UK Defence Releases First Female Physiology Training Guide for Servicewomen

UK defence chiefs released a new health and fitness guide for servicewomen that provides the first defence-specific instructions on female physiology in military training. The guide addresses training, sleep, nutrition, recovery and injury prevention. It was developed after ten years of research that tracked women in arduous roles and those attempting selection for elite units.

Defence scientists found that women achieve similar relative strength gains to men with structured training but require at least six months for safe adaptation of bone and connective tissue. Servicewomen averaging six hours of sleep faced a fourfold increase in illness risk and more than double the risk of musculoskeletal injury compared with those sleeping over seven hours, the study showed.

Calvin Bailey, Minister for Veterans and People, said the guide would allow more women to reach and maintain standards for longer.

“There is no lowering of the standards,” he stated. ” Bailey added that the approach mirrors the path previously taken with male personnel and positions the UK as world-leading. A defence source said NATO allies including the United States have expressed interest in the material, while Five Eyes nations are understood to be reviewing the findings.

Journalists and the minister were flown by Chinook helicopter from RAF Northolt to Kendrew Barracks in Rutland to inspect the pamphlet. The flight crossed England at 150 mph. Restrictions on women in ground close combat roles were lifted in 2016.

The guide covers courses such as the All Arms Commando Course in Lympstone and P Company in Catterick. Women have been eligible for the Special Reconnaissance Regiment since its formation in 2005. Julie Greeves, the guide’s research director, said historical performance research relied on male data.