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.
