Men versus Women

We all know the obvious differences between boys and girls but we may not always know the differences when it comes to exercise. Although each person responds to exercise differently there are some overall differences between males and females when it comes to how we respond to exercise.

First, men have more testosterone than women, which means they can increase muscle mass more easily. Therefore, if a man and woman are doing the same weight training routine, the man will have more muscle growth than the woman. This does not mean that a woman cannot achieve muscle growth it is just harder. In addition, both sexes benefit from weight training routines by decreasing overall body fat.

Next, women’s bodies tend to hang onto more fat than men’s. This is partially due to an evolutionary response intended to keep women healthy for childbearing. Since women have more fat, they burn proportionately more fat during exercise than men while men burn more carbohydrates. However, this does not translate into losing more weight than men just because women burn proportionately more fat. Women actually have a harder time losing weight through exercise than men and will have to work a lot harder than men to achieve the same weight loss results.

Women have a lower center of gravity than men. This is due to the fact that women carry more weight below the hips while men carry more weight above the hips. As a result, men have an advantage over women in power movements, such as high jumps and long jumps. On the other hand, women have greater joint flexibility so they are less prone to muscle and ligament tears than men.

Since women have greater joint flexibility than men, this makes them more coordinated when it comes to smaller, more refined movements. This is why women tend to be better at more aerobic types activities, such as yoga and Pilates, which require moving more than one part of the body at a time. 

Men sweat more than women. The purpose of sweating during exercise is to cool the body down and prevent it from reaching critical heat buildup. Men and women use the same amount of sweat glands during exercise, but men produce more sweat from each gland than women. There may be an evolutionary implication here that prevents women from sweating in order to preserve body fluids while men sweat more to adapt for greater efficiency during physical labor. Since men are able to sweat more, this means they may be at an advantage when exercising in hot conditions because they can cool their body down faster than women.

Finally, there are several psychological differences between men and women when it comes to exercise and one has to do with motivation. It has been shown that women associate exercise as a means to lose weight, which can often lead to demotivation and worsening body image. On the other hand, men are more motivated to exercise by a challenge or competition. Differences in motivations to exercise between men and women often influences what types of exercise they choose to perform as well as how successful they are in developing a fitness routine.

There is no denying that both men and women benefit, both physically and mentally, from physical exercise. People of all ages and sexes should incorporate physical exercise into their life to not only prolong their life but increase the quality of their life. Although there are some differences between the sexes when it comes to exercise, this does not mean that men and women are not capable of obtaining great results and achieving their fitness goals.