What ever the age, looking good always boosts the morale of a woman! While everyday is a celebration of life as a woman, it does feel nice to dedicate March 9th as ‘woman’s day’ and celebrate all that she stands for.
When I completed a certification program from CHEK institute USA called ‘Equal but not the same’, I realised how very true the very title was! A specialised certification course on how to train women, the program highlights the importance of posture, flexibility, stabiliser weaknesses and Orthopedic dysfunction in women. Any workout designed for a woman must take these into consideration to fortify women from wrong training methods.
POSTURE: Girls often adopt a forward head and rounded shoulder posture at puberty in an attempt to hide developing breasts. If allowed to continue with this slouching stance, this could influence posture in adulthood and lead to a ‘dowager’s hump’ or the build up of extra tissue at the back of the neck to support the forward tilt of the head. Incorrect posture often leads to Thoracic outlet syndrome or tingling of the arms and fingers at older age. Women also tend to tilt their pelvis which could affect the functioning of the abdominal wall and cause concern for injury. Aesthetically, the use of high heeled shoes causes enormous pressure on the entire back and leg muscles forcing the entire kinetic chain to over compensate which ultimately leads to a lot of knee problem caused by hyperextended knees. It is time to first correct your posture before you begin any kind of exercise routine.
FLEXIBILITY: Women by nature tend to be flexible, which is a good thing so long as you don’t become hypermobile. If you are too flexible, as I mentioned in the February issue, it means that your muscles do not have enough tone to rebound back to original length. It is very crucial to conduct a nine point flexibility test to ensure that you are not hypermobile before performing any kind of flexibility activity as this will cause a lot of stress on your joints. In the event of a woman being hypermobile, they should be given high resistance training in shorter ranges to train the muscles to rebound.
STABILISER WEAKNESSES: Women with wider pelvis are more susceptible to stabiliser weakness. Stabilisation is a very very crucial part of survival. When the body looses stability, you even forget to breathe! A lot of women who begin strength training, prefer to use machines as they help support their frame and work only on isolated muscles. However, overuse of machines, no doubt enticed by ‘spot reduction’ have posed the problem of enhancing the stabilisation weaknesses already inherent in female physiology. For one, spot reduction is a myth! For another, I highly recommend special stabilisation exercises using swiss balls to begin training the stabilisers that will keep you functioning as you age.
ORTHOPEDIC DYSFUNCTION: Whether it is because of peak performance training for athletics or merely disuse of this machine called body, many a woman suffers from orthopedic dysfunction. Incontinence (peeing in pants) is much more common than we realise. Exercises to train your core muscles and work on the pelvic floor dysfunction can help and prevent this problem directly.
To put it simply, there are no nails holding all your organs in place inside your body. It is the job of the muscles to keep them in alignment. Unfortunately, because of poor posture and poor abdominal conditioning added to the trauma of child birth, the abdominal muscles (your core muscles) become weak and stop holding your organs in place. Every time you eat, it is because of muscle movement called peristalsis that the food reaches your stomach. Similarly every time your bladder needs to be relieved or your colon needs to be evacuated, it is the job of the muscles to move those wastes off the body. If the core abdominal muscles begin to weaken, this process is highly compromised leading to incontinence!
Hormones play a very important role in balancing the female body. It is natural to bloat, gain weight, have back ache and be irritable during your PMS. While it is safe to exercise even during your periods, and movement actually helps alleviate the cramps and feeling of bloatedness, it is equally true that your body is at its weakest and is more prone to injury during the premenstrual cycle. So exercising at 50% efficiency will address both sides of the coin.
If the woman’s body is designed to have the energy for two, I firmly believe she also has the potential to harness that energy for longevity. Perhaps it is time to understand the role of the female in the nature of existence – to nurture – not just her young one or her loved one but herself into the life giver she is meant to be.
Wishing every woman the opportunity to realise her potential this woman’s day!
Written by Gita Krishna Raj | Published in Food & Health in March 2013
