Workout Programs for Women (Part 2)

Here is part 2 of my mini series on debunking the myths surrounding workout programs for women...

Mtyh: Strength training workouts for women should consist mostly of high repetition (20+) sets using light resistance. This will prevent women from getting too muscular and "bulky".

Fact: while there is certainly value in performing very high (20+) repetition sets using light loads (strength endurance) during the course of a woman's workout (fat loss circuits for example), the majority of a woman's strength training exercises and sets should utilize loads/resistance which allow for between 6 and 15 repetitions (depending on the specific set/rep protocol being used). In order to promote and maintain strength gains, the bulk of the research has shown that one must use a resistance which is at least 60% of one's maximal strength or 1 rep max (the amount weight which can be lifted only one time). 60% of maximal strength roughly equates to a weight which can be lifted 15 times before encountering muscular fatigue, hence the recommendation. Anything less than this, and the work shifts to strength endurance versus pure strength...and everyone, regardless of goals, needs and can benefit from pure strength work.

In regards to the notion that heavier strength oriented work will make a woman too muscular or "bulky", this is complete hogwash. First of all, women do not produce enough testosterone to build a dramatic amount of muscle. I don't think people appreciate just how hard it is to build muscle...many 20 year old males are trying to build large amounts of muscle and struggle to do so, so a 40-60 year old woman need not worry about this. Worrying about getting too muscular is the equivalent of a golf enthusiast who plays 5 days a week worrying about "getting too good at golf" because he is playing so much...it just isn't going to happen except for a select few who are very gifted.

Furthermore, the difference between someone looking "bulky" (a fictional term to begin with) and lean/toned has everything to do with one's level of body fat and what they are putting in their mouths and absolutely nothing to do with how much weight one if lifting. Finally, and this is common sense, lifting, for example, 100 lbs. takes more energy (meaning you burn more calories) than lifting 20 lbs. So, it would stand to reason that if one wants to reduce body fat and achieve the "toned" appearance so many women want, "lifting heavy stuff", which requires the body to expend more energy, would be much more effective than lifting light stuff which doesn't expend as much energy.

Most of the women I train start their workout with 1 or 2 multiple joint exercises (see part 1 of this mini-series) which focus on pure strength work: 3-5 sets using weights between 70 and 80 % of their maximal strength (which I estimate) on the exercise(s) being performed, and we rest about 90-120 seconds between sets of each exercise to allow for complete recovery and to maximize the weight which can be used.

After this strength oriented work has been completed, THEN we move to high (15-25) rep sets and exercises and short rest periods...strength endurance/fat loss/metabolic work. Once again, the exercises are mostly multiple joint movements which burn more energy than isolation exercises (again, see part 1 of this mini-series). This type of training format allows women to train multiple qualities during the course of the same workout.