Renaissance Periodization has analyzed more than 1 million logged workouts from its hypertrophy app to examine which muscle groups men and women choose to prioritize. In a recent Youtube video, Dr. Mike Israetel breaks down the data and compares it with findings from published research.
The results largely match some familiar gym stereotypes, but the numbers reveal a more specific picture of how training priorities differ between men and women.
Men Put Upper Body Training First
Since the RP Hypertrophy App launched in 2023, users have logged more than 1 million workouts and created over 200,000 mesocycles. For this analysis, RP examined 231,741 total mesocycles, including 23,086 from men and 28,655 from women.
Among men, chest was the most frequently emphasized muscle group at 64.5%. However, the more notable finding was how closely the rest of the major upper body muscles followed.
Back was emphasized 61.3% of the time, while biceps, triceps and delts also landed in the mid-60% range. Forearms dropped sharply to 29.4%, while quads, hamstrings, abs and glutes were all below that level.
Dr. Mike summarized the pattern with his usual humor, saying, “The real story with men here isn’t chest above all else as much as it is upper body above all else.”
Women Prioritize Their Lower Body
The data showed a similarly clear pattern among women, but with the emphasis shifted toward the lower body.
Glutes ranked first at 75.1%, followed by quads at 70% and hamstrings at 69.7%. After that, the numbers dropped considerably, with abs at 43.5% and calves at 30.4%.
Most upper-body muscle groups fell between roughly 20% and 30% emphasis, while chest ranked last at 16.6%. Forearms and traps were barely emphasized at 4.1% and 2.1%, respectively.
Dr. Mike noted that the pattern was less about women exclusively training glutes and more about women emphasizing “their glutes, quads, and hams way more than the rest of their bodies.”
Published Research Shows Similar Patterns
RP also looked beyond its own dataset. Dr. Pak explained that research examining which muscle groups everyday lifters actually prioritize is surprisingly limited, making direct comparisons difficult.
However, existing studies point toward similar patterns. One study found that men performed considerably more upper-body training than leg training, while more recent research found higher training volumes for men’s back, chest and shoulders compared with their hamstrings.
Dr. Milo added that research involving physique athletes also showed comparable differences. Men performed considerably more upper-body work, particularly for chest and back, while women performed more lower-body exercises such as squats, hamstring curls, stiff-legged deadlifts, hip thrusts and hip abductions.
The RP team stressed that these findings are descriptive, not prescriptive. The data shows what people tend to prioritize, not what they should prioritize.
Train for the Physique You Want
For Dr. Mike, the main lesson is not that men should train one way and women another. Individual goals still matter more than averages.
“So, train for the physique you actually want,” he says toward the end of the video.
The data simply shows that men and women tend to emphasize different muscle groups when given the freedom to structure their own hypertrophy training. Whether those preferences come from culture, personal goals, biology or a combination of factors, the important point for individual lifters is straightforward: your program should reflect the physique and performance you actually want to build.
About the Author
Jeremiah Oliva
Jeremiah Oliva is a writer passionate about fitness, sports, and active living. He has experience in songwriting and managing content and social media for online radio and magazine platforms.
He covers HYROX, CrossFit®, and competitive fitness, with a focus on performance, mindset, and athlete development.
Outside of writing, Jeremiah trains in boxing, cycles, explores the outdoors with his kids, and plays the guitar.
