Associate Professor T. M. Lebedikhina¹
PhD, Associate Professor I. V. Yerkomayshvili¹
Senior teacher V.A. Filippova^1
1Ural Federal University, Yekaterinburg

Keywords: bikini fitness, strength training, training planning, precompetitive period, ovarian-menstrual cycle, diet.

Background. Presently, there has been a huge increase in gym attendance as the latest trend and tendency. Herewith, the number of women willing to participate in bikini fitness competitions is increasing from year to year. Women’s Bikini-Fitness as a physique-exhibition event for women was introduced by the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) in 2011.

Among the factors determining the fitness level for bikini-fitness competitions are: athlete’s body constitution; level of development of the muscular system of the body; small amount of subcutaneous fat. Equally important, a bikini fitness competition is a modeling contest. What is essential for the judges are the posture, gracefulness of the female participants, their ability to show themselves on the stage, overall coordination of movements, character, and personal qualities. This sport does not encourage large muscles, muscle separation, noticeable veins or vessels. The figure should be as feminine as possible. The above requirements for the evaluation of the physical fitness of the female participants necessitate the use of effective strength training means and methods during the training process.

Training cycles are currently planned upon the recommendations drawn from men’s bodybuilding, which often results in health issues in female athletes. The effectiveness of the entire training process for women is determined by the development of a scientifically grounded strength building system in view of specific characteristics of the female body.

Objective of the study was to substantiate and develop a precompetitive strength building method for bikini fitness competitors in their early adulthood.

Methods and structure of the study. The experiment was conducted for 7 months on the basis of the fitness club "Powerhouse Gym", Yekaterinburg, and involved the 20-35 year-old females, who were split into 2 groups: Experimental (EG) and Control (CG) ones, 8 women each. The homogeneity of the selected groups was defined based on the subjects’ physical development and physical fitness rates. The statistical data processing revealed no statistically significant differences between the CG and EG during the.

The peculiarities of women’s strength training are associated with the specific features of organization and functioning of their body. Woman's body differs from man's in the total sizes, and above all - in the ratio of its parts and their level of development. Woman’s limbs are relatively shorter, while the torso is longer than those of men. Their bone density is smaller. Women have a relatively small (6%) muscle mass and larger fat mass, their shoulders are narrower, and their pelvis is wider. The upper body is less developed and the lower body is more massive. With relatively strong leg and abdominal muscles, women have weak arm muscles and rotator cuff, which makes it difficult to perform strength exercises with own weight with both arms. The heart volume is less by 100-200 ml, the heart mass is less by 50 g, vital capacity – by 1.7 l. The physical working capacity of women is 20-40% lower than that of men. Adaptation to physical loads is accompanied by high functional tension and slow recovery [2, 4].

During the strength training it is not practical for women to use exercises with a high degree of arching (which may lead to metrectopia) and with maximum weights in a standing position (which may cause impaired posture and spinal cord injuries). It is more appropriate to exercise in a seating or prone position, which primarily strengthens to the core and abdominal muscles. Straining exercises and depth jump on a fixed support should be minimized [1, 3].

The total amount of strength exercises and exercises with maximum and close-to-maximum weights in women’s workouts should be 20 to 30% smaller than that for men. The dynamics of the increment in the volume and intensity of strength loads should be smoother than that for men, and the rest intervals between sets and series should be longer.

During their strength trainings, women should be extra careful in between the first periods and the establishment of a normal ovarian-menstrual cycle. In the pre-menstrual phase of the ovarian-menstrual cycle, the overall load should be significantly reduced and straining exercises, exercises with close-to-maximum and maximum weights, and jumping exercises should be avoided.

If feeling unwell or in case of ovarian-menstrual cycle issues or severe premenstrual syndrome, the overall load should be significantly reduced and straining and whole-body vibration exercises should be avoided [3, 4].

In practice, there are two approaches to planning women’s workouts. Some coaches do not actually follow the ovarian-menstrual cycle phases and thus do not plan physical loads in advance, but only reduce the volume and intensity of loads for 2-3 days. Other coaches plan in advance taking into account the ovarian-menstrual cycle phases. This approach is more appropriate and promising, as the distribution of training load according to the structure of the ovarian-menstrual cycle creates certain prerequisites for performing the basic training work in the optimal state of the body [1, 3, 4].

The bikini-fitness competitions are held twice a year: in April and October. The International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) posts the calendar of events online. The training macrocycles for the female athletes were developed based on this document. Normally the bikini-fitness macrocycle consists of three mesocycles: hypertrophy, strength training, "ripping".

The training programs for the EG females were additionally adjusted at the strength training and hypertrophy stages based on their biological cycles.

