3 Ways Women Should Train Differently from Men

2»

Replies

  • Will_Thrust_For_Candy
    Will_Thrust_For_Candy Posts: 6,109 Member
    When I first started lifting (SL 5x5) I would get so bent out of shape if someone mentioned the fact that the program is "made for men". Oh it would fry me! But after I got my feet wet a bit....probably towards the end of my first 12 week cycle, I realized wow.....there are definitely some differences after all! Upper body strength most certainly being one of them!

    IMO it's important to recognize the differences and train accordingly, but hey, that's just me :smile:

    Train hard, grind every workout, eat, and sleep, and everything magically comes together...regardless if you are male or female :drinker:

    Great article, enjoyable read! Thanks for sharing!
  • DrMAvDPhD
    DrMAvDPhD Posts: 2,097 Member
    The article is based on biological generalities and hold true for the average population. It's kind of like BMI, which is good for the average person. Of course a woman with above average upper body strength is going to be able to knock out more pull-ups than a man with a lower than average upper body strength. This isn't to say that regression training wouldn't work just as effectively to get the man doing pull-ups as it would for a woman.

    I personally was unaware that women have faster recovery. Good to know.
  • amysj303
    amysj303 Posts: 5,086 Member
    thanks for introducing me to sohee lee!
  • sarahmoo12
    sarahmoo12 Posts: 756 Member
    interesting wee read !
  • saxmaniac
    saxmaniac Posts: 1,133 Member
    Agree. I wasted 18 months on an assisted pull up maching, trying to do a single pull up. Eff that. I started jumping up on the bar and lowering myself as slowly as possible, holding it as long as possible. Eventually, I was able to jump only half way, then pull myself the rest of the way, etc. Now, I am doing 3-4 sets of 4 hanging, no kip pull ups.

    That's exactly how I did it, but only because I only have a pull-up bar and no fancy machine. Took a month or two, but that's better than a year and a half.

    It's good to hear the term "regression" explained more completely here - because I've tried to explain to people how to do pull-ups and push-ups, even when they can't do one, and doing fake push-ups seemed silly compared to doing a real one against the wall or counter. Now I know the term and why it works.
  • ChantalAguiar
    ChantalAguiar Posts: 55 Member
    I loved this article. From someone who suffers from a serious knee injury related to sports this: "Resorting to a regression does not in any way imply that you are weaker or inferior to others; all it means is that you’re making your own safety the top priority and maximizing the effectiveness of your time in the gym at the current level of fitness you’re at." was my favorite part.
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
    http://www.amazon.com/Strong-Curves-Womans-Building-ebook/dp/B00C4XI0QM/ref=tmm_kin_title_0

    New book out that has the same basic idea of this article. I have only read the sample on amazon but from what I read I really like it.
  • woodsygirl
    woodsygirl Posts: 354 Member
    http://www.amazon.com/Strong-Curves-Womans-Building-ebook/dp/B00C4XI0QM/ref=tmm_kin_title_0

    New book out that has the same basic idea of this article. I have only read the sample on amazon but from what I read I really like it.

    Thanks for that link, it does look like a great book.
  • gxm17
    gxm17 Posts: 374
    Great article. Refreshingly honest, nonjudgmental, and informative.
  • karrielynn80
    karrielynn80 Posts: 395 Member
    Great article. I too was sitting back waiting for the "show" [popcorn in hand] and was pleased to be wrong :D.

    I also think being knit picky about generder "discrimination" is ridiculous & "that person" is just trying to start arguments. There are differences between men and women - period. Can woman do everything a man can do?, yup - mostly, right down to peeing standing up if they put their mind to it!, but does that mean all woman & men are equal? no some men are limp wristed & some woman are... uh... i dunno, build like a sweed' (for lack of a btr term, no offense meant) - but there are still genetic differences in the two. it's not discrimination, it facts.

    realizing the differences & overcoming them to become at the same fitness level as men makes us better in my opinion LOL :D!
  • pspetralia
    pspetralia Posts: 963 Member
    Great Article! Thanks :smile:

    Oh and why is everyone so terrified to say that there are differences between the AVERAGE male and female body?? Good Grief! Since when does political correctness mean we have to be blind? When I look at all the women here in my office I can clearly see that in general their strength is focused in the lower body and the opposite is true with most the men here! So whats wrong with the generalization?
    Sure there are some women who crank out some pull ups (GO Them!!! Someday I will too!) and there are some men who couldn't do even one...but this is not the norm!

