WOMEN’ S TRAINING
What are the key things to consider in women’s bone health? And how can you make sure you’re looking after yours while training for tri? Read on…
When training for triathlon, the focus is usually on speed, endurance, power output and other such performance-related goals. So much so that discussion about bone strength falls by the wayside, which is a mistake, as without it your body can’t be strong. And what you actually find is that ‘bones’ are only discussed when stress fractures or breaks are incurred, by which time it may be too late. Added to that, there are risk factors for compromised bone health that are both gender and sport specific, so let’s explore these in more detail before delving into the practical side of how to support our bones in training.
GENDER & AGE FACTORS
Annoyingly, just being a woman
puts you at a much higher risk of osteopenia, osteoporosis and stress fractures than your male counterparts, so respecting your bones is an important consideration from a young age as bone is constantly in a cycle of remodelling, absorbing old cells and laying down replacement ones throughout life.
Women hit peak bone mass around the age of 30, after which this remodeling starts to decline. That’s why having the foundations from a young age is paramount, and continuing to preserve this through exercise, nutrition and lifestyle modifications will go a long way to protect it.
That’s particularly important as our risk of osteopenia and osteoporosis increases with age, particularly post-menopause as our hormones decline.
LOW BODY MASS
Low body mass also increases the risk of osteopenia and osteoporosis. Obviously, that’s applicable to the triathlon
demographic where there’s a performance benefit of being lean.
In sport there’s also the risk of the Female Athlete Triad, now termed RED-S (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport), whereby low energy availability results in loss of menstrual cycle and low bone mineral density. This is a result of too few calories to support the total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) of the athlete.
NUTRITIONAL DEFICIENCIES
Not only do athletes require a higher energy intake than the general population, their nutritional density needs additional attention. Dieting in the pursuit of leanness or neglecting nutritional intake can both result in deficiencies of nutrients required to maintain both bone and muscle strength. More on this to follow.
LIFESTYLE CHOICES
Being sedentary, smoking, excessive alcohol and caffeine intake are also risk factors. As
triathletes, I’m going to assume these don’t apply to you (aside from perhaps the caffeine!).
KEEPING BONES HEALTHY
So, what defines bone health and strength? This comprises of bone size and thickness, content and bone mineral density (BMD). Which can be achieved via exercise choice and nutrition.
When we train, our muscles contract and pull on the attached bones, improving their strength. For optimal bone health, forces need to be applied using both impact and strength training.
Impact training includes running, skipping, boxing for the upper body and other plyometric movements such as box jumps, squat jumps, leaps, jumping lunges and so on.
There are misconceptions that strength training will make you bulky for your sport. But because the female physiology is so different from a male’s, this isn’t possible. What’s more likely is that you’ll become more toned, stronger and faster, while reducing the risk of injury.
FULL BODY EXERCISES
You should work up to lifting fairly heavy weights to generate enough force through the bones and muscles, but progress over time. Choose full body, compound exercises that utilise more than one muscle group at a time, such as squats, deadlifts, and push and pull exercises, as well as core strengthening and loaded carries. Work using the larger muscle groups to generate plenty of force and work in differing directions. When designing a programme, include plenty of rest between sets, so that in each exercise enough exertion is possible to generate the force required for our bones. Be sure to include balance and core work to help to prevent falls both when training and in daily life.
As the most common sites of fracture are in the legs, hips and spine, including deadlifts, squats, and flexion and extension of the spine (e.g. sit-ups and back extensions) is key. Kettlebell swings are also great to generate force.
“For optimal bone health, we need both impact and strength training”
FUEL YOUR BONES
As mentioned, endurance exercise expends a large amount of energy, but it also places the body under increased stress and the bones under additional pressure. This increases our requirements for calcium, vitamins D and K, and magnesium.
Calcium can be easily obtained in the diet from dairy or fortified alternatives. Eating a mix of dark leafy greens, whole grains, nuts and seeds, beans and pulses should cover the micronutrient requirements.
The body’s main source of vitamin D is synthesised from the sun and, although contained in some foods, the NHS recommends supplementation of 400mg throughout the winter months, although there’s a large body of evidence to suggest that taking it throughout the year at a higher dose is more effective.
If you’ve suffered with stress fractures before or you think that you may be at risk, a blood test to check for deficiencies is wise, then you can begin to take appropriate steps via diet or supplementation.
If too few calories are consumed and menstrual dysfunction occurs, in the case of RED-S, then bone health will be compromised resulting in stress fractures or, in the long-term, osteoporosis. Calculating your energy expenditure (TDEE) and matching it with sufficient caloric intake is the easiest way to balance this. Online tools such as calorie calculators and food-tracking apps are useful to help guide you. Remember that without sufficient fuel, your body cannot operate properly.
DON’T FORGET PROTEIN
Lastly, we mustn’t forget protein – the building blocks of our body to help repair and support cells and muscles. Training our muscles to support our bones requires sufficient protein to stimulate muscle protein synthesis, particularly the amino acid leucine. This is predominantly in animalbased proteins but can also be found in vegan sources such as soy and some pulses. Varying your sources of protein and eating a serving (palm-sized or a quarter of your plate) with each meal and snack should ensure that you consume enough. Post-workout shakes that combine protein and carbs are a convenient choice.
Ultimately, prevention is definitely better than cure when it comes to bone health – the impact of falling off a bike could be life changing after all. So fuel your body with enough energy and nutrients, and train in a way that finely tunes your amazing body into a powerhouse triathlete with longevity.