Men Win the Fitness Battle
Studies Show Men Better at Losing Fat and Gaining Muscle than Women
Mar 9, 2009
Because men typically have a larger percentage of muscle mass and testosterone throughout their entire bodies, they can burn fat and build muscle more efficiently.
The extra muscle helps raise their metabolism, which in turn burns more calories, even at rest, than most women.
Testosterone, meanwhile, is a hormone that is essential to muscle growth and increased energy. And since men have 40-60 times more testosterone than women, it is no wonder their weight-training workouts produce much better results.
Now a new study by the Brookhaven National Laboratory has found that men are also better at resisting foods that are bad for them, which gives them a huge advantage when it comes to weight loss. The study monitored the brain activity of male and female subjects as they were presented with their favorite foods. The males were better able to suppress their hunger and their desire to eat while the brain activity of women showed that the majority continued to crave the foods even when told to think of something else.
So What Can Women Learn from their Male Counterparts in the Gym?
Just because women aren’t built like men, doesn’t mean we can’t learn from them. One of the most important things women can do to build muscle and speed up their metabolism is to lift weights like a man. Essentially, that means to lift heavy weights for shorter reps. Most female fitness magazine recommend lifting tiny weights for 12-20 reps. This stems from the mistaken belief that if women lift heavy, they will end up with bulky muscles. Unfortunately, since women do not have the testosterone to build a lot of muscle, this is very unlikely. So lifting heavy weights is the only chance women have of really challenging their muscles and forcing them to grow, even if the results will not be anywhere near what a man would see with a challenging workout.
Women should focus on full body workouts, using heavier weights for only 6-8 reps. Also, since the largest muscles are located in the lower-body, working on these muscles through squats and lunges will build muscle faster.
Increased muscle-strength will keep a women’s metabolism running faster, and this in turn will help women burn more calories.
What about Outside the Gym?
Another thing women can learn from men is to look at food as a form of sustenance, not comfort. As seen in the Brookhaven study, men do not have an attachment to their favorite foods. Women, meanwhile, often turn to chocolate or other high calorie foods for comfort after a hard day, even when they are not hungry.
It's not often that women can admit they have something to learn from a man, but in this case, picking up a few male habits isn't such a bad thing.
 |
