“A woman shouldn’t be doing an Arnold split.”

[ancientbrotherbass]

@tagliatellimonster I actually would love to gain mass and sad that I’m limited there :/

 

[jimjam]

@tagliatellimonster Exactly. I just wanted to try something new and was already doing six days. I also enjoy volume… I find lifting and exercise in general super meditative. Several weeks of my whole lifetime isn’t going to make or break me, nor do I expect to look like Arnold himself.

 

[jhonn]

@jimjam At my gym (the coaches write individual programs for everyone), almost everyone is on an Arnold split unless they are doing strength training to complement a specific sport they are playing and the exercises they need to do are inherently different (I think a couple of volleyball players have fundamentally different workout than most of us including the rugby players (both male and female)).

 

[jimjam]

@jhonn Interesting! Thanks!

 

[dawn16]

@jimjam Of course it doesn’t hurt to try and see how it feels but women don’t recover as quickly as men do after workouts (intra-workouts, yes but not after workouts); you might find you’ll be burnt out in a few weeks.

Edit: I’ve been corrected but not from the kind and open people here. Women recover faster generally but I think it’s because WE (because I’m a woman) simply do not push ourselves as hard. Just an opinion next to all of the experts here.

 

[dawn16]

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.

 

[epiphanius]

@dawn16 This is blatantly false. AFAB people recover much better and faster. We literally have to work harder to build muscle BECAUSE we are so much better at endurance and recovery. We also have to use a higher percentage of weight with lower rest periods to get a similar level of effort exerted.

Men are the ones who need to take it easy

 

[velvety777]

@dawn16 A few weeks? Every female athlete ever would like a word

 

[dawn16]

@velvety777 Every female athlete at any age? I’m not sure about that, are you?…

 

[beachgal]

@dawn16 The opposite is true. Estrogen actually helps recovery. Women are more resistant to fatigue than men.

 

[aniello]

@jimjam Don’t use that website. Any man running a business catered to women is immediately sus.

 

[jimjam]

@aniello I didn’t realize it when I joined! It was a Facebook group. Half the women speak out about it and half fawn over him.

 

[vinceman2]

@jimjam I actually think I know which group you’re talking about. I left it a couple of months ago. It got really weird in there.

 

[jimjam]

@vinceman2 WWLW?

 

[vinceman2]

@jimjam Yeah

 

[jimjam]

@vinceman2 That’s the one. I’ve left the group. I can’t stand the ass kissing for this man. It’s so weird.

 

[vinceman2]

@jimjam And those random rants.

 

[jimjam]

@vinceman2 Exactly!

 

[jdavidp]

@jimjam That sounds really weird!

 

[myfaith87]

@jimjam Doesn’t it just depend on what your aesthetic goals are? Like if you want to grow your upper body more, then that kind of program would be fine? But I noticed from looking at some female bodybuilding splits that they tend to focus on lower body much more than male bodybuilder splits do. Maybe that’s what that guy meant?