Study finds gym exercise and resistance training guidance based on male research

A newly released study has revealed that most advice on fitness training methods and routines is primarily based upon male data, written by men, and fails to account for the physiological differences between sexes in response to exercise.

In a paper, published last week in the journal Sports Medicine, Dr Mandy Hagstrom, Senior Lecturer in Exercise Physiology in the School of Health Sciences at the University of NSW (UNSW), argues “much of what we - and our trainers - think of as typical resistance training routines is heavily influenced by ‘governing body’ fitness industry organisations you've likely never heard of: groups like the American College of Sports Medicine, the United Kingdom Strength and Conditioning Association and the Australian Strength and Conditioning Association.

“These peak bodies often release ‘consensus statements’ on what works when it comes to resistance training. These statements influence TAFE and university courses, and help shape the education of personal trainers and coaches. The findings in these statements trickle down into what you and I see happen in the gym every week.”

Setting out to take a closer look at these statements, and the studies on which they're based, Dr Hagstrom and her fellow authors looked at studies involving both males and females.

Analysing the number of males and females who participated in these studies, the author group also collected information about the gender of the authors of these statements.

As the study advises, findings were:

• 91% of the first authors of these statements were men

• Women made up only 13% of authors overall

• Female participants only accounted for approximately 30% of all people in the studies on which adult and youth consensus statements were based

Guidelines relating to older adults were a bit more balanced, with 54% female participants.

Dr Hagstrom notes “some may argue 30% female participant data is probably fine, because women don't lift weights so much. In the 1980s and before, weight training was seen as a masculine pursuit (but) not any more.

“In fact … women are more likely to report adequate muscle strengthening activities over the previous 12 months when compared to men.

“All this matters because a growing body of evidence suggests physiological differences between sexes in response to exercise.

“Research suggests differences in skeletal muscle structure, the way muscle fibres work, and in the time taken to recover following intense exercise.

“Work from our team has also shown men gain more absolute muscle size and strength following participation in resistance training but that relative gains tend to be similar or greater in women.”

Based on the findings, Dr Hagstrom wonders if there could be benefit in prescribing exercise differently between sexes?, but points out that it is currently not known if we women are being disadvantaged by knowing too little about how best they should do it.

She also suggests that, given females appear to be more fatigue-resistant, whether they should actually be doing more training than males per session?

Moving forward, she sees that “we need more women researchers authoring studies that feature female participants.

“In other fields of medical research, the proportion of women authors is linked to greater enrolment of female participants in research studies.

“Women authors are also more likely to present data by sex or gender, making this data more useful for real world interpretation.”

The exercise scientist goes on to conclude “what you are being told to do in the gym is likely primarily based on studies that include more males than females. And we can't yet be sure if that is delivering the best results for females and girls who work out.

“We need more research evidence examining sex differences during exercise, and methodologically rigorous studies focused solely on female cohorts.”

The paper, Data Informing Governing Body Resistance-Training Guidelines Exhibit Sex Bias: An Audit-Based Review is published in the latest issue of Sports Medicine.

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