The Female Athlete
Quality versus Quantity
We know that there is a shift within research and academia in order to try to correct the balance of quality research in the female athlete space. There are some wonderful researchers out there, who have conducted high quality research, and continue to push the scientific community to produce better quality research in females.
The trouble is, these are few and far between. Some wonderful researchers in the female space to take a look at – Anthony C. Hackney (Professor; Exercise Physiology and Nutrition, University of North Carolina), Kirsty Elliott-Sale (Professor; Female Endocrinology and Exercise Physiology, Manchester Metropolitan University), Clare Minahan (Associate Professor; Female Performance and Health, Griffith University & Australian Institute of Sport), Kathryn Ackerman (Associate Professor; Medicine, Harvard Medical School). All are part of outstanding networks of world class researchers, working deliberately to close the gender gap in research and applied practice.
How Our Process Works
Hover over each stage to learn more
Stage 1
Initial discovery call to data gather and set the start point plan of action - Going over athletes background, current situation and aspirations.
Date to set up physiological profiling.
Stage 2
Food diary log using our Nutrition analysis software, this will be used to formulate nutrition strategy protocol. Continually monitored and adjusted as needed.
Stage 3
Value based exercise to help with devloping goal setting and to map out athletes behaviours inline with the agreed goals.
Stage 4
Time spent matching athlete's diet to your training program. This is to maximise progress and results during competition or match play.
Stage 5
Education through conversation with athlete around the basics of Performance Nutrition (Total, Timing and Type)
Completed via Weekly scheduled calls
OUR VALUES
At JHT we are curious about the evolving research quality within the female athlete space. It’s well documented that quality research in female athlete physiology is behind the curve of general Sport Science Research, although there is an acknowledgement of this now and the research will follow, with grants being applied for and interest in the female athlete growing year on year, specifically most recently given the success of The Lionesses winning UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 at Wembley, on home soil. A wonderful moment for global sport.
JHT Performance is open to work in collaboration with research institutes to develop our knowledge and application in this area. If there is a project you are working on and would like our involvement, please reach out.
As the field of female athlete physiology grows, it is to be expected that there are ‘commercial opportunities’ presenting themselves to developers in technology. There are a number of apps that profess to be able to identify what phase of your menstrual cycle you are in, and what foods are more optimal to consume in any given phase of your cycle. This research is a developing area, and currently we have no scientific basis with which to prescribe or recommend any specific nutrients to support a female athlete at a given phase of her cycle. I would be curious to know what science these apps are utilising, as it’s not something I believe to be currently readily available. Anyone who has any scientific journals that are peer reviewed and from highly regarded research institutions please feel free to send them over, as I would be incredibly keen to read the underpinnings of these broad , algorithm generated recommendations.
At JHT our practice values are such that we will continue to seek support from female physiologists, and applied practitioners working in with female athletes who are working in research, collaborating with research institutions in this area to ensure we provide appropriate and relevant information to any female athlete we support and work with, to the best of our knowledge and based off the most relevant research literature currently available.
Just tell me what to eat, I don’t care about the science.
This type of approach doesn’t serve anyone to any benefit. If you decide you would like to work with JHT it would be best if it is from a place of curiosity and a willingness to work together to determine your goals and objectives through the process.
This is not a reductionist approach. At JHT we will not ‘tell you what to eat’. This is often a misguided approach that leads to poor, destructive relationships with food and nutrition. We will work together to identify what habits you have around food and nutrition, as well as training and competition, to discover what you do around food preparation, look at why you take that approach and then work together to decide if there are any improvements that could be made in an area that will bring a performance benefit. We work together to understand your approach to nutrition currently and why you feel that is the way it is, and then clearly map out areas that would be easier for you to approach to begin with.
I am not here to ‘tell you what to eat’.
I am here to work with you to understand your habits, build new habits into your routine and highlight ‘blind spots’ around your preparation and recovery pre and post competition to ensure you minimise your likelihood of injury, illness and improve energy levels and performance during competition. Along the journey there are options to improve your knowledge and understanding of your own physiology and use this to support your progress.
