Women executives and training: what the evidence says, without the myths

The same targets, a different starting point

The recommendations do not change with gender. What changes is the time left over. In a senior role, family logistics often come on top of the job, and the hour for training is the first to disappear. The WHO's figure of a 5-point activity gap between women and men, stable for more than twenty years, shows that this is not an individual failing but a pattern seen across countries.

Two consequences follow. First, sessions have to be short and fixed in the diary, like any other commitment: time for training lays out the method. Second, the session that most often gets dropped, strength work, is the one that matters most over the long run.

Strength training does not make you bulky

The worry that lifting weights builds large muscles keeps many women on the treadmill. It has no basis in the evidence we reviewed, and the WHO says simply that muscle strengthening benefits everyone. Two sessions a week of loads that make the last repetitions of each set hard will make you stronger, steadier and more capable, without changing your silhouette in the way people fear.

The structure is the same as for anyone: a squat, a hinge, a push, a pull and a carry, as described in strength training for executives. A qualified coach adjusts the starting loads and corrects technique in the first weeks.

Bone: the case for lifting heavier than you think

Bone responds to load. The LIFTMOR trial, published by Watson and colleagues in 2018, tested this in 101 postmenopausal women with low bone mass. Over 8 months, two supervised 30-minute sessions a week of high-intensity resistance and impact training raised lumbar spine bone density by 2.9%, while it fell by 1.2% in the control group. At the femoral neck, density rose by 0.3% against a fall of 1.9%. Only one minor adverse event was reported.

The details matter. Participants averaged 65 years old, were screened beforehand, and every session was closely supervised. The trial does not show that anyone with osteoporosis can lift heavy loads alone. It shows that, with screening and a good coach, women with low bone mass can safely train much harder than the light exercise they are usually offered. If you have osteoporosis, train under qualified supervision. For the broader picture of muscle and bone with age, see strength after 40.

The menstrual cycle: less than the headlines suggest

Cycle-based training plans are popular, and many apps sell them. The evidence behind them is weak. A 2020 meta-analysis by McNulty and colleagues pooled 78 studies and found that performance might be only trivially lower in the early follicular phase, the first days of the cycle, compared with other phases. Because the effect was so small, the studies varied so much and many were of poor quality, the authors concluded that no general guidelines could be formed, and recommended a personal approach.

In practice, train to your plan. If you notice, over several months, that particular days are consistently harder, keep a simple log and lighten those sessions. That is a personal adjustment, not a rule that applies to every woman.

Training during pregnancy and after

The WHO recommends that pregnant and postpartum women without contraindications do at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week, including strengthening, and that women who were already vigorously active before pregnancy can continue. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists states that, in the absence of obstetric or medical complications, physical activity in pregnancy is safe and desirable. The NHS gives the same 150 minutes, with muscle-strengthening on 2 days a week, and describes moderate as a pace at which you can still talk but not sing.

The WHO links activity in pregnancy with a lower risk of pre-eclampsia, gestational hypertension, gestational diabetes, excessive weight gain, delivery complications and postpartum depression, with no adverse effect on birthweight.

Discuss your training with your obstetrician or midwife early in pregnancy, especially if there are complications. Stop and seek advice if anything feels wrong during a session, such as bleeding, dizziness or pain.

Business travel and long days on your feet add to the load in pregnancy. Shorter sessions, more rest between sets and careful attention to heat, especially in a Dubai summer, keep training sustainable. See training in the heat in Dubai.

Waist-to-height ratio: a simple check

Weight says little about where fat is carried. NICE guideline NG246 recommends measuring the waist-to-height ratio alongside body mass index in adults with a body mass index below 35. It classes 0.4 to 0.49 as healthy, 0.5 to 0.59 as increased health risk, and 0.6 or more as high risk. Measure midway between the bottom of the ribs and the top of the hip bone, using the same units for waist and height.

NICE also notes that people from some ethnic-minority backgrounds tend to carry fat centrally and face higher risk at a lower body mass index, which makes the waist measurement especially useful. It is not meaningful during pregnancy. The full method and how to read the result are in waist-to-height ratio.

Choosing the right coach

Some women prefer a female coach, a women-only space or a private studio, and in Dubai these options exist. What matters more is the coach's registration, an assessment before the first programme, and a plan that respects your calendar and your history. The checks are listed in choosing a personal trainer.

You can state these preferences, including a female coach, when you create your space in the Club.