Primal Strength Training for Women: Not So Different After All
I knew they were coming, as soon as I hit “Publish.” I knew I’d get at least one or two comments from our female readers asking if last week’s muscle building post applied to them, too. You see, Conventional Wisdom has somehow drilled into our heads the silly notion that men and women are completely different species, especially when it comes to working out. There are definite differences – anyone who’s been married will be able to tell you that! – but that doesn’t take away from the fact that we’re all homo sapiens with the same basic physiological makeup. And so an outfit like Weight Watchers will push the chronic cardio, the ankle weights, and the step classes because of some underlying, self-defeating assumption that women aren’t “meant” to lift heavy weights. It’s insane, it’s preposterous, and it’s downright insulting. Men and women have different work capacities and different natural inclinations, but their bodies still work the same way.
“But I don’t want to get big and bulky!”
That’s another common one, and I can’t really blame them. Have you ever seen a women’s bodybuilding competition, especially one where the drug testing bodies are asleep at the wheel? Those women are frightening and incredibly ripped (for my money, the dudes look just as freakish), but more importantly, they just don’t look right. In fact, this is one area in which the underlying gender-specific physiology is limiting (thank god!): women, being testicle-free, do not produce enough natural testosterone to get those bulging pecs (just where do the breasts go, anyway?) and engorged thighs without supplementing with steroids (synthetic testosterone, essentially). Men generally do produce enough natural testosterone (the ultimate muscle-building hormone) to get big, and most of us still have trouble building a significant amount of muscle. Just imagine how difficult it is to bulk up for a woman.
If anyone’s still worried about looking like a female bodybuilder, just take a look at this selection of videos.
Women’s Olympic-style weightlifting at the 2007 Arnold Weightlifting Championships (below): No Arnold look-alikes here, just strong women performing Olympic lifts.
Snatches at the 2007 American Open in Birmingham: I don’t even know if I’d look twice if I saw these women walking down the street. Well, I would, but for a different reason. They simply look like attractive women in good shape.
Here is another example: Watch a 108 lb woman clean and jerk twice her body weight. And another.
These are women whose entire athletic lives are devoted to lifting big and lifting heavy – the very same movements that I’ve prescribed as truly Primal and strength-intensive – and yet they aren’t big and bulky. You’d think if it were likely, or even possible, for a natural woman to build major size without resorting to steroids, you would see it happen with Olympic-style female weightlifters, but you don’t. Time and time again, you don’t.
Now, check out these women.
Armenian bodybuilder Lisa Moordigian shows some sample workout clips: Notice the exercises she does – curls, machine curls, tricep pulldowns, and even more curls. She’s doing nothing but isolation exercises.
Brenda Smith’s killer leg workout (check out her crazy calves!): The closest she gets to a real movement is the lunge, but even her squats are assisted. She’s obviously not interested in learning actual athletic movements or developing real strength; she only cares about stoking that PUMP coursing through her veins.
Look at the bodybuilders’ bodies, their workouts, and their focus. Notice anything? They’re solely focusing on individual muscles to the detriment of the whole. There’s no catlike athleticism, nothing that indicates actual functional strength. Leg extension machines don’t exist in nature.
Seriously, though: men and women should work out the same way. That is, provided they have the same goals of developing functional strength, promoting lean body mass over adipose tissue, and improving health, both men and women are best suited to lifting heavy, hard, and with great intensity. Hormonal differences and diet will alter how this lifting program affects you and how much hypertrophy occurs, but the end result is the same: an increased strength to body weight ratio, which is vital for true Primal health and fitness. You’ll increase musculature, but it’s not going to be superficial, bloated muscle. It’s going to be muscle that makes sense, fat-burning muscle that fits your body and fits your genes. After all, you’re just providing the right environment for your genes through proper diet, adequate sleep, normalized stress levels, and – now – the right kind of movements.
