WOMEN ARE STRONGER THAN THEY THINK

WOMEN ARE STRONGER THAN THEY THINK – Three studies show that women who want to get stronger just aren’t lifting heavy enough to accomplish their goals. To build maximal strength, a woman needs to lift greater than 85% of her 1-rep max. In these studies, when women were allowed to “self-select loads” or choose their own weights, both untrained and experienced women undershot that amount.

I doubt most of these women were sandbagging it out of laziness. My hypothesis: they were probably playing it extra safe or simply underestimating themselves. (Men typically do the opposite on both accounts.) Ask any good trainer, and they’ll say their female clients can usually hit a 5-rep target with more weight than they would’ve guessed.