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It is crucial to teach our female youth that it is okay to say
“Yes, I am good at this”, and not hold back.

– Simone Biles

At the 1984 LA Olympics, American runner Joan Benoit won the gold medal in the first ever Olympic marathon for women. Her time was 2:24:52, which would have won 11 of the previous 20 men’s Olympic marathons.

“Women should exercise at intensities lower than men.”

“Women have a lesser capacity of exercising as compared to men.”

“Female athletes are weaker than their male counterparts.”

These are some statements that you might have heard, or probably even agree with.

Broadly speaking, yes, there do exist biological variations between men and women in terms of performance, but it’s important to get the facts straight and view scientific evidence for the same.

A Female Athlete - Breaking Down Barriers & Myths

Body Size and Composition

  • Major differences in body size and composition are initiated in late childhood and early adolescence.
  • During puberty, anterior pituitary starts secreting greater amounts of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH), which in turn stimulate gonads.
  •  The gonads, testes and ovaries, secrete testosterone and estrogen respectively.
  • Testosterone improves bone formation and protein synthesis.
  • Testosterone also stimulate erythropoietin production by the kidneys.
  • Estrogen broadens the pelvis, aids breast development and increases fat deposition, especially around the hips and thighs.
  • Due to these varying functions, females are usually heavier in fat mass and lighter in total weight.
A Female Athlete - Breaking Down Barriers & Myths

Physiological Response to Acute Exercise

Males and females have different cardiovascular, respiratory and metabolic response to a bout of exercise.

Strength

  • As physiological growth of muscle is greater in men compared to women, it’s obvious for men to have greater strength.
  • However, when comparing strength relative to fat free mass (FFM), the differences disappear.
  • This suggests that the voluntary activation, innate muscle qualities and mechanisms of motor control remain the same for both the sexes.

In an article published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning, a narrative review concluded that greater male strength as compared to a female is not because of greater voluntary activation but as a result of increased muscle mass and type 2 fiber areas.

Check out the published article below,

Narrative Review of Sex Differences in Muscle Strength, Endurance, Activation, Size, Fiber Type, and Strength Training Participation Rates, Preferences, Motivations, Injuries, and Neuromuscular Adaptations – PubMed (nih.gov)

Cardiovascular and Respiratory Strength

  • To measure this response, absolute power output (example, placing individuals on a cycle ergometer) or relative power output (VO2 max testing) can be used.
  • Cardiac output of an individual dictates the cardiovascular response.

Q (Cardiac output) = Heart Rate x Stroke Volume

  • It was observed that women tend to have a higher heart rate during submaximal exercise levels.
  • They also have a lower stroke volume due to smaller ventricular size and lower blood volume levels.
  • Women generally have cardiac outputs similar to those of men. Thus, their higher heart rates appear to fully compensate for their lower stroke volumes.

For the same power output, women tend to have a higher VO2 max. The oxygen demand remains the same, however, the oxygen delivery to the tissues is lower.

This is due to lower Hb content, which leads to reduced arterial oxygen content and lesser muscle oxidative potential.

Hence, the body tries to match the demand by increased respiratory rate.

Physiological Adaptations to Exercise

Until 1970’s, strength training programs for girls and women were unheard of. It was believed that women cannot gain strength due to low levels of male anabolic hormones. However, it is during this phase that research revealed the reason for American female athletes not doing well in international competitions. These athletes were weaker than their competitors.

Women experience major increases in strength through resistance training and the magnitude of changes are similar to that seen in men.

Women are biologically different from men in terms of hormonal and structural standpoints. There are certain problems faced exclusively by female athletes which should be addressed through thorough screening and efficient nutrition and psychological planning. They are discussed below,

 Menstrual Dysfunction

There appears to be no general pattern concerning the ability of women to achieve their best performances during any specific phase of the menstrual cycle.

However, female athletes may experience disruptions in their normal menstrual cycle. This can be in the form of oligomenorrhoea (reduced frequency of menses) or amenorrhea (absence of menses).

Amenorrhea can be either primary (absence of onset of menses) or secondary (absence of menses in previously menstruating females).

Amenorrhea is said to be associated with

  • Acute effects of stress
  • A low body weight or percent body fat
  • Hormonal fluctuations
  • Energy deficit through inadequate nutrition or disordered eating or both.

Studies show that reduced calorie intake with or without alteration of energy expenditure, leads to reduced LH pulse frequency and thyroid hormone concentrations, which negatively impact the menstrual cycle.

Components of the female athlete triad

The Female Athlete Triad

In the early 1990’s, it became apparent that there is a reasonably strong association among,

  • Disordered eating, energy deficiency or low energy availability
  • Secondary amenorrhea
  • Low bone mass

This was termed the “Female Athlete Triad”. This refers to a syndrome of interrelated conditions in physically active women and female athletes.

The syndrome is sparked off by reduced calorie consumption which fails to meet the effective body demands of the athlete. Over a period of time, this may lead to abnormal menstrual function, which eventually could lead to secondary amenorrhea. Low bone mass is a consequence of these changes.

This is often seen in athletes from sports like cross country running, gymnastics and figure skating. Note how all these sports emphasize on leanness, and athletes from such backgrounds often have internal and external pressures to maintain low body weight, thus setting off the cycle of poor nutrition and diet.

Postmenopausal women, amenorrhoeic women and those who have anorexia nervosa are at a greater risk of osteoporosis. Physical activity and adequate calcium and caloric intake are important to the preservation of bone at any age.

Male and female athletes may vary physiologically, as explained above, but mentally both can achieve the same goals and perform phenomenally in every single sport. After all, it’s not the hormones and biology but the neural drive and spirit existing within athletes that make them powerful at what they do.

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