There are a few other physiological differences that might crop up when it comes to working out. The “Q” angle, which describes the angle measuring from hip to knee, is larger in women. As a result, the quadriceps can pull on the patella and eventually cause knee issues. Cutting sports, like soccer and basketball in particular, can place additional stress on the knees and increase the chance of injury. This just makes maintaining proper form even more important (as if it wasn’t already). Here’s a great YouTube series of tips on improving your squat form. I should also mention that pregnancy, especially during the 3rd trimester, can soften the pelvic cartilage and relax the hips to prepare for childbirth. It’s absolutely essential for safe birthing, but doing deep squats with such tender cartilage and overly-relaxed hips will increase pressure on the knees and should be avoided.
Last week, I suggested that eating an extra dozen eggs on top of your regular daily dietary intake might be the catalyst for hypertrophy, especially for hardgainers. For women who perhaps aren’t so interested in adding a lot of muscle, skip the extra eggs. Keep eating Primal, get adequate protein, hit those deep squats and heavy deadlifts, and you’ll begin shedding fat and putting on lean mass that (because of the physiological differences between the genders) won’t be “bulky” or “big.”
In the end, though, it’s your choice. You could do the basic strength exercises and end up looking like this (thanks for the photo, Crossfit Rockwall), or you could spend hours in the gym and spend hundreds on steroids and stuff yourself with protein shakes to look like this. I think I know who Grok’d rather have on the hunt. What about you?
amber in norfolk Flickr Photo (CC)
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Posted By: Mark Sisson
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Dear God that last picture was frightening. I’ve been sprinting a lot lately, and doing a lot more pushups, and I’ve found that my quads are getting a little bigger (they tend to build muscle very easily) but with the primal diet the fat is coming off too. So overall my legs look smaller even though the muscles are getting bigger
Agreed. The masculine stigma behind strength training is completely unwarranted. Strength training for women is probably more important than it is for men, since they naturally have less muscle mass to begin with (the most metabolically active and protective tissue in the body).
-Anthony
UGH That last picture was horrifying!!!! Yay for not having testicles!
) Thanks for a great article Mark
How timely of this blog post. I have been trying to convince my girlfriend that lifting heavy weights is the best thing to do. Of course, she was told by a personal trainer recently to do high reps, low weight. When I told my girlfriend that women don’t have the testosterone to get bulky like men, she didn’t care. She thinks that non-bulky muscular women are…too bulky. She doesn’t like the look. I found this worrisome because I find toned muscular women to be attractive. Perhaps what we see as a non-bulky muscular woman is indeed bulky in the eyes of the media. Most women models are extremely slender, now muscular. Even pop-idols like Paris Hilton – who so many young girls and college-age girls try to copy – are muscle-less extremely skinny women.
Thus, for some women, even if they believe that they won’t get bulky, they don’t strive for the muscular/ toned look either.
She should check out The New Rules of Lifting for Women by Schuler. I got it this weekend and it really breaks down a lot of Conventional Wisdom myths.
I agree this is a timely article, Mark, as I was just sitting here trying to decide if I wanted to go to your site today or read some more of this book!
Rock on CrossFit Women. You look fantastic! Great to see you waving the flag for fit, strong, healthy women.
I am a CrossFit Women – and CrossFit Affiliate in Auckland (Albany) New Zealand. 16 years in the industry, I think I’ve heard every ‘reason’ and explanation for women being frightened of strength training – or weights training.
Thank you Mark for sending me the link to this fantastic article. I was really impressed with the videos of the lightest weight class. And…in all honesty, before becoming a CrossFitter, I would never have known or beleived that women can make such rapid progress in strength and skill capability, and still look femanine while toned and athletic.
All fellas out there, keep encouraging your beautiful ladies to train full body functional exercises with weights. Its like medicine for the body!!
If your girlfriend is worried about looking bulky, show her my progress pictures:
http://www.crossfitfire.com/Jen%2014%20months%20progress.pdf
I can do 25 consecutive pull-ups, dead lift 1.5 times my body weight, and I can clean and jerk my body weight. By most women’s standards, I’m a STRONG. Your girlfriend will hopefully notice the lack of bulging muscles on my frame, and the absence of jutting veins.
