Women in Strength
Everyone should be strength training (ok maybe I’m biased, but really try it out!). Knowing more about key differences in how our bodies respond can help us to optimize our programs. As a more diverse group of people becomes interested in strength training, it’s increasingly important to understand differences in how we all respond to strength training. Here I go over a bit of info on muscle fiber composition and hormones that can help us to understand how to program more effectively for a larger group of people.
The weight floor at the gym has historically been a very male dominated space. I went to a women’s college and there would be aggressive lines and sign up sheets for ellipticals while the weight training room remained completely empty. Even yesterday when I was using the Olympic lifting platforms at the gym, I was the only non fit/masculine dude working on them (usually I’m the only woman as its really intimidating to claim this space). This is a huge bummer as everyone, regardless of gender, can benefit both mentally and physically from regular strength training.
Good news! More and more women are becoming interested in strength training each day (even when I went back to my old college gym this year I saw WAY more great strength training equipment had been requested by students and installed!).
Men produce more testosterone on average, this means that men tend to have larger muscles than women before any strength training stimulus. However, this difference in muscle size is due our individual hormonal levels, it’s not something inherent about anyones gender. This means it won’t be easy for someone with lower testosterone to develop muscles as large as someone with high testosterone levels (without ergogenic aids, at least). However, given an effective strength training regimen, we all have as much potential to benefit from strength training regardless of gender.
In the past, the studies we have relied on as fitness professionals to develop programs have been almost exclusively based on data from male participants. Quality research on strength training focusing on anyone else at all is a very recent development (research on non binary populations is still lacking, but we can all use some of this info to our advantage for the time being). Strength training is empowering, effective, and has a load of benefits. While gender doesn’t determine which exercises are more or less beneficial, it’s important to understand key hormonal and physiological differences.
Two key differences that we should take into account as trainers designing programs to be effective to the individual, no matter their gender:
Muscle fiber composition - women tend to have a higher percentage of Type 1 muscle fibers while men tend to have more Type 2 fibers.
Menstrual cycle and sex hormones - we should consider our menstrual cycles when nailing down ideal timing for strength programming and recovery days.
1 - Muscle Fiber Composition
Type I vs Type II:
A quick review for those of you unfamiliar - our muscle fibers can be split into two major categories, Type I and Type II. Type I muscle fibers, or ‘slow twitch’, are those more involved with aerobic activities. This means longer duration, more moderate work like endurance sports and high reps/low resistance strength training. Type II, or fast twitch, are those involved in anaerobic activities. This means they’re powering short bursts of intense work - heavier strength training, sprints, plyometrics, and power lifting are all examples. For a more detailed explanation, check this post out.
Our natural muscle fiber composition should be one factor taken into account when designing strength training programs - understanding differences in muscle fiber composition between men and women can help us to design more effective strength training programs for everyone.
Men tend to have a greater number of Type II muscle fibers, they tend to naturally excel at short duration (we’re talking seconds or less), quick, explosive, power driven activities like sprinting, weight lifting and plyometrics. On the other hand, women tend to have a greater number of Type I muscle fibers. This higher percentage of slow twitch fibers means women can work for longer before becoming physically fatigued. Additionally, women also tend to be better at using energy from fat to fuel activity. Both of these things mean that women might have more trouble producing short bursts of power, but tend to deplete short term, limited energy stores (like muscle glycogen stores) more slowly than men and can keep working for longer.
Applying knowledge of muscle fiber composition to strength training programs
Studies show that strength progress is about the overall quality and volume of work you put in, not the exact number of repetitons you perform in a set. Ideal rep ranges vary by the individual, the specific exercise, and more. Studies suggest we stop relying on specific rep ranges and ask instead “what allows me to get in the most high quality sets during each session and during each week?”
An ideal range for muscle growth for a man might be a couple reps shorter than it is for a woman. Since women can handle working for longer without becoming fatigued, we can pack in more intensity and slightly shorter rest breaks without compromising the quality of our efforts during each exercise and rep. In the end, the total VOLUME of weight lifted in the session will be equal and that’s what’s important for progress.
The ideal number of reps will vary from person to person, and from exercise to exercise. Continue to pay attention to your body and your form, then go back to the question above until you are confident.
2 - Hormonal Differences
This topic is so important, but also barely discussed until recently. Hormonal fluctuations play a huge role in strength training (as well as in weight fluctuation, but I won’t get into that here). This is something that’s just starting to be addressed as more women express interest in weight training. Anyone who has a menstrual cycle can use it to their advantage by scheduling our intense training days, recovery days, moderate days with their menstrual cycle in mind.
A review of our menstrual cycle - if you aren’t familiar, here’s a breakdown of the phases women go through each month:
Menstrual: Days 1-5
Follicular: Days 1-13
Ovulation: Day 14
Luteal: Days 15-28
Luteal:
Progesterone peaks and then drops quickly. What does this mean? Increased hunger and a higher core temperature! Higher core temperature means more calories burned and a higher basal metabolic rate (some estimates say 9% higher than in other phases, others say up to 10-20%! By having a regular cycle it’s estimated that women burn up to 30,000 extra calories per year).
During this phase, it’s ideal to taper off from any high intensity intervals and cardio training. It’s not the most ideal time to set any personal records when it comes to cardio training or strength. Especially if this phase affects your stamina greatly, use the time wisely by focusing on moderate intensity conditioning and staying consistent with your programming. It’s smart to schedule recovery days or lighter training days during this phase. In the end, just listen to how your body feels!
Follicular:
The best time to push yourself hardest during your workouts. Estrogen is highest here, which means more energy and strength. This is a great time to introduce new challenges, higher training frequency, and more. When your body is accustomed to increased frequency, it might become the new normal that you can maintain even during lower energy weeks.
If you’re interested in seeing how your hormonal cycle affects performance in the gym, try tracking workouts in relation to your cycle. There are a lot of apps and services that do this for you! If you’re a male trainer, this is a great thing to add to your tool box. If your clients are frustrated with their performance during some weeks - have them give tracking a try. This will give women the opportunity to compare progress during the same phase to that of the month before, rather than progress compared to the week before.
Adding a menstrual cycle tracker to your (or your clients) program will be more encouraging and provide a more direct reflection of progress. Review at the end of the month to check if you notice any trends and program accordingly.