Do women require a different approach to strength training?

[CopyCat]

Bill Starr doesn’t think so but offers a few tips for coaching female lifters.

I came across this article by Bill Starr on women and strength training in the Crossfit Journal. I thought I would share it here for those interested.

*Should show as an attachement

[MidwestBeast]

I only skimmed that pdf, but as far as I'm concerned there doesn't need to be any specific difference in training-styles. The only differences should be based on what one's goals are. I'm sure Rosie will be by with some input, too. Nothing irritates me more than seeing women in the gym with the 5's doing all their exercises in the 50-rep range because "they don't want to get bulky."

[CopyCat]

Exactly, and this is Bill's point.


"Keep in mind that the barbell
doesn’t know which sex is
trying to lift it. Good form
will be rewarded and sloppy
technique will be penalized
in a democratic fashion." ~ Bill Starr

[Rosie Chee]

I only skimmed that pdf, but as far as I'm concerned there doesn't need to be any specific difference in training-styles. The only differences should be based on what one's goals are. I'm sure Rosie will be by with some input, too. Nothing irritates me more than seeing women in the gym with the 5's doing all their exercises in the 50-rep range because "they don't want to get bulky."

I didn't read the PDF and I wasn't going to say anything, but if you insist, LOL...I have said it over and over and I will keep saying it until I am no longer able to say anything - THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE IN TRAINING A FEMALE THAN IN TRAINING A MALE! THE SAME TRAINING PRINCIPLES APPLY! The only difference is that females generally do not (because they are not strong enough) lift as much as males - they should still be lifting HEAVY for them, though! The ridiculous and completely WRONG mindsets that a huge majority of males AND females have when it comes to women and training are just some of the reasons I have written some of the articles I have. Most females in the gym need to harden up and the men in there need to stop coddling them and treating them like they are incapable of training as hard as a male! Seriously! But, before I continue to I am going to stop here...

~Rosie~

[MidwestBeast]

I didn't read the PDF and I wasn't going to say anything, but if you insist, LOL...I have said it over and over and I will keep saying it until I am no longer able to say anything - THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE IN TRAINING A FEMALE THAN IN TRAINING A MALE! THE SAME TRAINING PRINCIPLES APPLY! The only difference is that females generally do not (because they are not strong enough) lift as much as males - they should still be lifting HEAVY for them, though! The ridiculous and completely WRONG mindsets that a huge majority of males AND females have when it comes to women and training are just some of the reasons I have written some of the articles I have. Most females in the gym need to harden up and the men in there need to stop coddling them and treating them like they are incapable of training as hard as a male! Seriously! But, before I continue to I am going to stop here...

~Rosie~

I have a huge grin on my face right now. I figured your words would have sounded pretty much like that

[Mrodz]

Well the, consensus stands. no difference needed. I thoroughly enjoyed Rosie's post and totally agree
btw Rosie, i follow ur blog... big fan

[Mrodz]

oops

[HondaV65]

Problem is - there aren't very many good everyday examples of women who lift heavy who still have a feminine form. When you talk about a female lifting heavy - then someone like Chyna springs to many women's minds. That's a turn-off for most girls. Problem is - Chyna's physique is heavily influenced by male hormones also ... not just lifting heavy.

Most women want to look like supermodels and, most supermodels don't lift heavy.

It's a shame - because I really dig the look of a mesomorphic female who obviously lifts heavy - but without too much extra-hormonal influence.

Rosie's got the right look ... not that I'm attracted to Rosie - she's not my type. I like submissive women! LOL

[Mrodz]

I hear on how some of us want to look like supermodels, whom although lovely, I wish had some more muscle.

Over here Volleyball is a big deal sport and I think some of the most beautiful physiques i've seen is on those Brazilian female volleyball players. Lovely girls, Marian and Julianna I think their names are. When the games were held here recently I recall a report on their training including some aggressive weight training.

It's my experience from looking at pic after pic of fitness women that u can pretty much tell the Chynas from the rest of them. And it takes a loooong time to to get into the big muscles, it's a process of development and I think a woman has plenty of time on her road to progress to look in the mirror and say ok, I'm where i want to be, now to maintain. Then look up what she has to do to maintain instead of progressing. or maybe do a cut or whatever.

