Should Women Train Differently Than Men?

For today's article, I'm going to introduce you to two people: John and Jane. 

They are people I made up in my head for this post. 

John wants to lose some fluff and "get in better shape." He wants to look lean and gain muscle, but not too much. He doesn't want to look like Arnold. 

Jane also wants to lose weight. She has stubborn fat around her hips and thighs, and she wants her arms to look more toned. She's afraid to gain a lot of muscle because she thinks it will make her look bulky. 

Now the question: How should these two people train to achieve their goals? And should they train differently?

Men and Women Are Different

Let's get a few things out of the way. 

ARE there differences between men and women's bodies? 

Absolutely. 

Besides obvious physical differences, there are huge hormonal differences to keep in mind. 

For example, men naturally have much higher levels of testosterone, which functions as a vital hormone for libido, muscle mass and bone density, and fat metabolism.

Women, in turn, have much higher levels of estrogen, which regulates our mentrual cycles and reproductive organs, among other things. 

Of course, both men and women also produce small amounts of the "opposite" hormone which is still vital to our bodies' functionality. 

Men are said to be at a healthy body fat percentage at a range of 8 to 14 percent, while for women this percentage is much higher: 20 to 25 percent. 

The American Council on Exercise has the following body fat chart for women: 

While you'll see the percentages are much lower for men: 

Okay, so back to my imaginary clients. 

John is 5'10" and 220 pounds. His body fat percentage is at 25% - ideally, he would like to slim down to about 14% eventually. He thinks he needs to lose about 30 pounds. Because of his hormonal profile, he carries a lot of his excess weight in his midsection and love handles.  

Jane is 5'6" and 150 pounds. Her body fat percentage comes in at 30% and she would like to pare that down to 20%. She believes she would like to lose 20 pounds. Because of her hormonal profile, she carries her excess weight in her hips, thighs and upper arms.  

Finally, the question: Should these two people workout differently to meet their goals? 

The short answer is no, in this case.  

Despite their gender differences, John and Jane have essentially the same goal: Put on muscle and lose fat.  

Resistance Training Is Important

The simplistic answer to both John and Jane is to incorporate resistance training into their workout programming. I would not even write two different programs for each of them, at least not for the first few weeks or even months of their training. 

The only difference I would make is the amount of weight used in the exercises, and that isn't because John is a man and Jane is a woman. It would simply be adjusted based on their individual strength and mobility. 

Fat Loss Is Not Spot Reduction

Both John and Jane want to lose fat and the only difference in their goals is where that fat loss happens. However, fat loss is not body-part specific. If you feel like you have fat to lose - anywhere on your body - then you must think of your goal as overall body fat reduction.

As I stated above, hormonal differences in men and women usually leads to differences in how the body stores excess fat. John and Jane's individual complaints will still be handled in the same way: they must reduce their body fat percentage. Any article or product or workout that advertises "spot reduction" (Lose stubborn belly fat! Slim down your inner thighs!) is either lying to you or simply selling you a general fat loss program with false promises. 

Muscle Gain Does Not Equal Bulk

John and Jane have common fears when it comes to building muscle. John wants to look and feel strong but not "swoll" like a bodybuilder. Jane wants to look lean and "feminine" without being mistaken for a guy.  

I often tell people one key thing: If you don't want to look big and bulky, you won't. Women, read my previous post on this topic. 

The simple fact is, for most of us, it's hard to build muscle. And it's even harder to build the kind of muscle that people may find "bulky."  

The other simple fact: You need to build muscle to lose fat. And to be clear, one pound of muscle takes up less space than one pound of fat. If you really don't want to look bulky, you need to swap your fat for muscle.  To do so - well, you need to build muscle. 

Let's take Jane's wish to have more "toned" arms as an example. What she may not know is that the word "tone" is meaningless. It's a marketing construct aimed mostly at women to sell fitness products, nothing more. 

Jane may not realize it, but what she really wants is to increase muscle while decreasing body fat, which is the only way to achieve the "toned" look she's seeking.  

This happens to be the same goal that John has - therefore, as a trainer I would have the same goal for both of them: build muscle. There is no need for different workout programs to achieve this. 

Individuality Should Be The Focus

After a few months, let's assume that John has faithfully followed his workout program and has reached his body fat percentage goal. He finds that he really enjoys lifting and would like to reach some PRs in his squat and benchpress.  His trainer (me) notices that his limited shoulder mobility is causing him to plateau on these goals. 

Jane has realized that restructuring her body composition - i.e. swapping fat for muscle - has made her achieve the "toned" physique she was seeking.  Now, she's decided she wants to train for a marathon. 

Now is the time I would be changing their training - again, not because they are different genders, but because they now have different goals.

For John, I would work on his mobility issues to break through his plateau, and then work in earnest to build more strength for his squat and benchpress.  

Jane doesn't really need me for her marathon-specific training, however my goal with her will be to preserve as much muscle as possible (the amount of cardio required for her training will likely reduce her muscle mass a bit) and possibly strengthen areas like her core and posterior chain to support her runs. 

If their goals were reversed, I would program them exactly the same.  

At the end of the day, individual variance is what will really make the difference in your training. 

Your gender matters only in broad generalities, such as physical differences in weight distribution and hormonal profile, as I talked about above. There may also be differences in diet, but I won't get into those in this post. 

However, I don't believe that gender plays a role in how you should train. Your goals and your individual body are the real factors in designing the ideal workout program.