Traditionally, it is believed that it is easier for men to lose weight than women. There is some truth in this statement: up to 35-40 years old, the male body really responds faster to properly selected physical activity and nutrition. However, the older the man, the more difficult it becomes for him to get in shape. And, if he does not have the habit of maintaining normal weight, then great suffering begins: how can one stop eating this, then drink and generally do exercises in the morning?!
Women, as a rule, up to 25 years old, manage to lose weight due to one diet. Then things get tricky. At the same time, properly selected fitness gives almost the same result at any age.
Where are these differences and how to choose the right exercise for weight loss? Let’s figure it out.
He has more and more …
Differences in the effect of exercise arise from biological differences. For example, men have more heart size, lung volume, and blood volume. This is not surprising: men are on average 12 cm taller and on average 10-15 kg heavier than women. Due to this, men can perform more intense workouts than women.
Men have less body fat and more muscle mass: about 45% of body weight excluding water versus 35%. The reason is, again, in hormones: the male hormone testosterone actively promotes muscle growth with any type of load, including fat burning. Women of this hormone, of course, have little, but their own hormones – estrogens and progesterone – provoke to eat sweets and gain fat and water. Therefore, if a man up to 40–45 years old lives quietly, maintaining the muscular figure obtained in his youth in a sports school, then a woman, even a former athlete, needs to do fitness constantly.
In tune with the body
Currently, weight loss recommendations are the same for everyone: 3-4 workouts per week, of which 2 are cardio, 1 or 2 are strength training. If you are only doing weights, then after each workout, 20-30 minutes of light fat burning cardiovascular fitness are required – running, swimming, walking. Therefore, all differences relate only to the details of the training.
Women have stronger muscles in the legs and buttocks, while men have stronger muscles in the legs and upper body. Accordingly, these areas are ready for heavy loads. However, if you want to make the figure more proportional, be sure to work out the weak points.
Men should be attentive to the technique of leg exercises (running, squatting, lunges), since the stronger sex often injures the knees of women. The ladies have weak points – the elbow and shoulder joints, so you must carefully follow the technique of performing exercises on the shoulders, chest and back.
In flexibility exercises, ladies have an advantage, because estrogens make their tissues and ligaments more elastic. As a rule, even fat ladies are quite flexible. Accordingly, you can stretch for longer than men.
Women’s ability to exercise depends on the phase of the menstrual cycle. If in the first half the ladies are full of strength and optimism, then during and after ovulation, as well as on critical days, performance often decreases – it seems that the progress in losing weight has stopped for 2 weeks. Alas, you just have to take it for granted.
The metabolic features of beautiful ladies are such that it is easier for their body to use fats as a source of energy for muscles and for the heart. Therefore, women are more resilient and their body responds well to long monotonous workouts. However, it is impossible for ladies to neglect strength training: you get a skinny flabby body without dense muscle tissue.
Alas, since women burn fat more easily, then the body stores excess calories in fats, they seem to him an ideal supply of energy. Ladies have a slightly different tissue sensitivity to insulin, and the insulin response to sweets in food itself is different from that of men. In general, they get fattening more from sweet ladies and often feel real dependence on it. So stay tuned to your diet!
Men, due to their physiology, build muscle mass faster and easier. However, they should not do without endurance training, otherwise they will get muscles under a mountain of fat. The opinion “men – strength training, and women – cardio” is wrong: these types of training are easier for different genders, but both are still necessary.
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