#501: Sex-based Training Recommendations: Evidence-based or Hype? – David Nolan, PhD
Sigma Nutrition Radio
Danny Lennon
4.8 • 633 Ratings
🗓️ 7 November 2023
⏱️ 73 minutes
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Summary
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About This Episode:
The field of research exploring sex differences in exercise response has yielded intriguing findings, shedding light on the complex interplay between biology, physiology, and training adaptations.
One of the fundamental areas of investigation pertains to sex disparities in strength, power, and hypertrophy. Historically, it's been well-established that males, on average, exhibit greater absolute strength and muscle mass compared to females. This discrepancy often traces its roots back to inherent physiological distinctions.
However, when it comes to responses to strength and hypertrophy training, the narrative becomes more nuanced. Research indicates that, when individuals of both sexes follow matched resistance training protocols, the relative improvements in strength and hypertrophy are quite similar.
So, do women need to be trained differently than men? The answer, it appears, is not as much as one might assume. The principles of progressive overload, specificity, and other training fundamentals remain constant. While individualization is key, the idea of drastically distinct training guidelines based on sex lacks compelling empirical support.
The guest in this episode, Dr. David Nolan, is a researcher in the area of sex differences in exercise response, and has looked at the influences of menstrual cycle and hormonal contraceptive use in female athletes on their performance.
In this episode, we discuss the research to date, and what this means practically for athletes and coaches.
Transcript
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| 1:13.3 | Hello and welcome to Sigma Nutrition Radio. |
| 1:16.7 | This is episode 501 of the podcast. |
| 1:18.6 | I'm your host, Danny Lennon. |
| 1:24.1 | You are very welcome to another episode where we're going to be digging into the scientific literature and talking to an academic in the field to hear about the latest in a particular |
| 1:29.7 | area of interest related to health, performance or otherwise. Today I'm going to be talking with |
| 1:34.8 | Dr. David Nolan, who is assistant professor of sport and exercise science at Dublin City University. |
| 1:40.3 | And there, David, investigates sex-related considerations in athletic development with a specific focus on female athletes. |
| 1:48.8 | And his mixed methods research is conducted through the lens of looking at women's rugby, as well as some other sports, |
| 1:55.3 | and examining the unique challenges, considerations for the female athlete, including research looking at the role |
| 2:02.5 | of the menstrual cycle, the role of hormonal contraceptives in relation to training response |
| 2:09.5 | and athletic preparation. And so in this episode, we want to discuss where the evidence is to date |
... |
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