I wish I could find the person that started that nasty rumor about women and weight lifting…I’d poke them in the eye. I own a CrossFit Affiliate, and I watch women start lifting weights, and the fat just melts off of them! Get her off the treadmill and show her the free weights!
You look amazing! Way to go!
So many women buy into that whole “size 0″ ideal which leaves them useless skeletons. While I, personally still have a fair bit of fat to shed to get that toned look I would love to be a size 6 and able to actually carry something larger than Paris Hilton’s 3lb chihuahua! I need more muscle, time to go make with the pushups and squats and get me a sandbag.
No matter how many deadlifts or squats you do, you won’t get “too bulky” if you keep your weight under control. Muscles don’t grow out of thin air. If you stay the same weight, or lower, the most you can do is exchange your fat for muscle, and who’s going to complain about that?
On a side note…I love your little silhouette of Grok, but you also need a female! (Grokette?)
hee hee, I asked for one a few weeks ago too. Maybe something Darryl Hannah-ish (ala Clan of the Cave Bear) with a sling?…
Ooh I would love a Grokette icon…
Unless you’re an extreme genetic outlier, as a woman you aren’t going to get “bulky” if you try- men have a hard enough time with it with their testosterone advantages. You can’t “exchange your fat for muscle” you can only burn fat and gain muscle (or, of course, gain fat, lose muscle, or any variety of those things). Dieting burns fat, but it also breaks down muscle, and lifting without increasing the weight over time may increase your endurance but that won’t do anything towards building muscle, tonus, and increasing one’s metabolism.
It’s unfortunate how terrified some women are of touching a free weight. If it’s not a fear of looking like Arnold, it’s a fear of sharing gym equipment with people who do.
It took me a LONG time to convince my wife to do some real lifting, and despite her fear of bulking up, she’s still very thin. Even 10 years later, I still have to steer her away from silly isolation exercises from time to time. Dogma dies hard!
Actually, most women don’t like that look on men, either. Brad Pitt in Fight Club=sexy Mr. Universe=gross.
Luckily, it’s pretty difficult to get that look in either sex without the aid of steroids.
another thumbs down & “Eeek!” for that last picture. Gross!
Thanks for the post & subliminal encouragement for us gals that needed a little prodding towards the next step – I know I needed it. Add that to the anticipation of another challenge & I just might actually make the progress that I desire.
I would still like to see some advice for how to gain muscle mass for women. No, I don’t want to look like “super size she” but I am a bodybuilder that would like something to show for my efforts!
Eat big, get big. Increase your protein and fat intake. There’s also the old standby gallon of milk a day.
You don’t get big in the gym, you get big in the kitchen!
My wife was the same way… not wanting to get too bulky… like she’s going to accidently get huge all of a sudden.
I wish that would happen to me
In general, the mode of strength training used does not matter as much as the dietary intake, and steroids only add an entire different level of physiological responses, separate from diet and supplement.
Thanks for an article for us ladies, Mark! We do need a Grokette and a girl’s T shirt too!!
@PrimalJAP – check out Stumptuous – http://www.stumptuous.com/. Krista got me on the righteous path. Lemme know what you think.
This post inspired me to get off my butt and go do some bodyweight work. I’m off to get physical!
Hey, I haven’t been following this site long but I think it is great. My wife ordered the book and I check it every day. How about a little Crossfit talk. Mark are you for it?…or is it a bit too much for the Primal Blueprint?
Do you have any advice for women post childbirth and doing squats?
I’m sure squatting is even more important, but are there any specific concerns of deep squats for women that have had babies?
Gordon, as far as I know there are no concerns for women doing squats who have had babies. I have plenty of moms at my CrossFit Affiliate, and they all do squats without issues. I’m assuming that regardless of how many babies a woman has had, she’ll need to get on and off the toilet on her own…which is essentially a squat.
Now, doing double unders after a baby is a different story…I’ll leave the rest to your imagination.
