There are plenty of sports that require muscular strength. In fact, even the most harmless non-contact sport of chess requires a little bit of muscular strength for a player to move the chess pieces on the board. With all the strength and conditioning that’s required, one would mistakenly think that only men are successful in these sports. But the field is much more open these days and women are now as involved in sport as men.
In this article we are featuring women’s sports that require not only muscular strength but muscular endurance as well. The girls who engage in this sport endure countless hours of resistance training in order to build muscle mass and endurance. The purpose of resistance training is to strengthen the muscles to ensure that they won’t experience failure during competition. Here are some women’s sports that require muscular strength:
CYCLING
Riding a bike for long periods require muscle strength in the legs, buttocks and hips. Cycling, as a sport, requires riders to not only bike for long periods but also climb slopes as well. The muscles are especially tested in unforgiving terrain like mountains and hills. Marianne Vos of the Netherlands is a multi-titled cyclist. Vos dominated cycling at an early age and has already accumulated 3World Road Race Championships at the tender age of 26.
WEIGHTLIFTING
Muscle strength is a prerequisite for women who do competitive weightlifting. This sport requires the whole body’s muscles to be physically sound. Weightlifting needs a combination of muscles to work in order to be successful—from the arms, shoulders, chest, abdomen, and down to the legs. The sport is all about being able to successfully lift a barbell probably twice your weight over your head. Great Britain’s Zoe Smith is an example of a diminutive but ultra-powerful woman lifter.
TRIATHLON
A Triathlete not only focuses on one discipline but three—these three sports are running, swimming and biking. We have already discussed above about the muscular strength requirements of biking. And you might think that running and swimming does not require any muscle strength at all. On the contrary, they still require muscle strength and endurance. Muscle power on the legs is required in running and swimming requires strength in the arms and legs. Leanda Cave is an example of a distinguished triathlete, earning the reputation of being the only female to have won both the Ironman and Ironman 70.3.
MIXED MARTIAL ARTS
The sport of Mixed Martial Arts, or MMA, is a fighting competition that employs several fighting styles. MMA fighters are not constrained to a specific fighting style and can adapt different forms of martial arts. They can use different styles for specific situations to gain advantage over their opponents. Most fighters are male but there is a growing interest coming from women. This sport requires muscle strength in order for a fighter to deal vicious blows to her opponent. At the same time, the same muscle strength can be used to parry and block attacks. And a fighter’s strength will be truly tested when she is under a submission hold. This MMA craze among women is in part due to Gina Carano. Gina has enjoyed a successful MMA career and has even transitioned into the movie screen.
ROWING
Here’s another sport that many people don’t consider as muscularly taxing. But rowing requires a lot of strength from the arms and abs. In rowing, the boats are propelled by moving the oars, making a pushing motion on the water. How fast you row depends on how strong your arms are. Stronger arms usually mean a faster rowing motion. Rowing is an old sport and many women engage in it. Notable women rowers are Helen Glover and Heather Stranning of Great Britain, who won gold in the 2012 Olympics.
It’s not only the men who are dominating sports these days. Women are slowly giving men a run for their money in sports that require muscular strength. It’s not unheard of to think that women might just be competing in the same category as the men. With all the advancement in sports science, the gap between the physical capabilities of men and women will be bridged.
