While all athletes can vary in their motivations, bodies and goals. There are clear distinctions between men and woman in how they approach endurance sports. As a coach you will need to know some of theses subtleties as you work with both male and female athletes.
Tristar Athletes S.W.O.T Analysis of the female athlete
Strengths
Woman are often times tougher than men.. yep, we said it the female body when demands are high, has more ability to perform over distances than a mans. Woman may have less “output” based on muscle size which means slower performances at shorter distances …… however over distance their muscles tend to tire less quickly.
Physiologically speaking woman tend to be more fat adapted and can access fat more readily and especially as a race gets longer.
…As the race gets longer the stronger a woman can perform vs a man. Even more so when it comes to swimming where the gap is closer in performances.
Woman have a better ability to pace and maintain a lower “ego” when racing which benefits them again as the race goes longer.
Female athletes tend to be more training plan compliant. In our coaching experience at Tristar, men tend to oppose their “free will” on their training plan by either doing more or less at times. Female athletes tend to "stick to the plan” and are more consistent which yields greater results.
The lower hanging fruit; Woman’s records continue to fall as more woman enter the sport and we still have yet to see their full potential.
Weaknesses
Woman tend to be less self assured about their ability and as such may not “go all in” at times to get to the next level in both training and racing. Fundamentally they may need more “push” vs men to get the job done.
Woman can have more doubt in terms of the performance potential and as such may not aspire to be as fast as they can be. It is the coaches roll to show the potential for these athletes and motivate and inspire them to greater things.
In shorter more high intensity races vs men physically speaking males have the advantage given their relative muscle size and relative strength.
Opportunities
Woman can train with men who are of slightly stronger ability to help push them.
A woman can benefit from strength training more dynamically than a man can. The approach should be regular strength and stretching in the athletes training plan. (2-5X per week)
Race longer? Some woman may be more suited towards longer distance races and should consider more challenging events where they can excel over distance.
Timing; with proper nutrition and timing of a womans monthly physiology there is opportunity to enhance the training effects. (learn more.)
Threats
Lack of support; Woman need a supportive network and training group that helps them gain confidence to take on greater training and racing challenges.
Channeling emotions; Fear of failure, fear of raceday and emotions surrounding performance and fatigue can be a limiter for both male and female athletes. Our coaches have expertise in this area and will help with raceday imagery for the best results. At Tristar we recognize that your confidence as a female athlete comes from your training where we can pinpoint in the data great results and benchmarked fitness from the PMC (Performance Managment chart)
Confidence with each discipline - fear of open water, and fear of bike handling are two big areas in endurance sports (triathlon and cycling mostly) where woman may need more specific training to gain an edge. To be better at these elements, regular open water swims and group rides are critical.
“Researchers, meanwhile, suggest that women are going to continue to improve at a much faster rate than men. According to Sandra Hunter, a professor of exercise science at Milwaukee’s Marquette University who has spent the past 20 years studying female physiology with an emphasis on athletes, the difference in current participation rates accounts for roughly 34 percent of the gap between men’s and women’s race times. ”
Differentials by age group between men and woman in multisport
Tristar coaching team