YAY! Thank you! I was just talking to a male friend the other day and told him I’d started lifting heavier w/ fewer reps. He said his personal trainer cousin told him women should do higher reps with moderate weight or they’ll get bulky. I tried to convince him women don’t have the biological mechanisms to create large volumes of muscle the way men do, but he didn’t buy it. These pictures prove it. I especially like the linked Crossfit photos. Such beautiful strength. I was seriously considering changing my routine back. I’m glad I came across this serendipitous post instead!
Couldn’t agree more.
I get a lot of women who like my mma workout stuff and get great results with it, even though I don’t promote it to women at all.
Leigh Peele has an interesting series of posts about this:
http://www.leighpeele.com/bulky-muscles-and-training-females-the-definition
http://www.leighpeele.com/the-ideal-female-body
Valerie Waters also takes a stab
http://valeriewaters.com/2009/06/16/can-women-get-too-bulky/
Just got an email at our CrossFit gym from a women who put that request in all caps: “I don’t want to BULK up.” I just shake my head and start the explanation again.
Thank you for your article, Mark.
Aurtherb999- hilarious and so true: “like she’s going to accidently get huge all of a sudden.”
Neophytes believe that one morning they are going to look in the bathroom mirror and be packed and ripped: “oh my God, what has happened to me?!”
The amazing irony is, when our female clients start to get some strength and muscle, they get hooked on it.
Nicely stated.
Full body, multi joint movements. Lift heavy, and practice good form.
Thanks.
Love it. Let’s go DL!!
I was concerned when I heard that oral contraceptives may limit muscle gain, as discussed here for example (Science News blog):
http://tinyurl.com/my4xew
Any insights on what kind of birth control pill would be best to take, not just with regard to this issue but overall? I realize the most primal choice is probably not to use them at all, but for a lot of people it’s the best option.
The two female bodybuilders on the youtube videos you posted look like [and sound like] they’re using steroids. A lot. Those kinds of clips scare women off weight lifting.
Also, their muscle isn’t functional. Which is kind of anti-primal.
The Arnold isn’t drug free. Natural female bodybuilders do not look like these two. Casual lifters who are females will not get this big, which is good because most of us do not want look like this.
The crossfitter is an awesome example though.
Completely agree with this article. I can squat and deadlift 1.5 times my weight (120).
athletics (functional excercises) long outlast aesthetics (bodybuilding excercises).
Most female bodybuilders using steroids seem to have this massive square jaw and a deep voice. And I bet they are very hairy as well. So attractive…
I saw one once (no I’m not going to post a link in case anyone’s eating), her clit could have put my p*nis to shame . . . would have been an excellent excuse for Grok to do a very fast sprint . . .
three cheers for this post! I’ve been working w/ heavy weights since March thanks to my paleo trainer, Joe. My goal is to do deadlifts w/ 100 lbs+. I am not the least bit concerned about bulking up because I know bulky comes from cheesecake & donuts — not exercise!
I was recently diagnosed with hypothyroidism, and am currently on Armour. Now I know why I was unable to lose weight/build muscle on the PB- but hopefully the meds will help. I will continue w/ my heavy weight routine (and primal/ tabata sprints), so I imagine a stronger & leaner me is not too far away. I wanna look like a Grokette!
Further evidence…
Maria de la Puente: (NSFW)
http://www.la-cronica.net/2008/11/25/deportes/f_18097.jpg
Julia Rohde:
http://static.rp-online.de/layout/showbilder/169546-01-08.jpg
Natalie Woolfolk:
http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/images/gallery/olypractice/3.jpg
Eric, I checked out your MMA website, and it looks great, but there’s a problem registering. The confirmation link is “no longer valid” and the log-in page is also “not there”. (According to my little error messages.)
Weight training is for men and women. I have worked out for a long time. I lift weights every other day and I don’t look like a man. Even in the days of Grok, women did a lot of heavy lifting, etc..with housework, cavework, etc…Staying strong is key to staying younger—it’s been working for me so far!!!Thanks
Check out my site: FitLikeTerri.com
Great article Mark, though the amount of times I have told my girlfriends they will not get bulky by lifting heavy weights they still don’t believe me and chose to be doughy chronic cardio bunnies.