Nobody blows up over night. being scared of bulking up will never be an excuse in my book for not trying for that heavier weight. Just being aware of ur body and knowing where u want to be should be enough.

besides I've seen ladies whom don't seem to see that their situation isn't too much muscle, but too much fat :/

or ladies that think they have enough muscle under their fat to compete and they really don't.

well this post is longer than I thought it would be and I kind of steered a bit from the topic. :/

[Rosie Chee]

I have a huge grin on my face right now. I figured your words would have sounded pretty much like that

You get to know me too well on here

Well the, consensus stands. no difference needed. I thoroughly enjoyed Rosie's post and totally agree
btw Rosie, i follow ur blog... big fan

Thanks, chica

Problem is - there aren't very many good everyday examples of women who lift heavy who still have a feminine form. When you talk about a female lifting heavy - then someone like Chyna springs to many women's minds. That's a turn-off for most girls. Problem is - Chyna's physique is heavily influenced by male hormones also ... not just lifting heavy.

Most women want to look like supermodels and, most supermodels don't lift heavy.

It's a shame - because I really dig the look of a mesomorphic female who obviously lifts heavy - but without too much extra-hormonal influence.

Rosie's got the right look ... not that I'm attracted to Rosie - she's not my type. I like submissive women! LOL

It's a common misconception that for a female to lift weights or train seriously she will become like the stereotype Miss Olympia bodybuilder, causing many females to shy away from the training that would create for them the lean, fit, sexy body that they desire - hence the reason (and because I got so sick of people telling me this, and then looking at me in disbelief when I either told them that I lift heavy, or they saw me do it in my own training) Breaking the Myth: "if I lift heavy I'll end up looking like a man!". As I summed the article up in the Conclusion: "Masculinization in females does not occur as a result of [heavy] weight training, but rather because of the excess of androgenic hormones (i.e. testosterone) coupled with the correct stimulus for muscle growth (i.e. chronic resistance training and diet directed at muscle growth). The stereotype image of the female bodybuilder in the media is a result of said females chronically using androgenic compounds (i.e. steroids) in order to increase their muscle mass and size. For the female who is not doing this, they can lift as hard and as heavy as they want, and will come nowhere close to "looking like a man"."

As for supermodels, most supermodels have little if any muscle mass and are just lean - and sometimes not even lean, but are "fat skinny".

You do, however get the fitness model or lean female who looks good who does not lift heavy at all - she just diets constantly to stay like that. Not a healthy or desirable option for women either, IMO, but that's just me.

In the end, the "look" that most females who go to the gym want or tell me that they want is that of the fitness magazine cover models - many who DO lift heavy and train correctly, with every other factor right as well. The only difference between them and the "cover models" is that most women are not prepared or willing to put in the hard work, effort, discipline and sacrifice that goes into creating those figures - looking good is definitely NOT easy, and looking great certainly isn't. Like I said in my first post, most women just need to harden up and tough it out - if they did things the right way and consistently, then they would see the results that they want, instead of constantly complaining about their "genetics" and "stress" and everything else that supposedly is "preventing" them from achieving the body that they want.

As part of my Career Objective states: "I want to be a role model for women to look up to re fitness. Women need to be better educated on the importance of using resistance training to achieve their body and fitness goals. Training with weights should neither intimidate nor scare them. I would like to see the many wrong mindsets among and about women and weight training be replaced by correct information and healthy attitudes. I also want to drive home the fact that one does NOT have to starve or live on an endless diet to get and stay lean, and lead by example that "diet" is a LIFESTYLE nutrition plan that can be maintained and adjusted as required."

As with anything though, training should be individualized specifically to the individual's goals and needs - for example, this is why I personally do not train conventionally or like most people.

Anyways, I have ranted more than I was going to, so this will be my final post here (definitely VERY opinionated and NOT submissive, LOL)

~Rosie~

[ZiR RED]

Over here Volleyball is a big deal sport and I think some of the most beautiful physiques i've seen is on those Brazilian female volleyball players. Lovely girls, Marian and Julianna I think their names are. When the games were held here recently I recall a report on their training including some aggressive weight training.
/

Same reply I was going to state to Honda.

Or you could look at any of the physiques of most collegiate female athletes. I have the opportunity to talk with strength coaches on a daily basis who work with female athletes from a variety of sports. If you've ever looked at the training programs of many female athletes (track and field, softball, volleyball, field hockey, etc.) there are periods where heavy weights and low reps are used frequently, and yet the physiques of these girls are still feminine.

