In this episode of the Huberman Lab, Dr. Lauren Colenso-Semple discusses exercise science and fitness training for women. She explains that women's and men's muscles respond similarly to exercise and nutrition, challenging common assumptions about gender-specific training programs. The conversation addresses widespread misconceptions about hormonal impacts on women's exercise performance, including the effects of menstrual cycles and hormonal contraceptives on strength and muscle growth.
Colenso-Semple outlines recommendations for resistance training that apply to both men and women, emphasizing its importance for long-term health benefits such as preventing muscle loss and maintaining bone density. She and Huberman also explore the role of hormones like cortisol in fitness and body composition, explaining how factors like diet and lifestyle affect physical changes more significantly than exercise-induced hormone fluctuations.

Sign up for Shortform to access the whole episode summary along with additional materials like counterarguments and context.
Lauren Colenso-Semple explains that men and women's muscles respond similarly to exercise and nutrition, with comparable protein synthesis responses. The main difference in muscularity between genders stems from [restricted term] surges during male puberty. She notes that while women can achieve male-like muscularity, this typically requires non-natural hormone levels through external substances, which she doesn't recommend.
Colenso-Semple challenges common assumptions about hormonal impacts on women's exercise performance. She explains that data doesn't support changing training based on menstrual cycle phases, and hormonal contraceptives don't significantly impact strength or muscle growth. Instead, she advises women to maintain consistent training and adjust based on how they feel rather than presumed hormonal effects.
According to Colenso-Semple, women can follow the same resistance training guidelines as men. She recommends full-body training sessions targeting all major muscle groups with challenging weights, suggesting two to three sets per muscle group with adequate rest between sets. She emphasizes that resistance training is crucial for women's long-term health, helping prevent age-related muscle loss and maintaining bone density, especially during menopause.
Colenso-Semple and Andrew Huberman address widespread misconceptions in women's fitness. They emphasize that women don't need gender-specific training programs or special nutrient timing, as both genders respond similarly to exercise. Huberman notes that genetic variance plays a significant role in physique development, and regular training rarely results in women becoming overly muscular.
Huberman clarifies that exercise-induced cortisol spikes don't cause fat gain, distinguishing between normal exercise responses and conditions like Cushing's syndrome. He suggests that stress-related overeating, rather than cortisol itself, is more likely responsible for weight and body composition changes. Colenso-Semple adds that attributing body composition changes solely to cortisol overlooks more important factors like diet and lifestyle.
1-Page Summary
Lauren Colenso-Semple sheds light on the ways in which men and women's muscles respond to exercise and the factors that influence muscle growth and strength in different genders.
Colenso-Semple clarifies that there are essentially no differences in how muscle responds to exercise or nutrition between men and women. Muscles in both genders exhibit very similar protein synthesis responses to exercise, leading to comparable growth.
However, despite these similarities, baseline muscularity does vary between the sexes. This difference primarily comes from a surge in [restricted term] during puberty, which significantly increases muscle mass in men compared to women.
Gender Differences and Similarities in Muscle Growth and Strength
Lauren Colenso-Semple's insights reveal that common presumptions about hormonal effects on women's exercise performance and adaptations might not be as significant as once thought, emphasizing individual experiences and responses over generalized training modifications.
Lauren Colenso-Semple challenges the notion that women should alter their training based on menstrual cycle phases, pointing out that data does not support the simplification that exercise performance should change with hormonal fluctuations. She advises that women focus on how they feel and maintain consistent, progressive training, adjusting workouts if symptoms related to the menstrual cycle affect their ability to exercise.
Colenso-Semple adds that hormonal levels within the normal range for both men and women do not predict a consistent response in terms of strength, hypertrophy, or power adaptations to training, suggesting that [restricted term] levels and exercise adaptations do not have a linear relationship.
Colenso-Semple touches upon the effects of contraceptive pills, noting that studies do not show a significant impact on strength, hypertrophy, or power from their use. She further discusses that hormonal contraceptives, which reduce the production of endogenous hormones, do ...
Hormonal Effects on Women's Exercise Performance and Adaptations
Lauren Colenso-Semple provides guidance on how women can follow resistance training guidelines for muscle growth, strength, and fitness improvements, emphasizing its importance for muscle, bone, and functional health as women age.
Colenso-Semple discusses the empowering experience of progression over time, noting the importance of using challenging weights and proper technique. She recommends a full body training program that targets all major muscle groups with loads close to failure, ensuring the load is not too light. If training two or three times a week, full body sessions should be completed to hit all the muscle groups sufficiently.
