Curated by Gerolamo Cavalli and Gabriele Gualandris
" first part
What science says: now we will see the main physiological and anatomical differences between men and women.
Static model developed by Behnke, shows the major differences between men and women
1) Lower average height of 7-11cm
2) Bone weight less than 4 kg, i.e. 12% - 15%
3) Lower blood hemoglobin values - lower Vo2 max, biochemical limitation (ability to use oxygen to produce energy)
4) 5% - 10% lower basal metabolic rate (calorie consumption at rest)
5) Fewer mitochondria per myofibril (muscle cell)
The four most relevant differences
Less body mass, on average - 11 kg - 13.5 kg
Less lean mass - 13 kg (but the% is similar to man)
Less muscle - 11 kg (44.7% in men 36% in women)
More fat + 4.5 kg - 7 kg than man
From this one would suspect that the woman is less strong, but as I have already mentioned above this is not the case, there is only a difference in size and a higher percentage of body fat: for the same muscle mass there are the same chances of developing strength A muscle fiber doesn't know if it belongs to a man or a woman just does its job.
The most significant difference is found in the speed of muscle fiber recruitment, this is due to the much lower testosterone levels we have in women.
The female skeleton naturally has a different pelvis, a lower pubic symphysis, a small wider pelvis, a flared and inclined outward ileus, obviously all for the procreative purpose, we also have a more marked lumbar lordosis, a greater inclination of the femur, as well as a greater posture of the knees.
Body composition: Several recent studies agree that on average women have a greater arrangement of muscle mass on the lower part of the body and less in the upper part, and this is one of the significant differences that we can find. But the capacity of the contractile material (muscle) to develop strength I repeat, it is the same as a man.
Let's go back to body composition, women have more adipose tissue that favors them in sports, such as swimming in which the greater% of fat keeps them afloat more easily, with less energy expenditure, but disadvantages them in sports such as athletics. Why do women have more adipose tissue? Let's start by differentiating primary fat from secondary fat.
Primary or essential grease is metabolically active and hormone dependent (steatometry)
Secondary or storage fat it accumulates viscerally and subcutaneously.
Returning to Behnke's model we note that the percentage of secondary fat it does not differ much from the man 12% against the 15% of the woman, but it is in the primary fat which we find in quantities of about 4 times greater than 12% in women against 3% in men. This is why women are always fatter than men, but all this always for the primary function of women, procreation.
Therefore the woman on average is more "fat", in some cases she is too much, even if in lean appearance. Analyzing their body composition we find high percentages of fat, sometimes higher than 30% technically they are obese, despite being thin: let's think of anorexics who have very small muscles but nevertheless the percentages of fat are very high.
One of the main causes of high fat in "thin" women are do-it-yourself diets, caloric restriction situations that some girls undergo under the "illusion of" being thin. Muscles must be built not destroyed, and these diets often of 700-800 Kcal are certainly the best way to destroy them! Provide your body with good fuel; only in this way can you become truly slim.
Intensity is the key concept: and it must be applied in any sport, if you don't want to know about going to the gym, it doesn't matter, if your passion is running, swimming, or cycling, the concept doesn't change. if you have been training your biceps with the two-kilo dumbbell in the gym for three years or run your 10 kilometers per week running at an hourly average of 7 km / h in the park near your home "we are not there"! And "how to repeat it every year the first grade, you will know the alphabet very well, but you will never get a degree. The body works like the brain, if you do not give it the right stimuli it will not learn to do anything new, it will remain as it is, always in first grade!
Women subjected to regular physical exercise with weights throughout their lives are physiologically younger than their peers by 20-30 years ......... so girls stop having a superficial and obsolete approach to training, use weights that allow you to reach an adequate training intensity and perform exercises that affect large muscle areas: squats, bench presses, etc., you will see what a difference!
I leave you with one last suggestion: well-being, the physical one, is based on three key points: eat healthy food and in the right quantity, sleep well and for the hours necessary for your needs, train with the right intensity and in the right measure. You may say that you are already thin and feel good, but surely if these three rules are not part of your life you have not yet reached your maximum potential, and without these rules, you will never reach it!
"Fitness is the first requirement for happiness" (J.H. Pilates)
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