Print Course
Course components are delivered as printed products:
• Running for Women text
• Recorded webinar
• Study guide
• Continuing education exam
Developed by Jason Karp, PhD, and Carolyn Smith, MD, this course uses the text Running for Women and the accompanying webinar to examine what makes female runners unique and how those differences affect running performance, training, health, and wellness. This authoritative course tackles topics needed for optimally training women in the sport of running and explores how female physiology influences a woman’s ability to train and race.
The course includes the latest research on estrogen, metabolism, and sex-specific performance factors. You will discover the effects hormones have on hydration, body temperature, and muscle function and how these affect when and how to best train female athletes during the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and menopause. You will also be able to teach your athlete how to
• prevent knee injuries, stress fractures, and other common running-related injuries;
• identify and avoid the risks of the female athlete triad; and
• use sex differences to gain an advantage when training and competing.
This self-guided course allows you to work at your own pace and explore the material through a comprehensive text, webinar, and study guide. Upon the completion of this course, you will be able to create the most effective running workouts for endurance, speed, strength, lactate threshold, and VO2max.
Course Objectives
• Understand how female runners use fuel sources differently from males and explain how VO2max differs in women and men.
• Recognize how fluctuating hormones of the menstrual cycle affect the performance of female runners and understand how to modify training around the two phases of the cycle.
• Outline the training recommendations for pregnant runners in each trimester of pregnancy, monitor exercise intensity, and recognize the circumstances that may prevent training and racing in this population.
• Design a training plan for menopausal and postmenopausal recreational runners and competitive runners.
• Explain the changes in training response as a result of the aging process and implement an effective training strategy for mature female runners.
• Describe the components, importance, and use of various training types, including aerobic power, acidosis threshold, and interval training, as well as understand the application of hill training, fartleks, and tapering techniques.
• Understand the benefits and limitations of speed and strength training in female runners and select the appropriate types of exercises for optimal running performance.
• Build a progressive, systematic program for female runners that takes into account the four phases of training and makes adjustments based on fluctuations of hormones and other female-specific conditions.
• Define the three components of the female athlete triad, understand which runners are most at risk, and make suggestions for the prevention and treatment of each condition.
• Recognize the causes, symptoms, and treatment for the most common injuries in female runners as well as provide instruction in appropriate strengthening and flexibility exercises for injury prevention.
• Understand the energy requirements for optimal female running performance and select the proper fuel before, during, and after race participation.
Audience
A continuing education course for athletic trainers, personal trainers, and strength and conditioning coaches.
Table of Contents
Part 1 Course Syllabus
Course Materials
Course Instructions
Learning Objectives
Part 2 Learning with the Running for Women Book
Chapter 1: Performance Factors and Sex Differences
Chapter 2: Menstrual Cycle, Hormones, and Performance
Chapter 3: Pregnancy
Chapter 4: Menopause
Chapter 5: Older Runners
Chapter 6: Components of Training
Chapter 7: Base Building
Chapter 8: Acidosis (Lactate) Threshold Training
Chapter 9: Aerobic Power Training for VO2 max
Chapter 10: Speed and Strength Training
Chapter 11 Building Your Training Program
Chapter 12 Female Athlete Triad
Chapter 13: Injuries and Female Runners
Chapter 14: Performance Nutrition and Female Runners
Study Guide Answer Keys
Part 3 Learning with the Running for Women Webinar
Webinar Outline
Study Questions
Study Questions Answer Keys
Part 4 Exam and Evaluation
Exam Answer Sheet
Exam
Course Evaluation
Certificate Information