Female Training, Hormones & Nutrition: Fact vs. Fiction | Dr. Lauren Colenso-Semple

Training Fundamentals00:00

The most important element is that training must be challenging enough. When finishing the last rep—whether the sixth, twelfth, or fifteenth—you should feel like you could only do one, maybe two more. If that threshold is not reached, the weight is not heavy enough and load must be increased. There is no must-do exercise, no must-do rep range, no must-do workout length, and no must-do days per week. The requirements are that the training is challenging, performed consistently, and progressed over time. As strength increases, load must also increase.

Background and Research Context01:03

Dr. Lauren Colenso-Semple holds a PhD in integrative physiology. Her research focuses on female physiology, exercise, and nutrition. She is both a scientific communicator and practitioner who has coached hundreds of people to their fitness goals. Approximately ten years prior to this conversation, she and Andy Galpin considered writing a literature review examining potential sex differences in training responses. The review aimed to identify areas where mechanisms suggested hypotheses worth testing in women, such as whether women can train more frequently or whether estrogen provides protective effects allowing faster recovery or reduced muscle damage.

At the time, studies were commonly first conducted in young college-aged men, with limited female data. The goal was to replicate those studies in women. Questions included whether fluctuating estrogen and progesterone across the menstrual cycle produce meaningful differences, given that men and women gain muscle size and strength at similar relative rates despite large differences in testosterone.