Should Men and Women Train Differently?
It's a question we get asked all the time at One Fitness.
"Should women train differently to men?"
The short answer?
Yes... and no.
Like most things in fitness, the answer isn't black and white. It depends far more on your goals, training history, recovery, lifestyle and individual response than it does on whether you're male or female.
Goals Come First
If someone wants to get stronger, we'll programme for strength.
If someone wants to build muscle, we'll programme for hypertrophy.
If someone wants to lose body fat while maintaining muscle, we'll programme for that.
Whether you're a man or a woman is only one small piece of the puzzle.
The biggest mistake the fitness industry has made over the years is convincing women they need to do one type of training while men need to do another.
In reality, the principles that build a better body are remarkably similar.
"I Want to Tone, Not Build Muscle"
This is probably the most common thing we hear from women.
The truth is...
"Toning" isn't a separate physiological process.
When people say they want to tone up, what they usually mean is they want muscles that are more visible and defined.
That comes from two things:
Building muscle.
Reducing enough body fat for that muscle to show.
That's it.
There isn't a special "toning workout."
Higher reps with pink dumbbells won't magically create a toned look.
Resistance training that builds muscle, combined with appropriate nutrition to reduce body fat if needed, is what creates the lean, athletic appearance most people associate with being "toned."
Ironically, many women avoid lifting heavier weights because they don't want to become "too muscular"—yet lifting weights is exactly what helps create the physique they're aiming for.
Will Women Get Bulky?
For the overwhelming majority of women...
No.
Women have significantly lower testosterone levels than men, making it much harder to build large amounts of muscle.
Can women build impressive muscle?
Absolutely.
Should they be afraid of accidentally looking like a bodybuilder?
Not at all.
The amount of training, nutrition and years of dedication required to develop that level of muscularity is far beyond what happens by accident.
Where Women May Benefit From Different Programming
This is where things get interesting.
Although the overall principles of training are largely the same, research suggests women may recover slightly differently from resistance training.
Women generally experience less muscle damage following resistance training and often recover more quickly between sessions than men. This means many women can tolerate slightly higher training volumes and/or frequencies, particularly for certain muscle groups, while maintaining performance and recovering well.
A 2024 narrative review on sex differences in resistance training concluded that women often demonstrate greater fatigue resistance during resistance exercise and may benefit from slightly higher training volumes than men.
Brad Schoenfeld and colleagues have also consistently shown that total weekly training volume is one of the biggest drivers of muscle growth. Training frequency itself isn't magic, but increasing frequency can be an effective way of spreading that volume across the week, improving recovery and training quality.
Does that mean every woman should train six days a week?
Not at all.
It simply means that, on average, women may recover well from more work than many people realise.
Everyone Responds Differently
Here's the most important point...
Research tells us what happens on average.
Coaching is about finding what works for the individual.
Two women of the same age can respond completely differently to the exact same programme.
The same goes for two men.
Some people recover incredibly quickly.
Others need more rest.
Some thrive on higher-volume training.
Others make fantastic progress with lower volumes and higher intensity.
That's why copying an influencer's workout or downloading a generic programme rarely gives the best long-term results.
How We Do Things at One Fitness
This is exactly why every member at One Fitness receives their own programme.
We don't hand everyone the same spreadsheet.
We don't believe all women should train one way and all men another.
Instead, we build your programme around you.
Your goals.
Your injury history.
Your experience.
Your schedule.
Your recovery.
Your strengths and weaknesses.
From there, we monitor your progress week after week and make adjustments based on how you're actually responding.
Maybe you need more volume.
Maybe you're doing too much.
Maybe increasing your training frequency helps you progress.
Maybe reducing it improves your recovery.
Maybe we increase the load.
Maybe we back things off for a week so you come back stronger.
Finding the right balance of volume, frequency, intensity and load is what gets the best long-term results, and that's exactly what coaching should do.
There is no perfect programme.
There is only the programme that's right for you, right now.
The Bottom Line
Men and women don't need completely different training methods.
The fundamentals remain the same:
Train consistently.
Progress over time.
Recover well.
Eat to support your goal.
Follow a programme that's designed for you.
Yes, there are physiological differences that may influence how much training someone can recover from.
But those differences should help shape your programme—not define it.
At One Fitness, we don't coach based on stereotypes.
We coach based on evidence, experience and, most importantly, the individual standing in front of us.
Because the best programme isn't the one written for men or women.
It's the one written for you.
Ready to Train Smarter?
If you're tired of generic training plans and want a programme that's built around your goals, lifestyle and recovery, we'd love to help.
At One Fitness, every member follows a personalised programme that evolves as they do. We coach you through every session, monitor your progress, and adjust your training volume, frequency and intensity to keep you progressing safely and effectively.
Whether your goal is to get stronger, build muscle, lose body fat or simply feel more confident in the gym, we'll create a plan that's designed specifically for you.
Find out more about our Semi-Private Personal Training here:
👉 https://www.one-fitness.co.uk/semi-private-widnes
Or, if you'd rather have a chat first, get in touch. We'd love to answer any questions and show you why so many people have made One Fitness their home away from home.