I have been weight lifting for about 15 years and I still am NOT an enormous monster women,so I can guarantee women cannot get huge overnight!
Also I am lazy and low reps suit me, I can get in and out of the gym in less than 20 minutes and actaully feel I have used my muscles.
I, like most women, was afraid of strength training as well. I actually started some of the P90X workouts, which mostly use body weight, and began to see the great benefits of strength training.Once you see yourself gain muscle, it becomes a little addictive!
if only it were as easy to put on muscle as some women fear it is!
But don’t you think those women weightlifters looked quite bulky in the bottom half compared to top? Or have they still got a lot of fat in the legs with muscle on top. Apart from the last one who was fat.
My comment above was about the 2007 lifters. The 2008 lifter was small all over.
The two female bodybuilders looked so masculine – personally I think its so unattractive.
I agree with Emily, except about P90X being mostly body weight … she needs to up her weights!
No seriously, I appreciate this post as I felt a bit self-conscious about gaining muscles mass but am also finding it addictive. It feels good to be more capable as a woman, and my husband is liking how these “new” muscles look!
Awesome article Mark! Been waiting for this
I’m loving my workouts at the gym, for the first time in my life I really feel like this exercise thing is going to stick. Helps to be eating properly too 
@Miriam
you said:”Also I am lazy and low reps suit me, I can get in and out of the gym in less than 20 minutes and actaully feel I have used my muscles.”
I suggest you try doing interval training. i often do my workouts in 15 minutes or less.
check these out:
HIIT – http://www.intervaltraining.net/hiit.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6jb-ae9X3A (you can sub dumbbell for kettlebell)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJsQ05425eI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6A13wVHhJA
Like Miriam, I’ve been lifting pretty seriously for a long time (22 years in my case) and look more like the Crossfit women than the woman in picture 2.
In my early twenties I did actually want to be a lot bigger, but I found my muscles were pretty stubborn despite the heavy weights I forced them to lift. I wasn’t prepared to take roids, so I just figured I wasn’t cut out for bodybuilding. I’m rather glad of that now. I’m strong but healthy, and that’s the object of the exercise, isn’t it?
I do find it frustrating that I’m usually the only woman in my gym who frequents the free weights room – all the others seem content to slave away on the step machines and lift tiny dumbells whilst balanced on a bosu ball. I’ve always found strength at muscles to be a cool thing, so when I see these skinny fat cardio bunnies, it makes me wonder whether I belong to the same species, let alone gender!
I get a lot of strange looks from the cardio women running on the treadmills at work lunchour! They sweat, while I do my 20 minute weight lifting routine and simply change back into my work clothes dry as a cucumber!
I save my cardio for evenings 3 X a week, like a bike ride, game of squash or rollerblading.
I love how they just do the same 30 crunches and same tricep dips after their Monday to Friday 45 min stepper workout, with no results!
I however, am decreasing in body fat % every week and prepping for my first figure competition! I am by no means “bulky”… I get compliments every day, and it’s all thanks to weight training and Primal Diet!
P.S. Last photo made me sick to my stomach! WOWZA!
Trish ~ did you adjust the Primal diet for the last week before your competition? I’m doing a Figure in April and wondered about the carb deplete/load using veggies only. I’m pretty lean already, but a bit on the smaller size of muscle mass.
Any info would be greatly appreciated!
Excellent article!
Add another vote from me for Grokette. Like several others, I have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism. Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, which is an autoimmune disease. I also have to deal with very blatant gluten intolerance symptoms and have been working on cutting grains from my diet.
In my search for a better way of eating, I found the Paleo-Diet, and was given a reccomendation to check out the Weston A Price Foundation. From there, I found this site and have since ordered the Primal Blueprint. I’m a bit over halfway through the book now and enjoying it immensely.
Both my husband and I have been following a grainfree, primal/paleo diet for the last 3 months. I have lost 20 pounds, have more energy than I ever did and am generally feeling much better. Our exercise program consists of strength training 2-3 times a week at our local gym, one of these with a trainer. She has us doing low weights, high reps, but when we are in on our own, we work on low reps, high weights. I have discovered I like heavy lifting.
