Parents: 3 Reasons Your Daughter Should Be Resistance Training
Most of us have heard of the performance benefits associated with resistance training. Those benefits include increased strength, power, speed, etc. and are all very important when it comes to athletic development. However, the goal of this article is to talk about other lesser known, but equally important, benefits to resistance training, specifically for the female athlete.
1.Increased Confidence
One of the best ways to increase confidence is to track improvements in a skill over time. Sports can be difficult to track improvements because there are so many unpredictable variables; different conditions, opponents, teammates, schemes, etc. One of the great things about the weight room is that if the athlete is consistent in their attendance and effort, they can almost guarantee success.
At the beginning of their training journey, it is common to see coordination and strength improvements every single week. That alone can be a powerful tool when it comes to increasing confidence. Pair this with physical body changes and adaptations and it allows kids to feel pride and be confident in their hard work while seeing real change in their looks and their performance. We see this every day with our female athletes, and in my opinion, it is one of the most important things we can facilitate to ensure long term success in athletics and beyond athletics in their careers, relationships, and life!
2.Injury Prevention
Two of the three highest rates of ACL injury in high school athletics is in girls soccer and girls basketball (1). While it is impossible to prevent all injuries, we can make a significant impact in training to reduce the risk of injury. Here are a two examples of things we focus on when preventing injury with our female athletes:
Deceleration mechanics: Most injuries occur during the deceleration phase, think slowing down from a sprint or landing from a jump. We need to be able to teach our athletes to load their hamstrings and glutes when slowing down from a sprint, changing direction, or landing a jump.
It is common for female athletes to decelerate in a quad dominant pattern. The quadriceps should assist in decelerating, but over-relying on the quad for force reduction can stress the patellar tendon and ACL (2). Being able to load the posterior chain and reduce force with the hamstrings and gluteus will take pressure off ligaments, tendons,and joints. In order to do this they have to be taught how and be strong (see point 2).Posterior chain strength: This goes hand in hand with deceleration mechanics and quad dominance. In order to land in a good position and absorb the force with our hamstring and glutes, these muscles need to be trained and they need to be strong. There are many ways to accomplish this. Some of our favorites are RDL’s, single leg RDL, KB Swing, and nordic hamstring curls. Another risk factor for injury is having a strength, coordination, or flexibility imbalance between legs. Getting athletes in a single leg position here is key and is a regular part of our lower body training for female athletes.
3.Long Term Health and Development
Societal pressure on how females are “supposed” to look is real. Every time you go on social media there are examples of how people think females should look. Skinny, toned, less food, more cardio, better this, better that. It’s fake, photoshopped, and harmful.
What if at a young age we are able to instill values and principles in females that allow them to appreciate their bodies for what they are able to accomplish, not what they look like. To understand how to fuel their bodies properly to function at peak performance. To be able to structure a training program that is built around functional movement, strength, health, and not purely aesthetics. To be able to take care of themselves in a healthy and sustainable way well beyond their years as an athlete.
Proper resistance training is an important factor in teaching teaching and facilitating those principles, and is something that will stay with a female athlete throughout her life. Having a positive relationship with your body and its abilities carries over into better relationships, better parenting and a more fulfilling, active life for years to come.
Sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3867093/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5577417/
“You can’t lead something you aren’t willing to bleed 🩸 for.”
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Shelton grew up in Pocatello and was active in multiple sports growing up. After high school, he played offensive tackle at Weber State University on a full scholarship. While at WSU he was able to gain experience by interning with the Weber State Strength and Conditioning staff and received a degree in Human Performance Management and a minor in Nutrition. While in Ogden Shelton was also able to work at a private training facility and led a variety of general population clients and youth athletes.
Shelton then moved back to Pocatello and received a master's degree in physical education from Idaho State University while working as a graduate assistant in the sports science department and as a volunteer strength coach. Shelton was able to assist with Men’s and Women’s basketball, football, and was responsible for Women’s volleyball, Women’s golf, and Tennis.
Currently, Shelton is the lead trainer at HansenAthletics and looks to provide an individualized coaching experience that takes a performance-based approach to develop proper movement patterns, strength, and pain-free movement that has a direct carry over to life and sport.
MPE, BS Human Performance, CSCS, USAW Sports Performance Coach
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