    YAY for political correctness forcing us all to pretend we live in some made up world where men and women identical in every way except sexual organs (because that seems to be the politically correct thing to pretend these days!) :noway: :noway: :noway: :noway:

    This.



    I don't know why some people think that the acknowledgment of any difference between males and females automatically means we are saying one is better than the other. The author's point was not "Women can't do 6 to 8 pullups, and men can." It was "Most women, at the outset of training, cannot do 6 to 8 reps in one set, but that does not mean those women shouldn't be doing pullups at all. It means they should be doing them in a different way, e.g. with assistance bands, negatives, etc., until they CAN do 6 to 8 reps in one set." If you can already do it, then obviously she is not talking to you.

    QFT!
    @ironplaygrond.... Good share as always!
  • ihateroses
    ihateroses Posts: 893 Member
    Thanks! Great read :)

    Its ridiculous that there is an argument as to whether women's and men's bodies are *generally* different...come on people....its like saying "Well why don't we both have the same chromosomes...I want that other chromosome...don't generalize me"
  • peggymoney
    peggymoney Posts: 126 Member
    Interesting, wanting to lift in a couple months. Will keep this in mind!
  • punkrockgoth
    punkrockgoth Posts: 534 Member
    Great Article! Thanks :smile:

    Oh and why is everyone so terrified to say that there are differences between the AVERAGE male and female body?? Good Grief! Since when does political correctness mean we have to be blind? When I look at all the women here in my office I can clearly see that in general their strength is focused in the lower body and the opposite is true with most the men here! So whats wrong with the generalization?
    Sure there are some women who crank out some pull ups (GO Them!!! Someday I will too!) and there are some men who couldn't do even one...but this is not the norm!

    YAY for political correctness forcing us all to pretend we live in some made up world where men and women identical in every way except sexual organs (because that seems to be the politically correct thing to pretend these days!) :noway: :noway: :noway: :noway:

    THIS! The article did not say that ALL women can't do pull ups or push ups, nor did it say that all men can.
  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member

    Best of luck on your goals!

    Lol I'm definitely stealing this to end MFP arguments in the future.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,990 Member
    I have heard that it is better for a woman to do as much as she can of the more difficult exercise than to crank out modified versions of something. I used idea this with my pushups. I used to do "girl" pushups on my knees and I could go forever. I started to do "full" pushups with good form and could only do a couple at first, but now I have progressed to being able to do 3 sets of 10 with my hands on an upside down bosu ball. I still have to use the weight assisted machine for pullups, but hopefully one day I'll get there. Lots of my MFP friends who are female can do full pullups. They are badass for sure.

    Interesting article. Thanks for posting.

    Agree. I wasted 18 months on an assisted pull up maching, trying to do a single pull up. Eff that. I started jumping up on the bar and lowering myself as slowly as possible, holding it as long as possible. Eventually, I was able to jump only half way, then pull myself the rest of the way, etc. Now, I am doing 3-4 sets of 4 hanging, no kip pull ups. The same applied to push ups. I could only do a few push ups when I started. I did the knee ones to failure and got no where with regular push ups. I used the same technique with push ups and can now do 35-45 (depending on how rested I am) full tits to the floor push ups. High reps of modified push ups and pull ups didn't work for me.

    Great article!!
    Nice. This is actually the way I instruct clients on how to learn pullups. It's one thing to get assistance and another to use a little momentum then hold your own weight.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Categories