Everything You Need to Know About Women’s Weight Training

Lifting Like a Man Without Looking Like One Is Easier Than You Think

For decades, fitness and training could be sharply divided into two categories: Resistance training for men, and aerobics for women. But we’ve come a long way since the days of Jane Fonda’s workout videos, and women are beginning to realize that the weight room isn’t out of bounds.

As renowned fitness and nutrition expert, Dr. Jim Stoppani, remarks, “Even the American College of Sports Medicine has, in the last decade or so, changed their recommendations for physical activity.”

“The science on exercise has grown immensely over the years, and we realized how important resistance training is,” Stoppani says. “The old American College of Sports Medicine guidelines used to be like three times a week of some form of aerobic exercise. Now, they’re adding at least a few days of resistance training on top of aerobic training.” Worth noting: These recommendations are not gender-specific.

The idea of resistance training for women raises a lot of questions, however. Many women express a fear of becoming too muscular or bulky, while others worry a lack of strength compared to their male counterparts makes weightlifting dangerous. Overall, the question of whether female-specific training programs are necessary is common. As you’ll see, nothing could be further from the truth.

The Differences Between Men and Women Don’t Interfere with Training

The differences between men and women, in terms of musculature and response to training, come down to three things: Muscle distribution, muscle fiber composition, and hormonal balance.

Women are typically possessed of less upper-body strength than men, while their lower-body strength is relatively proportional. This is due to the overall distribution of muscle and, specifically, muscle fiber types.

The skeletal muscle system is composed of two types of muscle fiber, with one type divided into two subsets. Type I muscle fibers, also called “slow twitch fibers,” form your endurance muscles.

They are composed of smaller, aerobic muscle cells that produce energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) through a process called oxidative phosphorylation. These muscle fibers are very resistant to fatiguing and are designed to function efficiently during long, sustained efforts.

Type II fibers are called “fast-twitch” muscle fibers and, as the name implies, they perform quick, powerful movements. Type II fibers are larger, and when we train for muscle hypertrophy it’s largely the cells in Type II fibers that grow in size. This type is divided into types IIa and IIb, with the major difference being the metabolic processes by which each derives its energy.

Type IIa muscle fibers utilize oxygen to produce energy, just as Type I muscle fibers do. Because of these, while they are used more for the performance of powerful movements, they also play a part in overall endurance as well.

Type IIb muscle fibers are the true power muscles in the body. These fibers are made up of much larger cells, containing more glycogen than type I fibers because unlike Type I and IIa fibers they produce energy anaerobically through glycolysis, or the conversion of muscle glycogen into ATP. They are capable of greater force, but they also fatigue quickly as glycogen stores are depleted.

The primary difference between men and women here is that women’s muscles feature more Type I and IIa muscle fibers, particularly in the upper body. Because of this, while women tend to exhibit less strength than their counterparts, they also happen to be more resistant to fatigue.

Does the prevalence of aerobic muscle tissue mean women should be limited to aerobic exercises? Of course not. In fact, their superior endurance makes them well suited to resistance training, as women fatigue less and recovery faster between sets and exercises are less than that of males.

Put the Fear of Appearing Too Bulky to Rest

On the topic of women and weight training, one of the most common refrains is a reluctance to appear too muscular or bulky. This is one of the many reasons women restrict themselves to methods of exercise that focus on fat loss rather than muscular development.

If fat loss is a goal, though, muscle mass is essential to increased overall metabolism, and therefore key to achieving and maintaining a leaner physique. As renowned fitness expert Dr. Jim Stoppani remarks, “Building lean muscle tissue is not ‘manly’ by any means.”

Stoppani adds, “You don’t need a female-specific training program. One of my mottos is ‘Train for your goals, not your gender’. And so, you know, all too often females think, ‘Well that’s a guy’s program, Shortcut to Size. It just sounds like — you know, I don’t want to be too bulky’.”

However, women aren’t well-disposed to adding mass in the way that men are. This comes down to body chemistry.

“Based on the hormonal differences between males and females, a female doing my Shortcut to Size program is not going to end up with 18-inch arms like a guy,” says Stoppani.

As mentioned above, hormones obviously play a role in the difference between men and women. In addition to possessing less of the Type II muscle fibers which respond to hypertrophy training, women also have less testosterone, which plays a significant part in the body’s anabolic, muscle-building processes.

So if your concern is becoming too muscular and losing your feminine physique, you can rest easy. The far more likely outcome is simply a leaner, more fit body — that “toning” that so many are after, and really just amounts to healthy muscle tissue and lower overall body fat percentage.

