Strength training in women

Physiological neuromuscular differences in women

There are the same physiological characteristics between both sexes at muscular level, that is to say, the nervous impulse that activates them is the same.

In contrast, the difference lies in the capacity of muscle hypertrophy, the female will always be less than that of man. This can be due to a lower concentration of testosterone, because they, in rest situation exceed in 10 times the levels of the same in blood. This is what can significantly influence the difference in hypertrophy between both sexes.

Thus, in trained women the cross-sectional areas of both types of fiber turn out to be smaller than those of untrained males. Likewise, these differences are also maintained in trained subjects.

Women's response to strength training:

When a woman trains there is an increase in strength similar to the other sex, in relation to the weight of each, but its relative hypertrophy is smaller. The responsible of the increase of the force in the woman can be due to the nervous contribution to the training with weight, that is to say, that increase will be by nervous response and not so much by increase of the size of musculature.

It is evidenced that in women the mean absolute values ​​of strength in less than the average of men, both the lower and the upper train. This difference is manifested as a function of the required muscular action and of the measurements taken.

However, when force is expressed in reference to muscle mass or in reference to the cross-sectional area, these differences are significantly reduced, even disappearing in many cases. The amount of strength is associated with the amount of muscle mass.