The truth about training for women

Writing an article aimed at women is new territory for me. I've never seen a need for women to train differently to men before. I write training articles for people - and the last time I checked, women were people too. Every article I've ever written is equally applicable to women and men.

Train like a human being

When it comes to physical training, the biggest mistake trainers make is to train women differently than men. And the biggest trap women fall into is thinking that they need to train differently from men. What happens when an untrained group of men and an untrained group of women do the same training program?

Both groups get stronger

The things that build strength and hypertrophy or speed and explosiveness in a man do the same in women. A woman doing a powerlifting program that consists of squats, deadlifts and bench presses will get stronger from those exercises. If a woman trains the Olympic weightlifting exercises, the same thing will happen: she will become stronger and more explosive.

The only difference is the goal of the individual. Where do you want to be in one month, six months, two years or when you are 40, 50, 60 years old or older? Goals change as a person ages, but the basic goals of staying injury free, maintaining adequate mobility and maintaining basic strength levels should always remain important regardless of age.

If a man or woman plays a particular sport, then the sport will dictate what exercises, what movements and what skills that person needs to train to get better, the method does not change based on gender. Rather than looking for a magical training program designed specifically for women, it's more important to follow a program consistently, put effort into your training, pay attention to proper nutrition and get enough sleep. If you don't apply these elements to your training, you could follow the best program developed by some women's training guru and not get one step closer to your goals. However, if you keep these four points in mind while following a "Strength and Conditioning Program for Men", you will make tremendous progress.

No program is applicable to all women

Every program needs to be tailored to fit exactly where you are as an individual today and right now. Squats strengthen legs and glutes in both men and women, but you may still find it more beneficial as an individual to train with front squats or goblet squats rather than classic squats. It's not really a gender thing, it's a genetics thing. The mass of your body, the length of your legs or the width of your hips all influence how well and how deep you can perform squats.

You can't change how you're built and these inherent physical characteristics will determine how well you respond to certain exercises and movements - especially in more extreme ranges of motion. Some people - men and women - are built to perform squats with massive weights and others are built to push a lot of weight up overhead or easily perform countless pull-ups, while others are not.

Ignorant trainers may believe that all women should be able to perform deep squats with a very wide stance because - in their opinion - women are built to bear children. But this view doesn't take into account a woman's individual bone structure. No matter how hard she tries, her bone structure may not allow her to perform deadlifts or squats with a wide stance.

In both men and women, the muscles are connected to the bones by tendons. The muscles contract and the tendons pull the bones and voilà - things move. However, things like pregnancy and monthly cycles can affect training and women need to understand how their bodies are affected by hormone levels. This element is just as specific to an individual as hip structure.

Your goals aren't that different

What do most women ultimately want to get out of their workouts? They want to feel and look healthier, look good naked, be stronger, look more toned or be more athletic. If you think about it, these are the same things that men want. The funny thing is that if you train hard to become more athletic, you will get all of these things regardless of whether you are a man or a woman as part of the overall package.

There are general things that prove to be true for most men and most women. Most men want bigger muscles, bigger arms and a bigger chest. That's hypertrophy. Most women want a shapely, toned butt and toned arms. This is also hypertrophy. They both want a flat stomach. This can be achieved through the right diet. Many women are led to think that they need "specialized" programs that are different from programs for men to achieve the same results.

For example, let's look at reducing body fat. A healthy diet ultimately boils down to what works best for an individual. Some women respond better to higher amounts of healthy carbohydrates and lower amounts of fat and protein. For other women, the exact opposite is true. Some women do great on a vegan diet, while others do better on a Paleo diet. And now guess what? The same is true for men. If a man or a woman responds better to a vegan diet, then there is no magic formula that is different for a man that a woman should follow. There is no vegan diet for women or a vegan diet for men. There is simply food. Figure out what types of food and what combinations of macronutrients (fat, protein, carbs) work best for you.

The same goes for aerobic exercise. If you follow the Maffetone formula, it doesn't matter if you are a man or a woman. Follow the formula and it will work.

Training for women is a sales tactic

I'm not going to sell you crap like lunges are best for building a woman's butt or that Tae Bo or some spinning class is the ticket. Want a great butt? Search for "The Glute Guy," Bret Contreras, learn how to do hip thrusts (hip lifts) and follow his program. Want to sprint like a world-class athlete? Look for Barry Ross and his sprint training program. Want to do strongman training? Do what Strongmen and Strongwoman competitive athletes do during their training.

The best advice I can give a woman is not to waste time with "women's training programs". These people are trying to sell something. If you follow what the fastest, strongest and most enduring men and women in the world do, you will get stronger and faster. You will get the body you want and achieve the goals you set for yourself.

Kettlebell swinging is the same movement regardless of whether it is performed by a man or a woman. The technique is the same. This exercise builds the same muscles and strength in both genders. How an exercise or training program affects the human body is not determined by gender.

The only thing that changes is what works best for you as an individual. You may be in a different age range, suffer from injuries that others don't have to deal with, suffer from health issues that others don't and have different goals. The only thing that might make the execution of a movement slightly different is your individual physique. However, the technique you use will still be biomechanically correct, even if there is some leeway in everything.

Don't be afraid to train with heavy weights

Look for a program that fits your goals. Try it out and customize it to fit your individual problems, preferences and weaknesses. Optimize your technique, get enough sleep and eat healthy. Don't be afraid to increase the weights on the barbell or use a heavier kettlebell.

Moving more weight with proper technique and the right amount of effort will get you where you want to go faster, safer and better than any program designed by someone trying to sell you the idea that women need to train differently. Be smarter. If you want to make the best gains of your life, find a good and experienced trainer who will guide you, push you, teach you and treat you with respect as an individual.

By Walter J. Dorey

Source: https://breakingmuscle.com/learn/the-truth-about-womens-training