female athlete be doing? General conditioning, of course. On top of this, she can keep up with the boys in the gym. The same recommendations I made recently apply equally to girls as boys. Lifting weights is healthy for girls. On top of the weights, girls should apply added emphasis to the hips. This is not to put an emphasis on “shapely butts”. Rather, the emphasis is on the deeper gluteal muscles and on multi-directional hip movement (abduction, adduction, flexion, extension). Additionally, the application of “reactive neuromuscular training” is useful. Without getting too technical, this is simple coercing a muscle to contract by applying pressure in the direction you don’t want the body part to move. In the case of the hip and ACL protection, we pull the knee toward the midline of the body. In response, the hip muscles contract to counter this movement and drive the knees outward. This can be done with rubber bands or tubes around the knees during the squat. It is a great way to activate and strengthen the hips.
In addition to weight training, girls should be doing agility training that requires a great deal of multi-directional acceleration and deceleration. Lateral bounding and agility circuits are great and can be fun for the athlete. Below is a link to a video of the ACL Injury Prevention Exercises (PEP program) recommended by the Santa Monica Sport’s Medicine Foundation. There are numerous techniques that can be effective. I would strongly recommend that female athletes (as well as males) participate in an off-season conditioning program implemented by a qualified strength and conditioning professional at least once a year—if not throughout the year. I emphasize “qualified”. There are a lot of hacks out their. Just because they played college sports and have a great physique does not mean they are qualified. Look for a background in exercise science and sports medicine. Ask questions. Know what they intend to do. Make sure they are doing the things that will have long-term benefit for your athletes. Also, don’t wait until the weeks before the season starts!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Lag8uNU6AQ
Be your best today; be better tomorrow!
Carpe momento!