Weight Training Offers Women a Host of Benefits

By avoiding weight training, women are costing themselves more than just increased metabolism and muscle “tone”. There are other benefits to consider, especially when it comes to aging.

As women age, one particular risk they face is the loss of bone density and the onset of osteoporosis. Luckily, research has shown that resistance training in females can positively affect bone mass and protect against loss as they age. That alone should be reason enough to send women into the weight room, but bone loss isn’t the only consideration.

Dr. Stoppani explains: “What happens as we age is we lose muscle mass. It’s called sarcopenia.” This loss of muscle mass means not only less strength but also less stability, which can lead to falls at an older age. And while sarcopenia affects adults of both genders, women are at an increased risk.

“When that happens — and females are most prone to this — you lose mainly fast-twitch muscle fiber mass, and those are the muscle fibers that are the strongest and have the most power,” Stoppani says, adding: “The only way to really target those muscles is with heavy training.”

Women are already at a disadvantage here because of muscle fiber composition, as explained above. The best approach to preventing this loss of muscle mass and strength later in life is weight training.

What about Nutrition?

That women should be using resistance training as part of their overall fitness efforts is clear, and the style of training employed need not differ from that of men. Another question that often arises, however, is whether there’s such a thing as a female-specific diet. In general, the answer is no.

Whether the goal is fat loss or muscle gain, the general principles of a dietary plan like Dr. Stoppani’s Dieting 101 or his Muscle Building Nutrition Rules hold true for both men and women. In these plans, Stoppani details recommendations that help you craft a diet specific to your goals, needs, and responses to nutrition.

Of particular note is his recommendation that a diet consist of sufficient fat intake. For males, this is especially important because of the role saturated fat intake can play in testosterone production. For women, however, the emphasis on healthy fat intake may have more to do with the way their bodies function — in particular, the way their muscles produce energy.

As explained above, the muscle fiber composition of the female skeletal muscle system depends on aerobic processes more than that of men. Because a larger proportion of their muscles depend on oxidative phosphorylation rather than glycolysis, women’s bodies rely more on proteins and fats for energy than carbohydrates.

This doesn’t diminish the role of carbohydrates in a diet, however, but does stress the importance of adequate healthy fat intake. Additionally, sufficient protein intake remains key to a healthy overall diet, even if muscle hypertrophy is less likely due to factors like muscle tissue composition and hormonal factors as explored above.

There are some specific nutritional recommendations for women, such as ensuring sufficient calcium and iron intake, but as far as macronutrient and caloric targets are concerned the basic principles remain the same regardless of gender.

Just like men, women who are training should aim for 1.5 grams per pound of bodyweight in protein, half their weight in grams of fat, and adjust carb intake for their goals as explained in Dieting 101.

Still Not Convinced?

As we’ve seen, weight training is not only a great way for women to further their fat loss goals and achieve the physiques they hope to gain through aerobic exercise alone, it’s also an excellent means of staving off health concerns later in life.

One final aspect not often considered is worth mentioning here: Weight training is actually fun. One of the biggest drawbacks to cardio classes is they can be repetitive. It’s the sort of thing one might come to dread, and this often leads to dropping out and drifting away from fitness in general.

As Dr. Stoppani says, “Don’t be afraid to train. Don’t be afraid to push yourself. In fact, I encourage you to push yourself, because that’s going to make training that much more fun, and that’s going to keep you far more consistent.”

By adding weight training to your fitness regimen, you’re introducing a new and challenging element. That kind of variety can go a long way toward maintaining not only progress but motivation to continue.

Countless women have followed Dr. Stoppani’s advice, using his supplements, nutritional recommendations, and programs like those available on JimStoppani.com. By employing his methods the same way as their male counterparts, they’ve achieved noticeable results, not only in terms of their physical goals but, for many, the rest of their lives as well.

Incorporating resistance training as part of your overall fitness regimen leads to greater strength and muscle development that can help increase overall quality of life, now as well as in the years ahead as your efforts in the present day insure you against potential declines later in life.

In the end, if a healthier life is your goal not just in the present day but for the whole of your life, you owe it to yourself to include resistance training. And if you think that, as a woman, that training needs to be different than that of men, just remember Dr. Stoppani’s motto: “Train for your goals, not your gender.”

Want to know more? JimStoppani.com features hundreds of articles and videos from Dr. Jim Stoppani himself, on everything from nutrition to supplementation and training.