Female

Response To
Weight
Training

 Strength training to enhance sports performance

and improve fitness is now a common means of
exercise for women. It has progressed to the
point that there is now a world championships in
weightlifting for women.
For many years resistive exercises for women
were shunned for fear of these athletes becoming
"masculinized" through the use of heavy weights.
However, early studies showed that women were
able to exhibit considerable improvements in
strength with only minimal degrees of muscle
hypertrophy.
These researchers pointed out that the likelihood
of major muscle hypertrophy from resistance
training was small in comparison to males, as
women have blood levels of the anabolic
hormone testosterone which are only 5-10 per

 TESTOSTERONE- Initially, studies focused on the role of testosterone

in response to an exercise stimulus, especially resistive loading. It soon

became apparent that, in addition to different basal levels between
men and women, the response to exercise is quite different. Following a
bout

of

resistive

exercise,

the

male's

testosterone

level

rises

considerably, while in women the values change little, if at all.

GROWTH HORMONE- Growth hormone responds to both aerobic and

resistive exercise. Growth hormone stimulates muscle growth by

facilitating the transport of amino acids across cell membranes,
activating DNA transcription in the muscle cell nucleus, thus increasing
the amounts of RNA and protein synthesis.

 INSULIN-LIKE GROWTH FACTOR- Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF- I) is a

potent anabolic factor. It is believed that growth hormone's effects are
mediated through IGF-I. IGF-I is stored in the liver and peripheral tissues. It
would appear from the foregoing that the growth hormone IGF-I complex
plays a significant role in the development of muscle hypertrophy and
strength in women. Hence, strength programs for women should focus on
maximizing growth hormone production.
THE EFFECT OF THE MENSTRUAL CYCLE- Similar responses were seen in
both men and women in training, with the women having somewhat higher
baseline GH levels, and slightly greater exercise responses. Studies in the
changes of hormonal response which occurred during both the follicular and
luteal phases of the cycle in the same group of subjects were observed.
There was a significantly higher GH response during the luteal phase, as
well as much higher estradiol levels. Other studies have suggested that the

 Active

athletic

premenstrual

women

have

symptoms

[eg:

fewer
mood

problems
changes,

with

appetite

cravings, breast enlargement, mood changes] as compared to

sedentary women (Prior, Vigna, and McKay 1992). Athletes also
experience less frequent and less severe abdominal pain
(dysmenorrhea) as compared to the general population (Dale,
Gerlach, and Wilehite 1979).
Nevertheless, cooperation may be required between the coach
and the female athlete during menses. Scheduling an offload
week during this time may be appropriate to accommodate any
potential issues of discomfort and associated effects (Rippetoe

 Hormone concentration conditions appear to be more

favorable for muscle growth in the follicular phase as
compared to the luteal phase. Reis, Freik, and Schmidtbleicher
(1995) reported greater isometric strength gains during
an 8 week resistance training study when training frequency
was greatest during the follicular phase (every other day)
and reduced during the luteal phase (once a week) as
compared to a program with no variation in training frequency
(every third day). In contrast, Masterson (1999) found peak
power, anaerobic capacity, and fatigue rate (via Wingate
test) to lower during the follicular phase as compared to

 Since thetestosteronepeak 12 days prior to ovulation,

a maximum workload scheduled at the end around this peak
may possibly accelerate recovery and super-compensation.
Although there is yet no study to validate, such timing would
improve

performance,

this

recommendation

can

be

considered until future studies either verify or refute such a

claim (Rippetoe and Kilgore, 2006).
Most studies that have examined various measures of
strength have not noted any significant menstrual phase
effects (Frankovich and Lebrun 2000). It is also interesting to
note

that

Olympic

medal-winning

performances

have

Why Women Should Not Be

Afraid of Gaining Muscle Mass
Despite the images of strong, lean women that are
everywhere from popular culture to politics to
athletics, there is an alarmingly large number of
women who are afraid to gain muscle.

Body Composition and Hormone Response to Training

Its physiologically impossible for women to gain muscle in the same way as
a man because women dont have enough testosterone unless they ingest it
on

purpose.

If men train hard and lift heavy loads, they will experience a large boost in
testosterone post-workout. This doesnt happen to women. Women have 15
to 20 times less testosterone than men, and studies have failed to
demonstrate any significant change in testosterone response in women from
training.

The good thing about resistance training for females of all ages is that if you
train hard, you will elevate the hormone Growth Hormone (GH), which burns

Fat Wont Turn to Muscle

Resistance training will not turn fat into
muscle, nor will muscle that has been
built turn into fat. It you train intelligently
hard, fat will be lost and muscle will be
gained.

You

will

increase

your

metabolism and with proper nutrition,

you will keep that fat off. If you quit
training, muscle will be lost, and fat will
probably be gained depending on your
energy

intake.

Ten More Reasons Women Shouldnt

Be Afraid of Gaining Muscle
1.Youll Have Less Body Fat
2. Youll Look Better in Clothesand
Without Them
3.Youll Have a Healthier Baby and
A Leaner Pregnancy
4.Youll Have Less Disease Risk:
Cancer, Diabetes, etc
5.Youll Have Better Posture

6.Youll Have Better

Balance and Flexibility
7.Youll Have A Better
Mental Outlook
8.Youll Have a Stronger
Immune System
9.Youll Age Better
10.Youll Live Longer