Up to Speed

The Groundbreaking Science of Women Athletes

By: Christine Yu

Narrated by: Cindy Kay

“Up to Speed is a roadmap and toolbox for athletes of all ages. Every coach should read it and discuss it with their athletes. I wish I had been able to read this book while I was competing.” —Kara Goucher, Olympic long-distance runner and author of The Longest Race

How the latest science can help women achieve their athletic potential

Over the last fifty years, women have made extraordinary advances in athletics. More women than ever are playing sports and staying active longer. Whether they’re elite athletes looking for an edge or enthusiastic amateurs, women deserve a culture of sports that helps them thrive: training programs and equipment designed to work with their bodies, as well as guidelines for nutrition and injury prevention that are based in science and tailored to their lived experience.

Yet too often the guidance women receive is based on research that fails to consider their experiences or their bodies. So much of what we take as gospel about exercise and sports science is based solely on studies of men.

The good news is, this is finally changing. Researchers are creating more inclusive studies to close the gender data gap. They’re examining the ways women can boost athletic performance, reduce injury, and stay healthy.

Sports and health journalist Christine Yu disentangles myth and gender bias from real science, making the case for new approaches that can help women athletes excel at every stage of life, from adolescence to adulthood, through pregnancy, menopause, and beyond. She explains the latest research and celebrates the researchers, athletes, and advocates pushing back against the status quo and proposing better solutions to improve the active and athletic lives of women and girls.

Critic reviews

Praise for Up to Speed:

"Illuminating. . . . Yu’s overview of the many ways women athletes are underserved enrages, and her mastery of the scientific literature impresses. This is a valuable contribution to the growing science on women in sports." —Publishers Weekly

"A brisk, well-researched study of athletic performance.” —Kirkus

“This important distillation of the science underlying women's sports performance illuminates what we've known all along—that we're different but not lesser.” —Bonnie Tsui, author of Why We Swim

“Christine Yu deftly skewers the failings of current sports science research, but also finds encouraging signs that the experiences of women athletes are finally being taken seriously. A meticulously reported, often surprising, and ultimately uplifting read.” —Alex Hutchinson, author of Endure

“More women are playing sports than ever before, and yet our understanding of how they can best excel remains woefully inadequate. Christine Yu’s book convincingly argues that it’s time for exercise and sports research to include women.” —Christie Aschwanden, author of Good to Go

“This book is a deeply important asset for building a better future for women in sport. Yu gives context to the experiences of so many female athletes and calls for a future where female athletes are studied, supported and valued equally.” —Kate Courtney, Olympian and World Champion mountain-bike racer

“Up to Speed is a roadmap and toolbox for athletes of all ages. Every coach should read it and discuss it with their athletes. I wish I had been able to read this book while I was competing.” —Kara Goucher, Olympic long-distance runner and author of The Longest Race

“An essential read for all of those women (and men!) trying to navigate the world of sex and gender difference in sport, nutrition, exercise and adaptations.” —Dr. Stacy Sims, author of Roar

“Christine Yu goes to great pains to point out the inaccuracy of false narratives about female inadequacy in sports. She celebrates the brave and unsung scientists and advocates who have derailed these claims.” —Carole A. Oglesby, Trustee Emeritus, Women’s Sports Foundation and Professor Emeritus, Temple University

“A must read for anyone interested in women athletes—their healthcare, their performance, what we know, what we don't know, and why there is so much more that needs to be done to get female athletes the care, resources and answers they need. Thank you, Christine, for this terrific resource!” —Kathryn Ackerman, MD, MPH, Founder of the Female Athlete Conference and Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School

Worth reading

Some great information, especially in chapters 3 and beyond contributing to the important (and growing) conversation of women in sports.

Inclusive and Thought Provoking

Well written and great information on women in sports. Calls for more research while summarizing what’s out there.

Must Read

Every coach, trainer, and female athlete needs the information presented in this book in their toolkit. If you read invisible women this is a great and specific look about similar, in some cases the same, challenges through a specialized area. Definitely needed literature for those in this field.

Outstanding. Simply outstanding.

If you have any interest in girls and women in sports this book is an absolute must read! I am going to re-read chapters as well. Excellent job Christine Yu!!!

Fascinating read

Hearing the history of women in sports was fascinating. Women have come so far, but still have so much farther to go.