Women outlast men during exercise
Men's muscles may be larger than women's, but
when push comes to shove the male muscle wimps out a lot sooner,
research shows.
When investigators at the University of
Colorado at Boulder tested muscular endurance among 16 study
participants, they found that women far outlasted men. The men
and women had to perform two exercises that tested their elbow
flexor muscles: one in which they held one of their arms in a
rigid position for as long as possible, and another in which a
weighted bag was added to the wrist. The exercises were akin to
carrying groceries, lead researcher Dr. Sandra Hunter told
Reuters Health.
Hunter's team found that although the men
were stronger, the women were able to hold the muscle
contractions about 75% longer. In fact, Hunter said, one
"big, burly guy" held the positions for only 3
minutes, while one woman held on for an hour and a half.
She presented the findings last week in
Portland, Maine, at a meeting of the American Physiological
Society.
Previous research has garnered similar
results for various muscle groups, but the reasons for women's
greater endurance has been unclear. To shed some light on the
issue, Hunter's team measured the electrical activity in the
participants' muscles as they performed the exercises. There
appeared to be no differences in men's and women's central
nervous system activity.
Instead, Hunter said, women may have better
blood flow to the muscles, making them less prone to tire
quickly. Other findings from the study boost this theory: The
women's blood pressure and heart rates were lower than the men's
during the exercises. Because estrogen promotes blood flow,
Hunter said, hormonal differences could explain endurance
differences between women and men.
Studies have also shown that women outlast
men during aerobic exercise. Again, Hunter said, estrogen may
lend the advantage. The hormone seems to help the body conserve
carbohydrates, so that women have more energy to draw upon late
in the game.
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