Great article. It is so hard to explain to women that I help out that lifting does not make you bulky, it is almost impossible for that to happen but yet it is hard to get over the image of the bodybuilders and that association with weight lifting.
Thanks again for a great article. I will definitely share it.
“EVERY” woman should lift weights, it’s the best way to stay strong and look great!
I walked into my Crossfit affiliate in Jan 2009 at age 43 weighting 114 lbs, size 2, and never having touched weights beyond the cutesy dumbells in my life (and NO identifiable muscles). Seven months later I’m at 110 lbs, size 0, and the last time we did max weight on deadlifts, I lifted 143 lbs. Yes, I have muscles now – abs, triceps, etc. – but I’m not bulky, just look way cuter in a sundress!
And it definitely adds to that self-esteem thing when you stride into PetSmart and watch the beer-bellied guys mouths drop while the little gray-headed lady slings that 40 lb bag of dogfood over her shoulder and takes it up to the checkout – hee, hee.
Great story! I’ve read about Crossfit. Right now, MovNat has my utmost curiosity, however, as it seems the most Primal.
Sheila you’re a beast! Don’t you love the way men stare? I always get, “Do you want help to your car with this?”
My reply: “No thanks…I TOTALLY GOT IT!” (flexes right bicep)
Really enjoyed this post. I really like the muscular 8-9 lbs I’ve gained since joining crossfit!
It is so frustrating that the ideal standard of female beauty in our society is small, skinny, physically non-threatening women who take up as little space as possible. Women who buy into this idea of “not wanting to bulk up” are many times being warned about bulking up or told they are too big by family, friends, partners, media etc… We are up against a lot of messages about gender and what it means to be “feminine.” I’m glad to hear others resisting these harmful messages.
As for the earlier question about birth control, I would highly recommend IUD’s. The copper IUD is non-hormonal, lasts up to 10 years, no pills to remember, minimal side effects, and one of the most effective ways to prevent pregnancy-something like 99%. Just my .02 cents!
Actually, Bodybuilder Woman looks very good to me. Grok would have carved a little statue of her, if it was possible for such a physique to exist naturally. I hope she doesn’t have serious side effects.
I don’t like the idea of using the copper IUD.
Hi, the gym at our apartment is the one closest that I have access to, but it doesn’t have barbells. I am thinking to ask the board to maybe add them, but meanwhile, how can I properly do any squats or presses with dumbbells ??!
thanks
Ghazal
Ghazal, you can do them the same way, just be aware that the DBs will be harder to stabilize than a BB.
If for example, you can squat and press a 100-lb BB, you may only be able to use two 35-lb DBs.
Be conservative! It’s better to start low and work your way up than to start heavy and accidentally crash into the mirror!
I think the reluctance for women to weight lift, whether in the big box gyms or otherwise, includes the lack of attention and equipment of the right size. I can’t flip a tire, nor can I use the bench for preacher curl; its all too huge for me. I can’t use the giant kettlebell, so you you hand me a 15lb free weight that is going to fly out of my hands if I swing it. If you want women to lift, don’t make it impossible.
Here is an amazingly written article from the Again Faster crew.
Ladies, give it a read and know that there are a host of men who whole-heartedly agree.
http://againfaster.squarespace.com/articles/you-are-beautiful.html
Hi, I have done WeightWatchers and while I don’t agree with their nutritional advice, they were always supportive of weight lifting and told us it would boost our ability to burn fat.
But I do agree that there are social pressures against women lifting hard. I do my Oly lifting at a big box gym where the vast majority of men seem to be appalled that a woman is lifting heavy weights and give me nasty looks all the time (probably because my lifts are often heavier than what they are doing). The only guys who are supportive are my husband and the gym trainers, who think I’m awesome. I don’t think I would continue without their support.
I miss having a CrossFit affiliate.
Thanks Mark, I’ve been trying to argue this point with my girlfriend who has been told by everyone (surprisingly) to do high reps and low weight.