If you have been trying to exercise with your male or female partner, and finding that your workouts are not exactly yielding the same kind of results for both of you, then don’t be surprised. Research has proved that men get a better deal when it comes to achieving their target fitness levels, weight and muscle mass when compared to women.
Since nature has endowed both men and women differently, achieving a desired fitness level requires a different approach for both men and women.
Let us have a look at some of the main factors that help in supporting men’s fitness levels vs. women’s fitness levels.
Testosterone: We all know that men are well endowed by the male hormone testosterone while women have estrogen in large quantities. Unfortunately for women, testosterone is the hormone that aids muscle growth and muscle building. So if both a man and a woman of the same height and weight follow a similar strength training regime, then a man will end up gaining more muscle than the woman after a certain period of time. This affects the fitness levels of both sexes in two ways. For one, men’s bodies get leaner and muscular than a woman’s with the same amount of exercise. Secondly, since higher muscle mass leads to higher calorie burning, men tend to lose weight faster than women with the same amount and quality of workouts.
Muscle Mass: Men are also naturally endowed with more muscle mass than females. Since a man of the same weight will have more muscles than a woman weighing the same, men generally have better metabolism than women and will burn more calories even when they are sedentary. So men will get fitter with lesser exercise when compared to women.
Flexibility: Flexibility is one factor where women score over men when it comes to overall fitness. Women are known to be more flexible than men, and they should try and use this to their advantage by indulging in flexibility and stretching routines like yoga and Pilates etcetera.
Apart from the above factors, ongoing research shows that a difference in fitness levels arises between men and women because of differing lung functions, eating behavior and energy metabolism.
In order to achieve optimum fitness, or even to lose weight, women will have to exercise more than men because of these inherent biological differences. The best fitness regime for women should include interval training, since it goes a long way towards increasing metabolism throughout the day. Another way by which women can achieve optimum fitness levels efficiently is through cross training by indulging in a variety of different exercises that will increase metabolism and workout different parts of the body.
