Young women who take second-generation oral contraceptives (OC) may want to pay attention to differences in weight training adaptations.

Danish researchers from Aarhus University studied the influence of OC on muscle adaptations to resistance training in young, untrained women. The investigators assigned 38 women to either an OC user group or a no-OC group for a 10-week, supervised progressive resistance training program.

Data analysis revealed that women in both groups showed the same improvements in muscle strength and functional power. An unexpected result was that the women taking oral contraceptives showed higher gains in fat-free mass.

The study appeared in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (2020; doi:10.1519/JSC.00000000 00003735).

See also: Women and Weight Training