Should women train differently to men?

We’re thrilled to share the thoughts of Omar Hayward, England U20s Lead S&C in this article. This is the fourth in a series of articles written by Omar which tackle some important topics in women’s rugby right now.

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Women’s rugby is one of the faster growing sports in the world and it is experiencing a huge and rapid shift in professionalism. This shift in the game’s purpose (and all women’s sport in fact) has lead to increased research and education into how the female body operates, both in a sports performance setting and on a more everyday level.

Omar Hayward is one of the leading professionals in this area of research and we’re pleased to share his thoughts on this important topic with you.

Omar writes:

The basic principles of strength and conditioning training remain the same regardless of sex. These principles should be adhered to for both men and women alike. The National Strength and Conditioning Association (USCA) states the following principles of training [1]:

1. Individuality:
   Everyone will respond differently to the same stimulus. Some of these differences can be influenced by many characteristics (e.g., biological age, training age, gender, body size and shape, past injuries)

2. Specificity:
   Training adaptations will occur specifically to the muscle groups trained, the intensity of the exercise, the demands of the exercise, and/or specific movements and activities

3. Overload:
   For an individual to achieve a training adaptation, the body must be stressed by working against a load that is greater than it is used to

4. Progression:
   To achieve the training adaptations, the training stimulus must gradually and constantly increase

5. Diminishing Returns:
   Athletes that have never participated in a training program before can see huge initial performance gains. On the other hand, athletes that have been training for several years will see smaller gains, and they will take longer to achieve

6. Reversibility:
   When a training stimulus is taken away from an athlete for an extended period, they will not be able to maintain a certain level of performance

This being said, there are some female specific factors [2,3] to be aware of, such as:

The menstrual cycle

The menstrual cycle is a repeating pattern of fluctuating hormones. These hormones are subject to large individual variation and will influence how women feel, both physically and emotionally. A typical cycle lasts 21-35 days and can vary in length. A regular period with only mild symptoms is an important marker of good underlying health.

Read more about the menstrual cycle and it’s impact on training here.

Hormonal Contraceptives

There are different forms of hormonal contraceptives, including oral contraceptive pills, implants, and intrauterine devices. Hormonal contraception provides synthetic hormones. If you experience a withdrawal bleed, this is because of synthetic hormones on your body. A withdrawal bleed is not classed as a period. Hormonal contraceptive use is high, with up to 50% of UK-based female athletes using some type of hormonal contraceptive.

Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport

Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport is a condition caused by low energy availability, which impairs many bodily processes, such as menstrual function, musculoskeletal health, gastrointestinal function, cardiovascular function and growth and development. As a result, many aspects of sports performance can be negatively affected.

Breast health

More than 50% of 2000 young women, aged between 11 and 18 years in the UK, have reported never wearing a sports bra during sports. A well fitted sports bra has several benefits including:

• Reduce breast pain (which has been reported in up to 72% of exercising women)

• Reduce the risk of damage to supporting structures of the breast

• Improve running mechanics

• Reduce upper body muscle activity

• Improve breathing mechanics

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[1] Sands, W.A., Wurth, J.J. and Hewit, J.K., 2012. Basics of strength and conditioning manual. Colorado Springs, CO: National Strength and Conditioning Association.

[2] English Institute of Sport, 2021. Supporting the Developing Female Athlete.

[3] Pitchers, G. and Elliot-Sale, K., 2019. Considerations for coaches training female athletes. Prof Strength Cond, 55, pp.19-30.