Women are NOT small Men

I Just got back from the IDEA PT West Institute and I really enjoyed myself.  I loved all of the classes that I had a chance to attend and it was refreshing to hear a lot of what I believe taught in the sessions.

On the Fitness side of things I attended sessions that dealt with women, nutrition, metabolism, and women’s health issues.

One of the recurring themes in these sessions by fantastic presenters was that:

Women are NOT small men

I think that needs to settle in for a moment because once you understand that concept, then you will begin to understand why the diet industry’s model based upon failure hurts women both physically and mentally.

Physical effects

I know many trainers who like to cite this study and that study but how many of those studies were done on WOMEN?  I have read study after study that was done on 20 something men.  Women have different biological needs  and physiological systems than men and we respond differently than they do.

I did know our menstrual cycles affect training but I wasn’t aware of exactly how much they affect our training.  We are strongest two weeks prior to our cycle and that’s when we should lift heaviest and go for Personal Records if we are so inclined.

Nardia Norman (who was an OUTSTANDING presenter.  Look her up on social media and start following her) told us the story of how a woman she knew was told by her (male trainer) to go for her PR that day even though she told him it was after her cycle and she wasn’t feeling it.  He told her it was all in her head and luckily she didn’t follow his advice.  It’s NOT all in our heads and there are BIOLOGICAL cues that we need to start listening to.  We have different amounts of estrogen (duh) and that can vary depending on where we are in our life cycle,  My needs are different from a woman going through menopause or someone who is post natal.

As a Heath and Fitness expert, I need to be aware of where my clients are and how we can best train them for where they are in their journey.  Many trainers are giving the same programs/diets for 25 year old young men to menopausal women.  HELLO!  Not the same demographic.

Body Image

This was not covered at the conference but I’m gonna speak on it anyway:

Women have curves.  Their bodies aren’t angular

When you talk to many women the very parts of their body that they hate are what makes up the appealing physique of women.  The people I know who are attracted to women appreciate curves so why do many women want to starve the curves away?

For women’s training if you want to enhance the curvaceous form, then it’s all about shoulders, back, and Legs/glutes training.  Instead of making women feel insecure about hips that spread (which is normal during pregnancy) and thicker thighs, let’s accept that’s part of the female form and move on.

It’s sad when a 20 something supermodel  like Gigi Hadid had to tell folks that she has  boobs, a butt, and thighs so get over it.  The folks I know who is attracted to women aren’t going to complain about that!

Pregnancy

I attended a session on Pregnancy and as one who hasn’t had children yet, it was pretty eye opening to hear about all the physiological changes that occur.  Of course I knew a lot of it but when you start reflecting on the changes that the body has to go through in order to produce a life, it’s almost criminal that we make the biggest issue of pregnancy whether or not a woman gets fat and has a six pack after birth.

That is NOT the biggest issue nor is it the most important.  Labor and Delivery sounds like some sort of Ironman/Tough Mother/Marathon all rolled into one.  The last thing someone should be worried about is having the perfect post delivery body.  New Mommy’s need to be worried about being healthy and strong enough to deliver their baby and then being in charge of a little human who is totally dependent on her.

As far as I’m concerned, any woman who makes it through labor, delivery, and remains sleep deprived for the rest of their year deserves a medal!  Shout out to all the mamas out there!

Emotional Effects

I’m going to be talking about this more but women in our society are chronic dieters because they’ve been convinced that they are not enough as they are and need to have the perfect body.

There is No Perfect.

There is no Perfect Body, Diet, or Workout Routine

Chronic dieting produces slowed metabolisms, labels of failure, and check this out:  Women who are chronic dieters are 75% more likely to experience depression.

In this instance, I almost wish women WERE like men.  Many of them think they look good no matter what.  They are insecure about other things but many don’t suffer nearly the amount of body dysmporphia as women do.

Women are Not Small Men

Women aren’t smaller versions of Men.  We have unique nutrient needs depending on where we are in our life cycle.  Our hormones are different giving us different metabolic profiles and consequences.

Our bodies are meant to do different things than men and they are supposed to look different.

The more we understand this concept that Women are not Small Men, the more we will accept our bodies and treat ourselves with the love and kindness we deserve!