Whoa, lots of strong (and rude) emotions here. Generally women recover faster than men but doesn’t that statement assume same level of effort? I thought it’s one of those things that yes, in theory, women recover faster (at most ages but not when you’re young - I.e. under 18; testosterone during this time allows boys to train way more often than girls) but in practice women do not work as hard as men so….they recover faster?
I looked around and checked out some of my favorite places that does in fact confirm that women recover faster (good for the people that commented here).
But I wonder if it just assumes same for same in terms of effort, nutrition/hydration, sleep, stress, post-workout expectations (do you have children and you enjoy spending time with them? Or are you just going to lay around and recover?).
Renaissance Periodization YouTube - see the “Why Men and Women must train differently” - says women recover faster but also seems to suggest a reason for it is because women don’t lift with the same intensity as men.
Menno Henselman - mennohenselman.com/why-women-should-not-train-like-men. He confirms women recover faster than men.
Dr. Stacy Sims - love her! But i think she also says women don’t recover faster because (again the whole theory vs reality) is because they don’t access nutrients as efficiently as men (and women are more likely to skimp on post-workout recovery meals, sabotaging their recovery). I need to take another peak at her two books though to confirm.
Generally though, exercise is super specific and umbrella calls are hard. Do whatever you want and if it feels good, great! Do us a favor and let us know if you’re still consistently doing Arnold splits 3 months from now (specifying frequency, reps, sets). Don’t forget to deload.
