Tip: Women, Train Like Men (For the Most Part)

Luckily, most athletic women today are no longer afraid of lifting heavy weights. So how should they train with them? Almost exactly like men, with a few minor differences. Here they are:

Slightly more reps per set: Women don't have the capacity to recruit as many motor units as men do. As such, they'll need 1-2 more reps to fully stimulate their muscles. So when training for strength, a man should use between 1 and 5 reps while a woman will benefit more from doing 3-6 reps. When training for muscle gains, men will benefit from doing 5-10 reps while women should stick to 7-12 reps.
Slightly more sets per exercise: Most women will need to perform 1-2 more sets of an exercise to achieve the same degree of stimulation as a man, again because of their lower motor unit activation.
Slightly less intensity: This isn't to say that women shouldn't lift heavy, but since they need a few more reps and a few more sets, the relative intensity must be decreased a little to allow for proper progression.

Question of Strength 65
Ask Me Anything I receive great questions in my T Nation Community Coaching Lab. If…
Question of Strength 64
Ask Me Anything I get a lot of great questions in my T Nation Community…
Your Warm-Up Is Killing Your Workout... and Gains
An Exaggerated Warm-Up Isn't Helpful I don't know when the lengthy warm-up became a thing,…
Deadlift: Drop It Quickly or Lower Slowly?
The Deadlift: Drop It or Lower Under Control? Fitness experts and even strength coaches normally…
How to Do the Hardest Core Exercise
A Core Exercise That Works Everything Ab wheel rollouts are known as a core exercise,…