Should WOMEN train DIFFERENT from MALES?

There is a myriad of myths regarding female training and sadly there are even more women who STILL believe that strength training involves lifting no more than a chihuahua

Myth #1: "When I lift heavier, I get bigger..."

The culprit is likely an unaccounted increase in caloric consumption that came along with the new change in exercise. Building muscle is not that easy and you have to dial in your nutrition PERIOD.

Myth #2: "Hormones are different..."

We can all agree we have biological differences, but women have 5% of the testosterone that men posses. And given testosterone is the hormone primarily responsible for muscle gain, trust me sweetheart you aren't going to look like the HULK from getting under a barbell and squatting

Myth #3: "Slashing calories and increasing cardio is the only way I seem to lose weight"

The goal is always to find a delicate balance in satisfying hunger and making progress. Cutting calories to 1200 drops your metabolism and you end up burning less calories throughout the day. Top that off with fighting the willpower to fight off hunger, you are elevating your stress hormone cortisol and INHIBITING FAT LOSS

Strength training should include multi joint exercises such as: squats, deadlifts, hip thrusts, lunges, pullups, presses, etc.

Use a barbell/free weights 70% of the time. A general rule of thumb is 65-85% of the maximal amount you lift for 8-15 reps

Most woman are also quad dominant and incorporating more posterior chain movements (deadlift, good morning, hip thrust, glute ham raise) will help create a balance between your quads, hamstrings, and glutes aesthetically

Women also don't need as much rest between sets. We have fewer amount amounts of fast twitch vs slow twitch fibers, which means they can handle more volume, recover faster, and also handle shorter rest periods.

Patience is required to build upper body strength. Regress the exercise and don't skip it completely.

My most favorable training protocol for clients includes 3-4x full body OR 3x lower and 2x upper body specific training days