The Most Effective Weight Training, Cardio & Nutrition for Women | Dr. Lauren Colenso-Semple

Huberman Lab

Scicomm Media

Life Sciences, Health & Fitness, Science

4.8 • 30.3K Ratings

🗓️ 16 February 2026

⏱️ 152 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Dr. Lauren Colenso-Semple, PhD, is an expert in the science of strength and muscle building and nutrition. She explains the most effective resistance and cardiovascular training programs for women and if and how those programs should differ from those followed by men. She explains program design options, exercise selection, sets, repetition ranges, rest periods, if you need to train to failure and much more. We discuss the relevance of menstrual cycles, (peri)menopause, birth control, body frame differences, as well as best practices for nutrition, hormone replacement and supplementation. Throughout the episode Dr. Lauren Colenso-Semple dispels common myths about women's fitness and nutrition such as the impact of fasting, cortisol, weight vests and more. This episode provides a masterclass in the best science-supported fitness and nutrition programs for women and for men. Thank you to our sponsors AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman Joovv: https://joovv.com/huberman Eight Sleep: https://eightsleep.com/huberman Rorra: https://rorra.com/huberman Function: https://functionhealth.com/huberman Timestamps (00:00:00) Lauren Colenso-Semple (00:02:43) Muscle in Men vs Women; Testosterone; Individual Variation (00:08:07) Sponsors: Joovv & Eight Sleep (00:10:45) Testosterone & Women; Resistance Training; Young Girls (00:17:46) Tool: Beginner Resistance Training for Women; Frequency & Goals (00:20:58) Tools: Weekly Full-Body Workouts, Work Sets, Rest Intervals; Time Efficiency (00:28:43) Forced Reps, Drop Sets; Rate of Movement; Partial Reps (00:33:19) Tool: Repetition Ranges; Technique; Vary Rep Ranges? (00:39:37) Sponsor: AG1 (00:40:28) High Reps & Injury, Technique & Warm-Ups (00:44:25) Cardiovascular Exercise, Interference Effect?; Walking, High Intensity (00:52:43) Menstrual Cycle, Hormones & Training; Overcoming Internal Resistance (00:56:54) Training & Body Composition; Tool: Slow Progression; Menstrual Cycle (01:02:45) Sponsor: Rorra (01:03:59) Hormone Contraception & Adaptations; Perimenopause, Menopause (01:09:01) Age-Related Muscle Loss, Nervous System, Tool: Machines & Group Fitness (01:14:57) Menstrual Cycle & Physical Activity; Nutrition (01:17:50) Pilates, Genes, Tool: Resistance Training to Offset Age-Related Muscle Loss (01:26:25) Ectomorph, Mesomorph or Endomorph? (01:28:55) Sponsor: Function (01:30:42) Train Fasted?, Caffeine, Preworkout & Postworkout Nutrition (01:38:29) Protein, Resistance Training & Timing (01:40:12) Creatine Supplements, Gummies, Dose, Brain Health Benefits? (01:45:44) Individual Experience; Skepticism & Science, Menopause & Body Composition (01:54:52) Cortisol & Women, Stress & Diet, Cushing Syndrome (02:00:17) Overtraining?, Sleep Disruptions, Energy & Training Time (02:04:07) Menopause Symptoms & Hormone Therapy, Testosterone (02:09:22) Women Differences in Diet & Training?; Exercise Science Studies (02:16:19) Lauren's Training Schedule, Mobility Work (02:19:35) Hormone Therapy & Long-Term Outcomes; Deliberate Cold Exposure (02:23:06) Zone 2 Cardio; Weighted Vest; Balance Training; Ab Exercises; Recovery (02:29:26) Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Follow, Reviews & Feedback, Sponsors, Protocols Book, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter Disclaimer & Disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	As a woman, if I honestly thought there were things we should do differently to optimize our results,
0:09.0	of course I would be doing them myself and telling other women to do them to.
0:13.6	The narrative that women need a sex-specific program or nutrient timing guidance or a particular intensity of exercise
0:27.3	or rep range or all of it.
0:29.4	It makes women feel like they're being spoken to and being considered and they're and they their part of this community instead of, oh, you know, just do what your boyfriend does or what your husband does.
0:44.7	So the narrative is very much women are not men.
0:49.2	And so obviously women need something different.
0:51.5	The data says men and women respond to exercise very similarly.
0:58.4	Welcome to the Huberman Lab podcast, where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life.
1:07.1	I'm Andrew Huberman, and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine.
1:13.7	My guest today is Dr. Lauren Colenso Semple. She holds a PhD in Integrative Physiology and is a certified
1:20.0	strength and conditioning specialist. She is an expert in both the science and practice of building
1:24.8	muscle and strength, cardiovascular fitness, and the
1:27.6	relationship between hormones and exercise. Today's discussion is focused on fitness for women
1:32.7	and how it overlaps directly with the same things that men should do for their fitness. Therefore,
1:38.9	today's discussion is relevant to both women and men. Dr. Colenso Semple explains how to structure your ideal training routine
1:46.0	according to the time you have available
1:48.0	and your health and fitness goals.
1:50.0	She also clearly explains what the science says
1:52.0	about if and when women's hormone cycles,
1:55.0	life stages such as menopause,
1:57.0	and things like birth control, should actually impact
	...

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