She explains if the training frequency is higher, workouts can be split into upper and lower body sessions, or further, based on personal goals and preferences. There are many options in exercise selection for muscle growth, allowing for variety. She emphasizes progression over time as lifting capabilities will change, suggesting different workout days focus on different aspects of training.
For instance, quad-dominant exercises can vary, including lunges and leg presses, and posterior chain movements might include good mornings or deadlifts. She touches on the idea of distributing muscle group workouts throughout the week, breaking them up into more focused sessions noting that many exercises like bench press and squats can cover multiple muscle groups simultaneously.
At least two to three sets per muscle group are recommended, with three being Colenso-Semple's preference, citing that more than four might be unnecessary. For rest intervals, she prefers auto-regulation, with longer rests for strength goals, usually around four to five minutes, and about two minutes for most gym exercises. She mentions knowing when one is ready for the next set based on experience, and talks about using agonist-antagonist supersets and drop sets as time-efficient strategies. Sometimes she follows a push-pull-legs workout routine with a rest day in between, fitting into a weekly schedule.
Colenso-Semple indicates that resistance training is the most effective and efficient way to stave off age-related muscle loss. It's not just about building muscle; it also leads to tendon and bone adaptations. Resistance training reduces the risk of falls and fractures, maintaining functional independence into older age. Two 20-minute fu ...
Recommendations for Effective Resistance Training Programs For Women
Lauren Colenso-Semple and Andrew Huberman discuss the misguided narratives and misinformation targeting women in the fitness industry, revealing that men and women can benefit similarly from resistance training without the need for sex-specific programs or nutrient timing.
Colenso-Semple challenges the notion that women require specialized fitness programs or nutrient timing. Data illustrates that both men and women respond to exercise in similar ways, dismantling the stereotypes and "women's fitness" marketing that advocates for gender-specific training or nutrient timing.
She remarks that the historical marketing trend of ineffective, frequently changing routines for women often leads to disappointment. When women shift to a consistent resistance training program, they start to see the changes desired, changes that were unattainable through the marketed programs.
Despite the cultural stereotype that resistance training isn't for girls, Lauren Colenso-Semple and Andrew Huberman emphasize that resistance training isn't inherently different for boys and girls. They point out that activities like climbing monkey bars, which are essentially resistance training, are engaged in by both boys and girls.
Colenso-Semple addresses the initial discomfort women might feel in the gym, suggesting starting with machines or group fitness classes to build confidence. While she deems group fitness classes suboptimal for resistance training, they can introduce basic movement patterns and familiarize women with the gym setting. Thus, women can become comfortable with the gym, refuting the misconception that women need different entry points or methods of training compared to men.
Colenso-Semple also critiques the messaging that women need to modify various aspects of their lives, such as exercise and nutrition, based on their menstrual cycle. She expresses skepticism about this idea, further questioning the necessity of gender-specific training and nutrient timing.
Colenso-Semple explains that muscle growth and fat loss adaptations to exercise are the same in men and women. She debunks the myth that fasted cardio is specifically beneficial for fat loss and explains that post-resistance training, elevated protein synthesis is long-lasting, and remains so even 24 hours a ...
Misconceptions and Misinformation in the Women's Fitness Industry
Andrew Huberman and Lauren Colenso-Semple explore the role hormones like cortisol play in fitness and physique, dispelling common misconceptions about cortisol's impact on the body, especially in women's fitness.
Huberman clarifies a common misconception by explaining that increased cortisol levels can indeed lead to visible physical changes, as seen in Cushing's syndrome, a condition characterized by pathologically high cortisol levels. This syndrome can result in a "moon face" appearance and abdominal fat storage. However, he emphasizes that this condition is not analogous to the normal, beneficial fluctuations in cortisol induced by exercise. Colenso-Semple further explains that Cushing's syndrome often results from excessive steroid use, and its symptoms should not be conflated with the typical hormonal response to physical activity.
Andrew Huberman reassures listeners that a good resistance training session can triple or quadruple cortisol levels, which is a normal response to exercise and necessary for regulatory processes like blood pressure and blood glucose control. These acute increases should not cause alarm, as they do not contribute to unwanted fat storage or impede fat loss.
Huberman tackles the misconception that cortisol is directly linked to weight gain, particularly the belief that any increase in cortisol results in added body fat around the midsection. He criticizes the oversimplification of this relationship, noting a lack of supporting evidence. Instead, Huberman suggests that stress-related overeating is a more likely cause of weight gain than cortisol itself. He points out how elevated stress levels can lead to overeating, especially of unhealthy foods, which is more consequential for alteri ...
Hormones Like Cortisol in Fitness and Physique Changes
Download the Shortform Chrome extension for your browser
