Strength training for women: what the research shows

The short answer

• 0.7%

  Gap in muscle growth between men and women, as a share of starting size. No clear difference in 29 studies

• +2.9%

  Spine bone density after 8 months of supervised heavy lifting, in women with weak bones. The light-exercise group lost 1.2%

• −19%

  Risk of dying during a large US study for women who did regular strength training, compared with none. For men it was −11%

• 1 in 5

  Women in that study who did any regular strength training

Key findingWomen don’t need a special kind of training. The same rules work for everyone. Train your main muscles on two or more days a week, make it a bit harder over time and use good form.

What is strength training for women?

Strength training means making your muscles work against a force. That can be free weights, machines, resistance bands or your own body weight, as in squats and push-ups. The 2026 guideline from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) found that gym training, circuits, band training and home workouts all built strength.

The World Health Organization (WHO) advises adults to train all the major muscles on 2 or more days a week. From age 65, it advises varied activity with balance and strength work on 3 or more days a week.

There is no separate women’s version. In the studies below, women and men did the same programmes. Questions about training and your menstrual cycle are covered in our explainer on working out on your period.

Do women gain muscle like men?

A 2025 review pooled 29 studies where men and women aged 18 to 45 did the same programme. Most programmes lasted about 11 weeks. The researchers measured muscle growth in two ways.

Absolute growth is how much muscle you add. Relative growth is that gain as a share of the muscle you started with. Here is a made-up example. If a man’s thigh muscle grows from 100 to 110 units, that is 10 units, or 10%. If a woman’s grows from 70 to 77 units, that is 7 units, but also 10%.

That is close to what the review found. Men added slightly more muscle in total, because most started with bigger muscles. Only 2 of 68 results showed women starting with bigger muscles. But the percentage gain was the same: the gap was 0.7%, too small to be sure of.

Do women gain strength like men?

A 2020 review compared strength gains, again as a share of where people started. Women gained upper-body strength faster than men, in 17 studies. Leg strength rose at about the same pace, in 23 studies. Muscle growth was again about the same, in 10 studies.

The authors aren’t sure why women gained upper-body strength faster. It could be down to the nerves, the muscles, learning the movement, or simply the short length of the studies.

Strength training for women over 40, 50 and 60

Osteoporosis, when bones become weak and break easily, is a major health problem for women after menopause. Bone density means how dense and strong your bones are. Two strong studies show that exercise can help it.

The LIFTMOR trial put 101 women into two groups by chance. They were 65 on average, past menopause, and had low bone density. One group did heavy lifting plus impact work, such as jumps, for 30 minutes twice a week for 8 months, with close supervision. They lifted 5 sets of 5 reps at more than 85% of the most they could lift once. The other group did light exercise at home.

The lifting group gained bone in the spine and held steady at the hip, while the home group lost bone. Lifters also stood slightly taller and did better on every physical test. There was only one minor problem in the whole trial: a lower-back spasm.

A 2020 review pooled 75 studies with 5,300 women past menopause. Exercise improved bone density at the spine and hip, but only a little on average. Programmes varied a lot, so the authors couldn’t say which type works best. Mixing jumping with lifting tended to do well.

If you have osteoporosis or have broken a bone easily, you can still train, but start carefully. A 2022 UK expert consensus advises:

• Strength exercises on 2 to 3 days a week. Build up to the heaviest weight you can lift 8 to 12 times, for up to 3 sets.
• Starting lighter and learning good form first.
• Avoiding a lot of forward bending of the spine, especially while holding a weight.
• After a spine fracture or several fractures, keeping impact to the level of brisk walking, with advice from a physiotherapist at the start.

Exercise rarely caused harm in these studies. Across 62 bone trials, 5.8% of people who exercised broke a bone during the study, compared with 9.6% of those who didn’t. LIFTMOR used close supervision, so start with a coach or physiotherapist if your bones are weak. For keeping muscle as you age, read our explainer on sarcopenia.

Benefits of strength training for women beyond muscle

A large US study followed 412,413 adults between 1997 and 2019. People said what exercise they did, and researchers tracked deaths. This kind of study shows a link. It can’t prove that one thing causes the other.

Women who did regular strength training had a 19% lower risk of dying during the study than women who did none. For men, it was 11%. Women seemed to get as much benefit from one session a week as men got from three. Yet only about 1 in 5 women (19.9%) did any regular strength training.

Claims and evidence

• ClaimLifting weights makes women bulky.

  EvidenceIn 29 studies, women added slightly less muscle in total than men on the same programme, because most started with smaller muscles. As a share of starting size, growth was the same.

• ClaimWomen should only lift light weights for lots of reps.

  EvidenceWomen gained strength as fast as men, and faster in the upper body. After menopause, heavy sets of 5 reps raised spine bone density in a supervised trial.

• ClaimHeavy lifting is too risky if your bones are weak.

  EvidenceIn the LIFTMOR trial, women with low bone density lifted heavy under supervision with only one minor problem. UK experts advise building up gradually, not avoiding lifting.

• ClaimWomen need a completely different programme from men.

  EvidenceWomen and men did the same programmes in these studies and made similar progress relative to their size. The 2025 review’s authors say training can be planned the same way for both.

What this means for you

What the research can’t tell you yet

• Age. The muscle studies included women aged 18 to 45. Fewer studies looked at women over 50, apart from bone research.
• Experience. Most studies used people new to lifting. Only 6 of the 29 muscle studies used people who already trained.
• Length. Most programmes lasted a few months. LIFTMOR lasted 8 months, with close expert supervision that most people don’t have.
• Cause and effect. The link between strength training and living longer comes from an observational study, where people reported their own exercise.

How Bodyvault uses this research

Bodyvault builds training plans the same way for women and men. Its plan generator, part of Bodyvault Pro, uses your goal, experience, days, time and equipment, and it doesn’t ask for your sex. If you set Bodyvault’s cycle tracking to perimenopause or menopause, its training card reminds you to keep lifting. It also suggests eating 1.0–1.2 g of protein per kg of body weight a day or more.

General information about fitness and nutrition, not medical advice. If you have a health condition, are pregnant or take medication, talk to your doctor before changing your diet or training.