Re: Women's Strength Training

[Guest guest]

From: Mcsiff@...

> Strength Training for Women: Debunking Myths That Block Opportunity

> W P Ebben & R L Jensen

> THE PHYSICIAN AND SPORTSMEDICINE - Vol 26, No 5, May 1998

> Summary:

> Consequently, women should strength train in the same ways as men, using the

> same program design, exercises, intensities, and volumes, relative to their

> body size and level of strength, so they can achieve the maximum

> physiological and psychological benefits.

I'm not sure that one can state that women should follow the same training

protocols as men if the aim with the training is improvement of force production

within a limited timeframe, like in many sports activities. Women seem to

respond to strength training protocols differently from men in at least in some

ways. If I have read and understood the literature correctly, women responds to

heavy weight training with hypertrophy Type I-fibers to a greater extend than

men, also their transfer of Type-IIB to Type-IIA seem more dramatic than for

men. The reason is hard to conclude but maybe it has to do with the fact that

men have higher levels of testosterone and that a correlation between

testosterone and fastest contracting fibers exists, as suggested by Bosco and

others? In a study by Kramer 1994 it was demonstrated that women's GH response

to heavy lifting are at least the same as or even higher than men's. Perhaps GH

response is one factor that stimulates growth of ST-fibers? If this is correct,

a woman should avoid hypertrophy training or choose training that to lesser

extent stimulate growth of ST-fibres if she wants to improve her ability to

produce power.

Håkan Andersson

Sprint coach and Research Assistant The Swedish Sports

Development Centre for the Disabled.