Dr. Mike on male/female training differences

[patsy_cline_fan]

@camo320

I read that paragraph like 4 times. Guess I'm stupid.

I don't know if you're stupid, but reading a paragraph from the article is not the same as reading the article.

 

[jamie2014]

@justaguy43 The reason according to Mike is in a lifting program the amount you lift is set as a percentage of your max lift, or by your perceived proximity to failure. In general women are a bit more conservative when setting these, so they stay further from "true" muscle failure and thus recover more quickly. So it's more psychological, claiming women don't push themselves as far.

Slightly insulting explanation but it does kind of make sense to me...

 

[billbennet]

@jamie2014 In terms of metabolic differences, women can actually rely on fatigue-resistant pathways at higher intensities than men, which means they may not deplete their energy stores as fast.

Their recovery can be anywhere from 25-50% faster. Look at some of the studies on HIIT. This makes sense from what I’ve seen on women’s endurance relative to men on endurance races that are over 200 miles.

 

[justaguy43]

@jamie2014 That makes sense I guess. It was true in my experience, my trainer had to help break me of the habit when I first started out

 

[nathan2018]

@billbennet Again, I’ll just reiterate that these are averages and there is a ton of overlap in the distributions.

Part of moving from the beginner to intermediate stage is figuring out what works for you, and choosing programs/tweaking programs appropriately. Some women will need one less rest day. Some will need two less rest days, or one more rest day. And other factors, like stress, sleep, and nutrition will also impact this.

 

[billbennet]

@nathan2018 Absolutely true. There is no way I could handle the volume or intensity I do now when I was a beginner and my legs need more recovery time than my arms which seems rather obvious, but you have to experiment and find what is best for you. And even that can change as your body adapts.

 

[justmenow]

@patsy_cline_fan Never followed him. But Stacey Sims has books and been a podcast guest talking about training for women that might be of interest, if don’t know already.

 

[intermediary]

@patsy_cline_fan I never listen to a man talk about women’s health.

 

[benama]

@intermediary Why?

 

[nathan2018]

@intermediary Then you are missing out on a lot of great content from men who know the scientific literature on the topic

 

[benama]

@nathan2018 Yeah I have learned so much from Dr Mike. Not just his PowerPoint style videos but also from watching him train other women.

 

[momlivingontheedge]

@intermediary That’s like saying you as a female would never go to a male gynecologist. Being a female doesn’t automatically make you an authority on females. Dr Mike has his PHD in exercise science, hence the DR. If anyone is qualified to speak on female exercise programs, it’s him.

 

[bluesboy90]

@momlivingontheedge Him or his wife, who’s a sports doctor. They collaborate and train together, so it would be hard for him not to have accurate information here.

I can respect someone for not wanting to go to a male gynecologist due to discomfort, but assuming that they’d be wrong about their own field of expertise based solely on their gender? Bit weird.

 

[intermediary]

@bluesboy90 Not really. When you hit midlife women doctors understand the nuances with hormones because they experience it themselves. Also, I’ve never gone to a male gyno in 35 years and it’s served me well. My body, my choice!

 

[ken79]

@intermediary You would think that is true but it isn't a given. Plenty of shitty experiences with female gynos are relayed an r/menopause regularly. How women age and the way to care for us is still a mystery for a lot of doctors regardless of gender.

 

[intermediary]

@ken79 I have the best success with care outside of America. I’ve had to be my own advocate and bypass the system quite a bit to get what I need for my health. I dropped my US health insurance and just pay out of pocket so I can be more selective for what I need/want and take a more holistic approach. I’ve done a 180 on my health as a result. it’s fascinating how many doctors (men and women) just tell you to suck it up and suffer.

 

[seoravi10]

@intermediary Male gynos can be so misogynistic and creepy, literally the worst example that other commenter could have come up with.

Good for you for not going to any. Not worth it.

 

[jessephilz]

@seoravi10 I have had 3 male gynos and ALL OF THEM (plus 2 other male doctors) have made disgusting unsolicited comments about either my body or my sex life. One of them assaulted me. I’ll spare you the details because they’d need a trigger warning, but it was definitely not “well maybe he had a medical reason…” stuff.

I now avoid male doctors whenever possible. Sorry to the good ones out there, but there are way too many creeps and I have no way of telling in advance.

 

[intermediary]

@jessephilz I’m so sorry you had those experiences. My heart goes out to you, sending you hugs and healing

 

[pakkaw]

@intermediary Dr. Mike literally has a PhD. Do you not listen to male doctors? I’d check him out before discounting him on his gender alone.