How Women's Fitness Differs From
Men's ?
Women can be just as fit as men, but that level of
"fitness" will never quite be the same. Women's bodies are different
from men's. Not only do men and women have different levels of hormones, but
the amount of fat and muscle in their bodies is very different as well. Your
goal should be to work out for you, according to your gender, body mass and
target goals!
Where
Men and Women Differ
It's
not just the sex organs that are different among men and women, but there are a
few marked differences:
- Testosterone -- Men have higher
levels of testosterone than women, and women have higher levels of
estrogen than men. Testosterone is the hormone that helps the human body
to pack on muscle, while estrogen leads to the growth of fat cells, along
with all of the other markers of female sexuality. Women have a harder
time packing on the muscle due to higher levels of estrogen and lower
levels of testosterone.
- Weight Loss -- What is the most
effective way to burn fat and lose weight? Build muscle! The more muscle
you have on your body, the more calories you will burn every day and the
faster your metabolism will run. Seeing as men have an easier time
building larger, more active muscle, it stands to reason that men will
have an easier time losing weight as well. The same quality and amount of
workout will often yield better results in men than in women.
- Flexibility -- This is one area
where women always take the cake. Women arenaturally more flexible than men, as their bones are shorter and
have less pronounced corners. The female body tends to be more rounded,
and the bones around the pelvis are more flexible than men's pelvic bones.
- Muscle Mass -- Men naturally pack on
more muscle mass than women, due simply to their higher testosterone
levels. If you measured the body mass index of the average man against an
average woman of the same weight, the man will usually have a lower body
mass index (indicating greater muscle mass).
- Body Mass Index -- The body
mass index determines the
ratio of fat to total body weight.
Women tend to have a higher body mass index (meaning more fat), but a
"healthy" BMI for women is about 5% higher than for men. This is
because the fat on a woman's body is important for healthy reproductive
function.
What does this mean?
Basically,
it means that men have a slightly easier time getting in shape than women do.
Men can build muscle more easily, which will in turn help them to lose weight
and get in shape. Men also have more strength than women, and they can handle heavier
loads more quickly.
That doesn't mean that women can't get in shape as
well. It just means that they need to find a workout program that plays to
their strengths, and
they shouldn't try to compete with their fellow man. If you're not seeing the
same amounts of gain as your boyfriend/husband/male
friend, don't worry about it! Your bodies are designed differently, and what is
"fit" to you is not the same as his definition of
"fitness".
When it comes to working out, men and women are from different planets
His idea of getting in shape is pumping iron
-- the more, the better. She'd rather pull out the yoga mat.
Whose idea of fitness is better?
The experts say there's no one-size-fits-all answer, but each sex could learn something from the other.
Often, "men work out because they like to be bigger,"
says Vincent Perez, PT, director of sports therapy at Columbia University
Medical Center Eastside in New York. "Pecs,biceps, quads ? men are after bulk."
- "Guys have an agenda," adds Pamela Peeke, MD, author
of Body-for-LIFE for Women: A Woman's Plan for Physical and Mental
Transformation. "They
have a specific goal, and there's always a number involved." She calls
this the "Home Depot" approach to working out: "They have a
blueprint and they just want to get it done."
- For many men, "working out is a sport, and they do it
because it's fun, it's competitive, and it's something that they've always
done," says Lori Incledon, author of Strength
Training for Women. "For women, fitness is a
superficial issue. They do it because it will help them look better."
Men like to look like
they've been working out, says Peeke, "the sweatier the better. When was
the last time you heard a woman say she wanted to sweat?"
Often, she says, "women think everyone else is looking at
them so they're afraid to put on workout clothes or get out there in public
with their cellulite jiggling. Do men care what they look like when they're
working out? Of course not!"
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