Transcript

SIMON REA

At the moment, males and females are coached in fairly similar ways. But female athletes we find they're supported by coaches, trainers, physiologists, psychologists, nutritionists. But we're using research that's been conducted primarily on male subjects.

Now this is a little bit of a problem because it's assumed that what's effective for male athletes is going to be equally effective for female athletes. And what we really need is more female specific research. And at this moment only about 6% of research is actually related to female athletic performance.

In this course, we're trying to redress this imbalance by looking specifically at female athletic performance and considering what we need to know as a female athlete or somebody who supports female athletes about things that are impacting their performance. Understanding your own body is essential to a female athlete because only then can you make informed decisions about your health, performance, and your well-being.

Being informed means you can work with rather than against your body. The course will be spread across eight sessions and covers subjects like the impacts of the menstrual cycle on performance, how to protect against injuries that females may be more at risk of sustaining, and the importance of breast and pelvic floor health.

It is relevant to all females in sport and fitness from recreational level right up to elite athletes and anyone who supports active females. This course will enable coaches and personal trainers to have informed conversations with their athletes and develop environments and conditions which will enable female athletes to really thrive.