Considering Surf Strength Training? ... Wait until you have read this.

Are you feeling the pressure? The anxiety that comes with believing that you are not doing enough? The insistent "to-dos" of surf training that are layered atop the already demanding complexities of managing a female body, in a world that rarely pauses for breath? (big breath in).

I have spent more than a decade watching the immersion of gender-specific training, sports science, and health research. And if I’m being entirely honest—the current messaging worries me.

Historically, females were the ‘ghosts’ of sports science research. We were taught how to train using maps drawn from male data that were simply applied to us, as if our different biology did not matter. A decade ago, when I first started presenting about gender-specific training for female athletes – and the unique experience of the female athlete – the collective effect had jaws dropping to the floor. Many practitioners didn’t understand the unique experiences of female athletes, it wasn’t on their radar. They had no idea what female athletes were potentially going through, nor the risks they were contributing to, through a lack of knowledge. 

Fast forward 10 years and now you may be thinking “I already know that our training methods are based on men.” And indeed, there has been a marvelous shift in general awareness of the needs of females in terms of training methods and health. There has been a burgeoning renaissance of research into female health and performance, which is called for. But here is the sting: I’m worried we are at the cusp of trading one set of chains for another and that we continue to delegate our training authority to others. 

Historically, we were told to train like men. Today, we are told to train like "Superwomen." 

We’ve simply added more to the pile. Lift heavier. Add HIIT. Focus on bone density. Spend time in the sauna. Don’t forget the icebaths and breath work training – do it all, do it perfectly, and do it now. And, If you are relying on the 15-second ‘truth bombs’ of social media to drive your methodology, you aren't training—you are gambling.

The ‘do it all’ risk for female athletes

There is an inherent ‘load risk’ for female athletes, which many of you may not be aware of. I hear it when you tell me about the challenges you have with sticking to your training programs. When you discuss how tired you are all the time, and when you talk about the fatigue you have in the mornings after the previous afternoon training session. I hear it in the anxiety of your voice when you tell me you only managed to go to the gym once a week this month, and feel like a failure.  

Let’s be clear: ‘load risk’ doesn’t imply that females can’t handle load – that we are fragile, or less capable, or in any way ‘less than our male counterparts. Rather, it is an acknowledgment of the different architecture of our biology and the life loads that we are already under. 

Research acknowledges that female athletes are at greater risk of:

• Low energy availability, 
• Burnout,
• Chronic fatigue,
• Mood disorders,
• Over reaching and over-training and consequential chronic injury and illness
• Cortisol imbalances and long term hormone disruptions.

So, can you understand when the messaging is to “add more, do more, increase more - more, more, more”, I become concerned? If we just add to our plate, we are adding to the above pre-existing risk factors. 

Let’s consider what ‘load’ is. 

If you are thinking load is a heavy weight at the gym, it actually goes far beyond that and there are many forms of load because load, quite simply, is stress. The stress may be a high intensity cardio load, or a heavy cognitive load from problem solving all day at work. Thinking more expansively about load, can help you understand why female athletes may be at greater risk of burnout, fatigue and energy availability issues. 

Understanding your load via the ‘Load Bucket’ 

Your body is an exquisite, yet remarkably singular, accountant. Energy isn’t individually resourced to certain aspects of your life – 10% for gym, 10% for parenting, 20% for mental load or socialising, surfing, digestion, hormone production, etc. In fact, think about your day and how many tasks your body needs to allocate energy to. 

I discuss this in greater detail in The Complete Female Surfer Program. For now, understand that our energy is pooled and it all goes into one bucket and all (and any) loads will pull from that bucket. 

If your bucket is already being drained by ’life load’, then adding ‘training load’ isn't an investment; it’s a potential over-draw. When the bucket is drained to empty, your body doesn't just get tired; it collapses with some of the risks I mentioned above. 

It is a cruel irony to think you’re "doing the right thing", only to realise you are fast-tracking your own exhaustion. But it can explain some of the concerns you have about your fatigue, inability to stay consistent with your training, and anxiety around not being able to do as much as you are told by the status quo influencers on social media.

The solution is learning the ‘Art of Self-Authorship’ 

The most consistent finding in sports science research around gender specificity and performance, is that individual variability matters. So, your individual experiences as a female surfer matter and are so valid, they need to become the centerpiece to how you arrange your training. I teach this to athletes from the get go, during my “Develop a Winning Training Program Workshop”, in the 12 week Complete Female Surfer Program. Together, athletes learn how to assess their load and their individual stressors, before adding the training loads.  

It’s essential as a practitioner that I don’t add to the increased risk of burnout, fatigue, overtraining or low energy availability in female athletes. That’s why I don’t apply exercise to any female athlete, without first looking at their load bucket. This information also allows athletes to better understand their recovery needs, prior to adding training. I can show where fueling can support their load tolerance and where a walk in the park would be a better option than hitting a noisy, environmentally intense gym for a heavy weights session or HITT class. It’s not a softer approach, it’s an approach to training that 

1. gives you authorship based on your life context, 
2. helps you understand what you need as an athlete BEFORE adding load to your plate
3. supports sustainable training that is more effective and enhances your sporting performance
4. ensures you maintain your health and well-being as an athlete, whilst reaching your performance goals.

So before you decide to get a gym membership, before you pick up the weights to tackle weight training because everyone on social media is suggesting it, especially as you age, take a breath. Remember YOU are the central pillar to your success and performance, you matter, your life matters, and arranging your training around that,  well it’s bloody smart!

Draw a bucket on a piece of paper and think about everything in a day or week that goes into that bucket. You can even use some of these ideas:

• Grocery shopping
• Cooking
• Cleaning
• Organising meal plans for the week
• Driving kids to school and sport
• Run training
• Swim training
• Dance classes
• Studying
• Work
• Supervising duties
• Teaching
• Walking the dog
• Doing the washing, etc.

How full is your bucket before you add three gyms sessions per week? Where and when can you afford to add another stressor to your life? Or, do you need to add a recovery practice before you train? Would you be better off shifting your training to lower duration, more frequent sessions? 

Self-authorship is the ultimate act of athlete care. It is the sovereignty to look at your life and say: “My life load is high today. Therefore, my training must be restorative, not reductive.” Self-authorship gives you the confidence to adjust your training without guilt and the knowledge base to make better future training decisions also. 

If you want to know how to nail your training with energy, vigour, consistency and success then don’t necessarily follow rules and regulations applied to you by others. Have a say in how you train, when you train, and what you include in your training. This will help you develop a winning training approach with your coach as well. You aren’t being rebellious, you are finding that recipe that works with you and adapts with you AND gives you the greatest chance of success, without compromising your health and happiness. 

The Complete Female Surfer Program teaches female surfers the science of self-authorship, with assessing load just one component of my female athlete centred approach to performance.

I am looking for 10 women to join my March 16th intake. We will dive deep into your own data, and help you discern that winning training plan that will have you:

- training with confidence,

- training consistently,

- seeing progression in your training,

- and feeling snazzy with your surfing performance, Kapow! 

Are you ready to give the "do it all" culture a flick and start being the author of your training?