Men Need More, Women Need Less /// Rest

You've no doubt heard that men have "more muscle mass" or "are stronger" than women. This has a legitimate scientific basis, but people generally only end up misusing the idea in order either to make fools of themselves (in the case of men), or as an excuse (in the case of women). However, there is a way to use this information to our mutual benefit.

"Women do tend to be less powerful than men due to several factors, such as lower muscle mass, lower lung capacity and smaller hearts, leading to lower stroke volumes," says Dr. Forsythe. "However, their ability to recover after high-intensity exercise is often greater than men's. This means that women will often need less rest time after an exercise bout or set, and they can get back under the bar or back in the circuit sooner. So, exercise programs that prescribe significant rest periods may make a woman feel bored."

This doesn't mean that women should do necessarily more reps than men, but rather that they can often tolerate more exercises in a given workout. A typical guy could do well with longer, slower workouts where he throws all his effort into a single set and then rests, or supersets two strength exercises and then rests. His girlfriend, on the other hand, might see more benefit from doing sets of mini-circuits of 3-5 strength exercises.

Of course this might not be true for every man and woman, but it's something to keep in mind when you structure your workout. Although men and women can and often do perform the exact same exercises, how we structure those exercises has a major influence on how much we enjoy our time in the gym. This can make the difference between fitness success and failure, because it's no secret that we're more likely to stick with something we enjoy.

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Men Need More, Women Need Less /// Yoga

There are plenty of men who do yoga, but let's not kid ourselves into thinking it's even close to an equal playing field. This is too bad, because yoga offers benefits that most men could definitely use. First and foremost, it can help improve joint range of motion in ways they're not getting from heavy weight training. It's great to be bigger and stronger, but it's even better to be bigger, stronger, and more mobile. Plus, yoga is a great way to help recover from intense strength workouts.

So why am I saying women should do less yoga? I'm not. I would just advise them not to ignore strength training, because the strength benefits from yoga are limited compared to what free weights, cables, and machines can offer. You can certainly get stronger doing yoga, but once you get past the beginner stage, the muscular challenge comes from harder poses, which tend to challenge your mobility more than overload any particular muscle groups. Plus, the slow nature of yoga can be complemented by doing shorter, more intense strength training sets. There's no reason not to do both. 

Also, be sure to evaluate why you do yoga. Many women have fallen victim to the idea that yoga will make give them "longer, leaner muscles." Just to be clear, this is impossible. Here's why:

• All muscle tissue is lean tissue. There is no such thing as "fat" muscle. And, no, muscle doesn't turn into fat, or vice versa. Fat is fat, and muscle is muscle. You gain or lose either depending on your healthy eating and exercise habits, or lack thereof, but one doesn't turn into the other.
• Muscles are attached to your bones, so you can't make your muscles longer unless you make your bones longer. Your muscles only have one way to develop. They shrink, grow, or stay the same.

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Women Need More, Men Need Less /// Upper Body Work

Ladies: If you're looking for a place to devote the energy you used to throw at the leg extension machine, Dr. Forsythe has a suggestion: Start pushing and pulling.

 

"It's well known that most women carry much less lean mass in their upper bodies compared to men, so exercises such as push-ups and pull-ups are a common weakness," she says. "It could be said that women should spend more time on these exercises than men, so they can increase their strength in their upper bodies, which in turn leads to improved self-esteem and a sexy upper body. What girl doesn't feel amazing after doing full push-ups or pull-ups on her own?"

Men, on the other hand, are notorious for only paying attention to body parts they can see in the mirror, and pretty much ignoring everything else.

Sure, it's great to build up your chest and biceps. But strengthening your mid-back muscles will give you better muscular balance, healthier shoulders, better posture, and a thicker, stronger physical appearance overall.

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How training keeps you happy!

 How training keeps you happy!

By Master Trainer Kamal from Legends Gym

Team Bodybuilding Mauritius contributing Writer

For some of us, getting an exercise ‘high’ is par for the course when we work up a sweat, while for others it’s a mythical occurrence that remains frustratingly out of reach. So, can exercise really make you feel significantly better mentally, or is it just a fitness myth? Lets have a look at the link between exercise and the production of endorphins.

Endorphins, the body’s own opiate-like chemicals, have long been held responsible for the so-called exercise ‘high’, and experts once thought that we needed to tough it out at a certain intensity, for a given length of time, in order to ‘flick the switch’ and get an endorphin boost. For example, a report in the journal Physician and Sports Medicine concluded that to get an exercise ‘high’, you have to work at 76% of your maximum heart rate, and may need to keep going for two hours or more. But with some exercise fanatics blissing out by doing much less work, and others putting in even greater amounts of effort to no avail, researchers began to realise that the formula wasn’t so simple.

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