- Should Women Train Like Men? -
“Anything you can do I can do
better...” So maybe Mia Hamm wasn’t trying to say that women are better
athletes than men, nor was Michael Jordan, the greatest basketball player of
all-time, trying to say that men were on a different level of athleticism, but
rather they highlight gender equality in competitive arenas. So why does this
inequality still happen in how we train? Please correct me if I am wrong, but it seems that the
overwhelming majority of women at my gym are intimidated by the notion of
lifting weights in the weight room... aka the "men’s area”. That’s okay; we will start slow, but if you have been asking yourself "why should such a strong dichotomy exist in the way different genders
train?"... You are exactly right! It
shouldn’t!
From the myriad “fitgirl” hashtags
and “fitstagram” posts that I have come across recently, there is clearly an element of
fitness in terms of beauty that women value. Now all females may not be striving for the perfect
“feathers” in their quads or the broad shoulders with steel wheels, but the
pursuit of “shelves” and mantras such as “lift, tone, burn” are only so powerful by
themselves. I ask you this, how can you enhance curves when there is not sufficient muscle
mass to be firmed and toned in the first place?
Muscle growth through resistance training provides the size and basic anatomical
shape that can then be formed into the yoga butt (or sculpted quads, or chiseled back) of your dreams. Let's get started! But first, there are a couple myths that I would like to dispel: So if I haven’t scared you away from the possibility of
adding weights to your fitness routine yet… read on.
Myth #1: Women who lift heavy will eventually look like "The
Incredible Hulk"
Women and men often times have
different definitions of the "ideal" physique; men often want to get “swole” and
ripped, which ironically is frequently one of the biggest fears of women who haven’t resistance
trained before. When it comes to women
and resistance training, a woman will not build size and mass like a man due to
their natural levels of hormones that help regulate body composition, (however,
much like The Hulk men probably wont like them when they are angry!). Why is
this hormonal difference so important? It means that women will react differently to resistance
training than men, because of their body’s natural course of hypertrophy (the
increase in size of the muscles myofibrils in response to training). Think about it this way - The average male circulating testosterone
level is in the range of 250-1200 ng/dL while the average female is in the
range of 10-65 ng/dL post-puberty. This number may change given the testing
method and the laboratory technique used to provide the reading, but even so,
this means that even the highest producing female has 3.85x less testosterone
in their body than the lowest male, and up to 18.5x less than the upper range
male levels. This fact alone makes begins to explain the different ways in which resistance training changes your body, dependent upon your gender.
I'll level with you, even if those numbers are
true “I have seen pictures of women with pronounced veins and more muscle than Schwarzenegger”... and easily put, they are supplementing with anabolic-androgenic steroids (synthetic
hormone sources). In order to overcome the natural limits of their body’s
structure they have chosen to pursue synthetic substitutes to gain that
physique. You WILL NOT get those results naturally (have no fear!).
Myth #2 : Women shouldn’t lift anything heavier than 3
pounds
I’m looking
at you Tracy Anderson… Gwyneth Paltrow’s celebrity trainer has trademarked the concept
that "No woman should lift more
than 3 pounds". Please... this plays to the notion
that women are fragile and will break if the weight they are lifting gets
heavier than Paris Hilton’s Chihuahua “Tinkerbell”. Let’s think about this for
a minute - Let’s pretend that you absolutely will not lift anything heavier than three pounds
for an entire day… there goes carrying your purse, the groceries, and picking
up your kids. You get my point. Sweeping generalizations such as this
one are the reason so many people get confused when it comes to fitness and do a disservice to anyone attempting to make healthy changes.
Along the same lines, light weights at super-high rep ranges (15-20+) is not enough to meaningfully increase muscle mass. Sets higher than 12 reps have been shown to create muscle endurance sarcoplasmic
hypertrophy (swelling of the muscle) instead of creating hypertrophy growth of the
myofibrils (lean and toned muscle). To effectively increase muscle tone and
strength, your reps should fall between 6 and 12. If you are training for pure, functional strength alone, 1-5 reps per set will suffice. Completing sets with this rep range means that you are failing to perform the
next repetition (13 or 6, respectively) with PERFECT form, not simply getting the
weight up any way you can (we NEVER want to do this). If you are confused as to what all these sets and
reps mean, don’t worry! We will get to the basics in the near future! But for now on to the
next myth...
Myth #3: But cardio is the only way to lose that
stubborn fat
....Wrong again! Cardio is vital to any weight loss plan but resistance training can
actually help to boost your metabolism. Have you ever heard/read/seen/been told the old adage “Muscle burns more calories than fat"? If you said yes, that is because science has outlasted fad diets and infomercial
fitness products throughout the course of time. Cardio may help you shed weight quick, but that weight will be a
combo of fat stores and muscle (yikes). You cannot simply target one problem area just
like you cannot target one tissue type. Your eighth pound lost via cardio is
actually slowing your overall metabolism as you continue to lose lean muscle mass.
Conversely, increasing your muscle mass will help you not only burn calories
and supercharge your weight loss but also give your body the ability to hold a strong, toned
shape.(1)
Resistance training allows
for not only increased size and muscle tone but it also brings countless other benefits
for both men and women. A few of these benefits include: increased bone density and a lowered risk of osteoporosis later in
life, increased metabolic activity and fat oxidization(1), stress
relief (which has been linked to high blood pressure and other health concerns
(2)), increased sleep satisfaction (3), and the avoidance/
rehabilitation of injury. Regular resistance training has also been linked to
increased “insulin sensitivity” meaning glucose can be taken in and utilized
more effectively(4). Remember: you do not need to be a high level athlete to lift
weights. Train for the sport of life and all its challenges!
Having the confidence to take your
fitness routine into your own hands is crucial. I would recommend finding a personal
trainer or knowledgeable gym-friend (or this excellent website in the future) to help you with the basics of lifting, if
only for the first couple of sessions. Weight training without proper technique
is dangerous and a professional can make sure the foundation for your new training
regimen is a solid one.
Ultimately, men and women can use the same approach to training with slight tweaks to attain their personal goals. The difficulty is finding the program that works for you. What works for the person next to you, may or may not produce results for you. No matter where you choose to get started, there are plenty of options around the Winston-Salem area, which we will highlight in many future posts!
Ultimately, men and women can use the same approach to training with slight tweaks to attain their personal goals. The difficulty is finding the program that works for you. What works for the person next to you, may or may not produce results for you. No matter where you choose to get started, there are plenty of options around the Winston-Salem area, which we will highlight in many future posts!
As always, we love to hear your feedback in the
comments section, so hit us with your toughest training questions and we'll get back to you!
1. (1) Kirk, Erik P., et. Al. Minimal
resistance training improves daily energy expenditure and fat oxidation"
Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2010; 41(5): 1122-1126
(2) Cardoso,
Crivaldo Gomes, et. Al. "Acute and
chronic effects of aerobic and resistance exercise on ambulatory blood
pressure." Clinics (Sao Paulo). 2010; 65(3):317-325.
3. (3) Stone M,
Stone Meg, Sands W. Psychological Aspects
of Resistance Training. In: Principles and Practice of Resistance Training.
Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics; 2009. p. 229-241
(4) Pollock, M. L.,
Franklin, B. A., Balady, G. J., Chaitman, B. L., Fleg, J. L., Fletcher, B.,
Limacher, M., Pina, I. L., Stein, R. A., Williams, M, and Bazarre, T. (2001). Resistance exercise in individuals with and
without cardiovascular disease: Benefits, rationale, safety, and prescription.
Circulation, 101, 828-833.
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