The Exercising Female

The Exercising Female: Science and Its Application is the first book to provide students, researchers, and professionals with an evidence-based reference on the exceptional scientific issues associated with female participation in sport and exercise. Based on the latest research, and treating women as a unique population, the book seeks to critically evaluate current debates, present the science underpinning female sport and exercise performance, and inform applied practice for the exercising female. Featuring contributions from leading scientists from around the world, and adopting a multidisciplinary approach—from exercise physiology, endocrinology, and biochemistry to psychology, biomechanics, and sociology—the book includes chapters on topics such as: Exercise and the menstrual cycle, contraception, pregnancy, motherhood, and menopause. Body image, exercise dependency, the psychology of sports performance, and homophobia in female sport. The Female Athlete Triad, bone health, musculoskeletal injury, and breast biomechanics. Nutritional requirements for the exercising female, immune function and exercise, and cardiovascular health. Filling a considerable gap in book literature around the science of female sport and exercise, this is crucial reading for any student studying female sport and exercise science, researchers of female sport, and any coach, sport scientist, strength and conditioning coach, sport psychologist, physician, or physiotherapist working with female athletes.

Women and Exercise is an invluable resource for all physicians, from general practitioners to specialists seeking information outside their specialty, who need up-to-date information and expert advice about women and exercise.

The fitness boom of the last two decades has led to many people incorporating exercise into their lifestyles through activities such as jogging and aerobics. However, whilst many physical and psychological health benefits have been documented, far too few people actually take part in enough exercise to glean significant improvements, and this is much more a problem for women than men. Femininity and the Physically Active Woman explores one reason many women offer for their lack of involvement in sport and exercise - that they are not the 'sporty' type. Precilla Y.L. Choi argues that the 'sporty' type is masculine, and to determine how this notion might affect women's self-perceptions, she critically examines the experiences of women athletes, bodybuilders, recreational exercisers and girls' physical education. What emerges is the importance of visible differences between women and men, in terms of muscularity, strength and agility in order to maintain the gender order. Thus, if a girl or woman wishes to play the masculine game of sport she must do so in conformity with a number of patriarchal rules which ensure she is first and foremost recognised as a heterosexual feminine being. Contributing to a psychology of the physically active woman by examining women's experiences from critical feminist and gendered perspectives, Femininity and the Physically Active Woman will be of great interest to students, researchers, practitioners and teachers from a range of disciplines. Precilla Y.L. Choi is the British Association for the Advancement of Science's Joseph Lister Lecturer for 2000. She has co-edited, with Paula Nicolson, Female Sexuality (Prentice Hall).

Exercise for women is a heavily-laden social and embodied experience. While exercise promotion has become an increasingly visible part of health campaigns, obesity among women is rising, and studies indicate that women are generally less physically active than men. Women’s (lack of) exercise, therefore, has become a public concern, and physiological and psychological research has attempted to develop more effective exercise programs aimed at women. Yet women have a complex relationship with embodiment and physical activity that is difficult for quantitative scientific approaches to explore. This book addresses this neglect by providing a much-needed feminist, qualitative social analysis of women and exercise. The contributors, drawn from across Europe and North America, investigate the ways women experience exercise within the context of the global fitness industry. All the authors take a specifically feminist perspective in their analysis of the fit, feminine body, exploring media images and the global branding of fitness products, the relationship between exercise and fat, the construction of physical activity within health discourse, and the lived experience of the exercising body. The collection explores the diversity of women’s experiences of exercise in relation to age, ethnicity and body size. The book is essential for anyone interested in health promotion, sport and exercise or the social and cultural study of gender and embodiment.

Meet the unique needs of all females, young and old, in health and fitness settings. Women's Fitness Program Developmentintroduces a groundbreaking model for women's health and fitness. - Build a solid theoretical basis for girls' and women's health and fitness programming. - Develop programs that take into account how females see the world. - Find touchstones that motivate clients to achieve a lifetime of fitness. - Design your classes around women's physical, psychological, social, and emotional needs. - Learn about appropriate exercises and positions for females at different life stages. Written by a fitness expert with more than 30 years' experience teaching dance and exercise to girls and women, this book is thoughtful, research-based, and packed with insight. It is a practical resource for instructors, trainers, health care providers--any professional working with girls and women in a health and fitness setting. Women's Fitness Program Developmentis divided into four sections: Adolescence, Pregnancy, Postpartum Period, and Menopause. Each section defines terminology; suggests how to set goals and priorities; and provides appropriate exercise components, prescriptions, modifications, and program evaluation strategies. The text includes the following special features: - 60 photos illustrating appropriate exercises and positions for different life stages - Instructions for female-focused exercises, such as strengthening the pelvic floor and centering the body - Sidebars with practical instructional tips - 30 forms for screening, assessment, participant worksheets, evaluation, and other program needs - Examples from current programs focused on girls and women Ann Cowlin provides information relevant to all stages of the female life cycle. She includes a 10-week creative physical activity curriculum for adolescent girls, detailed explanations of contraindications for exercise and conditions requiring assessment and warning signs in pregnancy, plus exercise guidelines for pregnant women. Cowlin also includes insightful ideas for working with pregnant and parenting adolescent girls. She addresses approaches for dealing with physical conditions resulting from pregnancy, birth, and the extended postpartum period; and she offers sample group fitness sessions for midlife women.

Caring for the Exercising Woman introduces physicians to the problems faced by women who exercise and discusses how to best deal with those problems. This text reviews the history of women in sports and develops a perspective for physicians to use in their evaluations of patients.

Revised edition includes 100 new exercises! The Women's Health Big Book of Exercises is the essential workout guide for anyone who wants a better body. As the most comprehensive collection of exercises ever written specifically for women, this book is a body-shaping power tool for both beginners and longtime fitness buffs alike. This book contains hundreds of useful tips, the latest findings in exercise science, and cutting-edge workouts from the world's top trainers. Backed by the authority of Women's Health magazine, this updated and revised edition features 100 new exercises in 20 workouts designed by BJ Gaddour, the Fitness Director of Men's Health magazine, and 1,350 photographs, showing movements for every muscle and training plan to match every fitness goal.

Todd (kinesiology and health education, U. of Texas, Austin) discusses the diverse spectrum of women's exercise in the antebellum era-- especially exercise systems related to an ideal of womanhood--and the ways that purposive training influenced American women physically, intellectually, and emotionally. She also considers the contributions of several physical education figures: Sarah Pierce, Mary Lyon, William Bentley Fowle, Catherine Beecher, David P. Butler, Dio Lewis, and the phrenologist Orson S. Fowler. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.