The Method Women through menopause
Do women build muscle the same way men do?
Relative to where they start, yes. Women gained as much size and leg strength, and more upper-body strength.
StrongGood evidence, with a caveat worth knowing.
Updated . The Vanguard coaching team.
What most people miss
The useful comparison is relative: the same program, measured from each person's own starting point. Measured that way, studies running one program in men and women found no difference in muscle growth or lower-body strength, and a larger gain in upper-body strength for women.1
The nuance: these were young to middle-aged adults in mostly short studies, and the upper-body edge may be early learning rather than muscle. The authors say so themselves.1
The bigger difference is between people, not between the sexes. On one program, biceps growth ranged from −2% to +59% across 585 people.2 That spread is why a program should be set from your own numbers, not from a women's version.
The research
The papers behind the answer
Each one checked against the paper itself. The grade describes the strength of the evidence, never anyone's results.
Roberts, Nuckols, Krieger, 2020 · J Strength Cond Res
Meta-analysis · the same program in men and women · young to middle-aged adults
No difference between the sexes in muscle growth (10 studies) or lower-body strength (23 studies). Women gained more upper-body strength relative to where they started (17 studies). The studies were mostly short, and the authors ask whether that edge is learning rather than muscle.
Read the paper by Roberts, Nuckols, Krieger, 2020 (opens in a new tab)Hubal, Gordish-Dressman, Thompson et al., 2005 · Med Sci Sports Exerc
n = 585 · 12 weeks
On the same program, biceps size changes ranged from −2% to +59%.
Read the paper by Hubal, Gordish-Dressman, Thompson et al., 2005 (opens in a new tab)
Research describes groups of people. Your coach will tell you how it applies to you.
From the floor
Real loads, built up week by week, every set logged in the Vanguard app. Pink dumbbells were never the plan.
The Vanguard coaching team