Women vs. Men: 9 Exercise Facts You Probably Don’t Know but Should

Men and women have different fitness needs.
by photostock

1. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention only 6% more men engage in regular exercise than women. It’s high time gyms became more “female-friendly”.
2. Women are not “female-men” and men are not “male-women”(I bet you didn’t know that) so they need a completely different training regime, nutrition plan, and amount of hydration during exercise.
3. I had to talk specifically about squats because women love their squats.  Women should use a wider stance when doing squats as their pelvises tilt more. The feet should also face more outwards and the practitioner should avoid going too low. Failing to do so could cause serious injury.
4. Men may have better upper body strength but women have better lower body strength.
5. Women exhibit a higher lactate threshold during long distance running thanks to their slow twitch fibre percentage. The longer the distance the more advantageous it becomes.
6. The heart responds differently to exercise when it comes to men and women. The American College of Cardiology recently declared the “220 minus age” to be flawed. The formula was developed 40 years ago based on a group that was predominantly male.
7. Women tend to burn more fat than men during workout and men burn more fat than women post workout.
8. One of the best ways for men to subjectively track fat loss is to measure their waist. Women can use both the waist and the bust to distinguish fat loss from weight loss.
9. Men who lift weights grow primarily type II muscle which make them bulk up. Women grow primarily type I muscle fibers that are not able to grow as big.

It is important to understand the difference between the two genders when it comes to exercise just as it is important in every aspect of our lives. Sometimes I see couples at our gym training and the men most of the time expect the same attitude they have from their female partners towards certain exercises.

Both men and women should understand that the nature of their bodies entices them to go for different types of exercises. This is nature telling them what to do in order to take advantage of their body type and what not to do in order to avoid injury based on their body type.

 

Sources:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/08/19/exercise-tips-15-unusual-ways-to-improve-your-workout.html

http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/his-hers-fitness?page=2

http://www.shapefit.com/exercise/men-vs-women-exercising.html

• 220 minus age
• body building
• body type
• bulk up
• diet
• exercise
• health
• lower body strength
• muscle
• squats
• strength training
• type I muscle
• type II muscle
• upper body strength
• weight loss
• workout