Back in the 1970s, instructors at women's so-called figure salons emphasized weight loss and spot reduction. While physical appearance is still a concern among female fitness enthusiasts, women typically expect more from their exercise programs. Personal trainers can create programs that focus on individual issues.
Sports Conditioning
Women may excel in athletics, but female-specific anatomy may make them susceptible to certain types of injuries. The anterior cruciate ligament tear is an example. Joint-laxity and hamstring-quadriceps muscle imbalances may account for this susceptibility. These factors may cause a woman to lock her knees when she lands from a jump, when bending the knees would protect the ACL. A woman's sport-specific personal training program should therefore focus on hamstring strengthening and plyometric exercise. The female athlete triad, which results from eating disorders, is also a concern. Overly reduced diets may cause amenorrhea and osteoporosis, making female athletes susceptible to bone fractures. Personal trainers with nutritional expertise may help their client develop an appropriate diet.
Prenatal Exercise
Fit women may continue their fitness program throughout their pregnancy, with modifications. The supine position, for example, may cause dizziness, and certain flexibility exercises may exacerbate the joint laxity resulting from relaxin, a pregnancy-specific hormone that loosens the joints for labor. Personal trainers use special equipment and exercise modifications to help clients maintain their fitness level throughout their pregnancy.
Postpartum
Postpartum clients have different needs from those in the prenatal period. They may be able to perform some sort of abdominal exercise, but a diastasis recti or abdominal split may require them to modify the exercise by crossing a towel across the belly. Time management is also an issue, if the woman is responsible for caring for her child. Creative trainers use the baby as a prop. Examples include placing the baby on the mom's belly as she performs the bridge exercise or lying supine while holding the baby and extending the arms in a bench-press type of movement.
Osteoporosis Prevention
Tufts University's Dr. Miriam Nelson, in her "Strong Women Stay Young" series, advised women that strength training is the key to prevention of osteoporosis, diabetes and heart disease. Personal trainers can devise resistance-training programs for menopausal and pre-menopausal women. These programs include free weights and machine training, with a special emphasis on closed-chain exercise. In a closed-chain exercise, the feet or hands remain in a fixed position. Examples include squats and push-ups. This type of exercise promotes joint compression, which stabilizes and strengthens the joints, American Fitness Professionals and Associates website states.
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