Erica Suter, Youth female Speed and Strength Coach, discusses training young female athletes, empowering them with strength and conditioning, debunking myths about female athletes becoming bigger, and the power of celebrating achievements in a gym. They also discuss Erica's new book 'Female Athlete High Performance' and the mindset of high performers in sports.
Coaches can instill discipline and accountability by setting expectations and promoting a competitive training environment.
Creating a supportive and empowering environment, focusing on individual progress, and managing stress are crucial for female athletes.
Balancing over-preparation with proper recovery and understanding the unique challenges of female athletes are essential for optimal performance.
Deep dives
The Importance of Discipline and Accountability
Accountability and discipline are crucial for high performance in sports. Athletes need to learn the value of showing up on time, putting in effort, and being disciplined in their training. Coaches can instill discipline and accountability by setting expectations, enforcing consequences for tardiness or poor effort, and promoting a competitive and challenging training environment.
Overcoming Stress and Pressure in Female Athletes
Female athletes often experience stress and pressure, which can impact their performance and well-being. Coaches can help athletes manage stress by creating a supportive and empowering environment. Education and communication about nutrition, sleep, and recovery are crucial. Encouraging athletes to develop a high-performance mindset and focus on their own progress and growth rather than comparing themselves to others can also help alleviate stress.
Balancing Over-Preparation and Overtraining
Over-preparation is essential for optimizing performance, but it should be balanced with proper recovery and avoiding overtraining. Coaches can help athletes achieve this balance by emphasizing the importance of nutrition, hydration, sleep, and recovery. They can also guide athletes to understand the concept of the minimum effective dose, where the training stimulus is potent enough for adaptation without causing chronic soreness or mental burnout.
Training Female Athletes: Different Approach, Similar Principles
While the training methods for male and female athletes may not differ significantly, coaches need to be aware of the unique challenges and considerations for female athletes. Girls go through growth spurts earlier, and their bodies may change differently. It is crucial to have open and positive communication about body image, performance, and strength goals. Coaches should focus on empowering girls and creating an environment of support and inclusivity, while still maintaining high-performance standards.
Nourishing Female Athletes for High Performance
The podcast episode discusses the importance of proper nutrition for female athletes to optimize performance. It highlights common deficiencies among girls, such as protein and healthy fats. The speaker emphasizes the need to focus on building total body strength to improve performance and reduce the risk of injury. The concept of injury prevention is explored, with a focus on the importance of a progressively overloaded performance program. The speaker encourages female athletes to adopt a mindset of high performance and not play the victim, and to prioritize self-improvement and gaining an edge over opponents. The importance of building unshakeable confidence, which is a combination of physical and mental aspects, is also discussed.
Understanding the Menstrual Cycle and Impact on Performance
The podcast episode delves into the menstrual cycle and its influence on female athletes' performance. The speaker emphasizes the need for proactive approaches rather than reactive ones when it comes to training and nutrition in relation to the menstrual cycle. The misconception of all female athletes having the same cycle is debunked, highlighting the individual variation in hormonal profiles. The importance of proper nutrition, including macronutrients and vitamins, for hormone balance and optimal performance is emphasized. The speaker encourages coaches to have consistent conversations with their female athletes about nutrition and its impact on how they feel during training sessions. The concept of the elimination diet is discussed as a way for athletes to identify food sensitivities or intolerances that may affect their performance and overall well-being.
Sumit Seth discusses "Celebrating Member Wins, a retention powerhouse to help transform the entire member experience"
Naamly isthe member experience platform for modern training gyms - It puts all of your communication with your members in one place, allowing you to keep track of that communication, so important for retention.
Go to Naamly.com, you can schedule a demo to get a feel for what it’s about. Use referral code StrengthCoach to get started on a free 30 day trial.
About "Be Like the Best"
During the last 17 years of interviewing many strength coaches, fitness professionals, physical therapists and gym owners, Anthony Renna has accumulated a rolodex of “The Best of the Best” in the fitness profession.
This book is a collection of interviews with some of those top successes. Through his conversations, you’ll learn how they evolved in their careers, what habits and traits they believe made them successful, their goal setting processes, how they get through the hard times everyone faces and even some books to read and people they recommend following.
After each interview, you’ll find a challenge or action step based on an important takeaway from each interview. These are designed to encourage you to build the habits to Be Like the Best on your journey to dominating in this profession.
As a fitness professional, you’re already making an impact in your clients, athletes and patients. This book will help you stand out in a crowded field and help guide you on the road to success.
