Welcome!

The Empowered Performance for Young Women in Curling project is designed to inform, educate and inspire action in girls and young women across Canada, in an effort to keep females involved in curling longer. Thanks to Curling Canada for their support on this project. I have created a follow-along program containing appropriate information for youth curlers, especially young women, to learn more about themselves, and how their body needs to be able to move to be the best curler. In my experience as a coach I have noticed that curlers who increase autonomy around their training and personal growth develop an increase in fitness, decrease in injuries and as a result are able to practice and play more. More game time leads to improved performance and enjoyment of the game for longer.

“Curlers who experience less pain, and more strength and fitness, are able to practice and play more, perform better, and enjoy their time on the ice longer” ~Stephanie Thompson, R.Kin

The project consists of three educational and follow-along exercise videos, as well as printable tracking sheets and relevant resources. Each session may take 30-60 minutes each. During the videos I describe each exercise & educate on the importance and relevance as it relates to curling. Variations are provided based on skill and understanding, and equipment availability. The athlete may pause or repeat the videos as they go in order to complete the recommended sets and reps. Athletes can choose to try the entire program, or select specific exercises based on their goals, abilities, equipment and time constraints. The follow along workouts will help build autonomy and self-efficacy as it pertains to focused training for the sport of curling. The 3 sessions target common issues in balance, control, power, avoiding injury and managing energy. The sessions are aimed at junior & high school aged young women, however, athletes of all gender, age, and ability would benefit from the following workouts. I want to personally thank Amelia Woodward, and Kelsea Marcolini for their time and energy by being a part of  the recording of this project. I could not have completed it without you. You inspire me.

Disclaimer

Complete the following routine at your own discretion.
The Empowered Performance for Young Women in Curling Project is designed to inform,
educate and inspire action in girls and young women across Canada,
in an effort to keep females involved in curling longer.
This is an educative experience that is not meant to replace the advice of your own
personal regulated health care practitioner.
Please seek out additional guidance if you have any questions or concerns.

 

4 steps:

Step 1: Start each workout with a warm-up Step 2: Choose from upper body, lower body or cardio endurance workout to complete Step 3: Complete the cool-down Steph 4: Complete a workout 2-3x/week You can track your workouts here. Copy the content in the doc into your own sheet. Make sure to click the gear icon and select “closed captioning” for transcription.  

Warm-up

Take 5-10 minutes to increase the blood flow throughout the body, find range of motion within the major joints, and hone your mental focus before training, practice or a game.

Upper Body

Improve strength and endurance in your upper half, while making sure the right muscles are stabilizing the core and shoulders.

Lower Body

Improve strength and endurance in your lower half, while making sure the right muscles are stabilizing the hips and core.

Ladder Endurance

This is my favourite endurance workout to help you increase your cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular endurance and overall work capacity. It is both a physical and mental challenge that can be completed as physical training, and is a great workout to use when you don’t have a lot of time, space, or if you’re on vacation.

Cool-down

Take 5-10 minutes to slow down your heart rate, stretch the muscles across the major joints, and relax your mind following training, practice or a game.    

Thank you!!! Please, share this with a teammate or coach who you know would
love to learn more about how to train specifically for curling. I'd love to
hear how you and your team are using the program, send me an email
steph@empoweredperformance.ca !! :)

Want more?

Empowered Performance is the place to go for competitive-minded athletes to find educational webinars, seminars, programs, group workouts, yoga, rehab and   To stay as up-to-date as possible, make sure to join the Empowered Performance newsletter give a listen to The Empowered Performance for Curling podcast, and follow me on Instagram at @empoweredperformance     Important note: I thank you for your patience and understanding regarding the quality of video. The videos were taken late 2020 when social distancing was imperative for ensuring the health and safety for both myself as the coach, and the athletes. As a result, the decision to film the videos outside was made. You get to hear the lovely sounds of Markham Ontario in the background. Although not ideal, it’s a great representation of the resilience of these young women in curling. Cheers to the future!