CLUB WEST ISLAND
Advice from an Expert ...
Evelyne Chicoine
WOMEN AND HYPERTROPHY
Ladies,
Do you often find yourself saying,
« I don’t want to get big muscles »
when asked about your training objectives? Or perhaps, this is a sentence you
repeat to yourself while training, which keeps you from picking up a heavier set
of weights? Perhaps you hold to sets of 15 to 20 reps with light weights, your
last repetition being not much more difficult than your first one. Don’t
misunderstand me; there is nothing wrong with doing 15-20 reps of an exercise;
however they must be executed correctly. In fact, if basic training principles
(be it for muscular endurance, strength or hypertrophy) are not applied, you
will be fighting a losing battle when trying to achieve your personal goals.
Let’s demystify the concept a little bit…
Whether your muscular objective is strength (3- 6
reps), muscle mass (6-10 reps) or muscular endurance (more than 12 reps), the
weight training principle remains the same: Your last repetition in a set should be that you would not be able to do one
more. You need to continually
challenge your muscles to go beyond their usual capacity, from one workout to
another, in order for your muscles to adapt to the new effort required. This is
what will allow you to gain muscular strength, mass, or endurance.
Let’s be realistic:
women will never be able to be as muscular as
men, even if they are training with heavy loads.
Picture a handful of drinking straws. Ladies,
you are holding 50 straws in your hand and your male counterpart has the same
amount in his hand. Among those 50 straws, ten (10) are the size of thick
milkshake straws, notably larger. Your friend, he is holding twenty five (25)
of these larger milkshake straws. Therefore, your friend’s handful is larger,
even though he is holding as many straws as you are. This serves to explain
that the number of muscle fibres (straws) is the same for men and women, however
it’s the nature of the fibres which distinguishes them, and which, by
consequence, contributes to the differences in volume and strength.
Hormones are the other factor to consider.
Testosterone is the principal muscle regenerating hormone following a
cardiovascular or a muscular workout. Women do not produce much of this hormone
and, compared to men, only have a small amount in their system. (Of course, I
am not accounting for those female athletes who sometimes end up with a
moustache and a deep voice after consuming certain « substances »…. let’s not go
there!) So how do women manage to repair their muscles following their
workout? Basically, it is mainly while sleeping that the human growth hormone
is at its peak in the human body. This is why it is very important to get
enough sleep!
In summary, it is the larger quantity of the
smaller muscle fibres in addition to a weak secretion of testosterone, which
explains the fact that you will never look like our friend Arnold Schwarnenegger.
Questions? Don’t be shy!
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