In the first two days of the menstrual phase, the training load was reduced to 30-40% of the one-time maximum (hereinafter, OTM), and from the third to the fifth day of the phase, the workload was increased to 50-70% of OTM. In this phase, preference was given to the upper body, excluding abdominal exercises. In the post-menstrual phase, the training load was increased to 70-90% of OTM. In the ovulatory phase, the workload was decreased to 50-70% of OTM. If the leg day fell on this phase, only strength exercises with own weight were used during the training session. In the post-ovulatory phase, the workload was increased to 70-90% of OTM. In the premenstrual phase, the training load was reduced to 60-70% of OTM.

Results and discussion. An educational experiment was carried out to test the effectiveness of the developed strength training method for women. At the beginning of the experiment, the subjects’ physical development and physical fitness levels were determined using a set of tests. The comparative analysis of the data obtained showed no statistically significant difference between EG and CG (p≥0.5) prior to the experiment in all indicators.

After the experiment, the strength levels increased in both groups, but the EG rates were higher than the CG ones. Significant changes (p≤0.5) were observed in the following tests: bench press; deep barbell squats; push-ups; feet anchored sit-ups. At the same time, there were no significant changes (p≥0.5) in the results of the pedagogical control test "leg raises to a 90-degree angle".

At the end of the educational experiment, the EG and CG females were subjected to a questionnaire survey to assess the regularity of their biological cycles, as well as their state of health before the competitions. Having processed the survey results, the information on the biological cycles of the females of each group was compiled into a table.

As seen from Table 1, only 25% of the EG females had a late period (delay of menstruation). These delays occurred in the final months of training for the competitions. This may be due to the tightening of dietary restrictions, as well as stresses that the female athletes may experience prior to the competitions. In the CG, 25% of women reported missed periods (suppressed menstruation) in the last months of pr-competitive training, while 62% of women had a late period.

Table 1.  Biological cycles in women during educational experiment

The questionnaire survey data showed that 3 out of 8 women in the EG mentioned permanent fatigue, feeling unwell, sleep disorder, emotional imbalance, increased irritability, loss of interest in training and competitions, lack of self-confidence. In the CG, these symptoms were observed in 7 in 8 women.

Conclusion. In the EG, the rate of increase in the pedagogical control test results was higher than that in the CG. There were statistically significant changes (p≤0.5) in the following tests: bench press; deep barbell squats; push-ups; feet anchored sit-ups. At the same time, no significant changes (p≥0.5) were observed in the results of the pedagogical control test "leg raises to a 90-degree angle". The results of the post-experiment questionnaire survey proved the effectiveness of the developed training method and showed that amenorrhea and anovulation were typical of 87% of the CG females and 25% of the EG ones. Also, the CG females often reported fatigue, feeling unwell, sleep disorder, emotional imbalance, increased irritability, loss of interest in training and competitions, and lack of self-confidence.

References

1. Vella M. Anatomy of Fitness and Strength Training for Women. Moscow: Popurri publ., 2011. 140 p.
2. Geselevich V.A. Physiological characteristics of female athlete’s body. Olimp publ., 1993. No.2. pp. 36-37.
3. Kreff A.F., Kanyu M.F. Woman and sports. Moscow: Fizkultura i sport publ., 1986. 43 p.
4. Malyutina A.N. Features of woman’s body that affect weightlifting practices. Vestnik sportivnoy nauki. 2006. No. 3. pp. 51-53.

Corresponding author: t.m.lebedikhina@urfu.ru

Abstract

Objective of the study was to substantiate and develop a method of precompetitive strength training of bikini fitness competitors in their early adulthood.

Methods and structure of the study. The experiment was conducted for 7 months on the basis of the fitness club "Powerhouse Gym", Yekaterinburg, and involved the 20-35 year-old females, who were split into 2 groups: Experimental and Control ones, 8 women each. The homogeneity of the selected groups was defined based on the subjects’ physical development and physical fitness rates. The authors determined the morphofunctional and psychological characteristics of the male and female bodies and concluded on the need for planning the training loads for women practicing bikini fitness in view of their biological characteristics. The essence of the developed methodology was that the training program for the female athletes of both groups was designed so that to correspond to the precompetitive training mesocycle: hypertrophy, strength training, "ripping". However, for the Experimental group females, additional adjustments to the training process were made during the strength building and hypertrophy periods in view of the ovarian menstrual cycle phases and dietary habits.

Results and conclusions. The analysis of the strength tests results and questionnaire survey findings proved the effectiveness of the developed precompetitive strength building method for women in the early adulthood.