Br

[ZiR RED]

Bill Starr doesn’t think so but offers a few tips for coaching female lifters.

I came across this article by Bill Starr on women and strength training in the Crossfit Journal. I thought I would share it here for those interested.

*Should show as an attachement

Actually, there are a few special considerations when training female lifters; however, they have little to nothing to do with psychological factors or adaptability, but rather inherent issues.

First, there are anthropometric differences in structure between the male body and the female body, specifically at the hips. The Q angle in women is wider then men, and thus places them at a higher risk for knee injuries, especially those to the ACL, MCL, and medial miniscus. In addition, the female hormones cause laxity in the joints, furthering this risk.

Therefore, particular screening should be done to evaluate the risk for knee injuries, and, generally, additional strength work is needed for the hip abductors, hamstrings, and VMO, while additional stretching is often needed in the hip flexors and adductors.

Br

[CopyCat]

Actually, there are a few special considerations when training female lifters; however, they have little to nothing to do with psychological factors or adaptability, but rather inherent issues.

First, there are anthropometric differences in structure between the male body and the female body, specifically at the hips. The Q angle in women is wider then men, and thus places them at a higher risk for knee injuries, especially those to the ACL, MCL, and medial miniscus. In addition, the female hormones cause laxity in the joints, furthering this risk.

Therefore, particular screening should be done to evaluate the risk for knee injuries, and, generally, additional strength work is needed for the hip abductors, hamstrings, and VMO, while additional stretching is often needed in the hip flexors and adductors.

Br

I agree. Though inherently these are things to consider for anyone training. Not everyone is built the same way, someone may have an injury, etc, etc, that plays into certain specifics of lifting or exercising in general.

[CopyCat]

I have a huge grin on my face right now. I figured your words would have sounded pretty much like that

haha, first person I thought of when I decided to post this was Rosie because of how many times I've heard her talk about this

[littlejeni]

I hear on how some of us want to look like supermodels, whom although lovely, I wish had some more muscle.
:/

I'd love to look like Gisele, but the cards were not stacked in my favor. If I did just yoga every single day I would still have my mom's thick, muscular legs and my dad's rib cage...these are the facts that I've learned to live with and embrace.

Truthfully, Rosie's right that women need to train heavy. Like anyone, a workout full of variety of movement and levels of resistance will create a very functional body. I understand why women are self-conscious at first walking into a free-weight area full of men, but it really is beneficial to push your body in order to continually grow (in strength, not mass).

[CopyCat]

I'd love to look like Gisele, but the cards were not stacked in my favor. If I did just yoga every single day I would still have my mom's thick, muscular legs and my dad's rib cage...these are the facts that I've learned to live with and embrace.

Truthfully, Rosie's right that women need to train heavy. Like anyone, a workout full of variety of movement and levels of resistance will create a very functional body. I understand why women are self-conscious at first walking into a free-weight area full of men, but it really is beneficial to push your body in order to continually grow (in strength, not mass).

This is exactly what Bill Starr points out in the article.

[Mrodz]

Your right jen, that was badly phrased because really there's barely a word either u, rosie or mr.starr said that I don't agree with. (actually everyone on the thread seems to be on the same vibe mostly)
I don't prefer the super model physique for my own goals (not that it's possible with my genes lol) but I think they are lovely women, whom I have looked up to beauty wise.

I understand why women are self-conscious at first walking into a free-weight area full of men, but it really is beneficial to push your body in order to continually grow (in strength, not mass).

again, I couldn't agree with u more, I had to rustle up a lot of cojones before i dared get in there with them and bench with just the bar. That bold part really sums up my goals.
I'm still very much on my way to the physique I want, and learning every day.

[JudoJosh]

I was shown this and told it was Nikes new marketing campaign for their womens line and I was impressed. I thought to myself "about time" and then was shortly told later it was a fake and photoshopped but I figured it was appropiate to share in this discussion

[ZiR RED]

^^ Awesome pic...if I was still personal training I would blow that up and put it in my facility.

here was the orriginal:



And some more in the women's ad campaign:

[Mrodz]

(^_^)
these pix definitely made me smile. "my butt is big and that's just fine" love it!!