How Do Gender Differences Affect Muscle Growth?

Muscular hypertrophy occurs through anaerobic training and also causes an increase in lactate tolerance since the lactate produced is less concentrated enabling athletes to tolerate increased amounts. The greater extent of muscular hypertrophy and therefore lactate tolerance in males compared to females is evident in the greater number of attacking efforts performed by them whilst on field. During the 20 minutes of the game spent on field, males performed 88.5 attacking skills (approximately 4.43 maximal efforts per minute), while females performed 76.4 attacking skills (3.82 per minute) (Appendix 2). Due to insufficient recovery of CP, the anaerobic glycolysis system would have been dominant for these efforts. Males can tolerate more lactate hence perform more efforts. Furthermore, males had a higher average of 15.40 seconds in the speed endurance test compared to 17.19 seconds for females, indicating that males have greater lactate tolerance due to developed anaerobic adaptations including muscular hypertrophy (Appendix 1). As men have a greater lactate tolerance, they can work at higher anaerobic intensities for longer durations, therefore perform more maximal efforts such as repetitively

For example many people will show an improvement in strength from the first session to the second session. This improvement is due to CNS adaptation because there is no hypertrophic gain during this short period. Another example which proves the importance of CNS adaptations related to strength gains is that strength performance may increase by 30% while hypertrophic gains may only be 15%, thus half of the strength gains is attributable to CNS adaptations. Generally in the first few months of strength training CNS adaptations account for a larger percentage of the strength gain than hypertrophic adaptations. To illustrate the importance of CNS adaptations in the early part of training, it should be noted that electrical stimulation can increase the rate of strength gains. Hypertrophy is an important factor in improved strength performance. Strength training brings about an increase in the size and number of myofibrils. It is speculated that during and following a high intensity strength training session the neuroendocrine responses will bring about an increased amino acid uptake and will increase the rate of protein synthesis. Optimal hypertrophic gains require adequate recovery between workouts to permit the rate of protein synthesis to exceed the rate of protein degradation. It should also be noted that strength training also stimulates bone and

Exercise physiology has previously proven that in order to increase muscular strength and endurance, the frequency, intensity and duration components of a workout must be gradually and independently increased. This has brought up several important questions regarding the effects of strength training in the burgeoning field of prepubescent exercise physiology. The most important and most asked question is can and/or will prepubescent strength training cause developmental-inhibiting musculoskeletal injuries such as epiphyseal plate fractures. These types of fractures can lead to the stunting of limb growth in the affected area(s) and are obviously injuries that can negatively affect the normal development of our youth (Thomas, 1995). The next obvious question was two-fold; what are the benefits, if any, of prepubescent strength-training and do the benefits warrant risking possible physical harm? The last and the least obvious question asked wanted to know what exactly was prepubescent strength-training and what were its safety guidelines?

Two mechanisms that could explain a sex difference in the fatigue index is that females have higher capillarization oxygen delivery and oxidative capacity when it comes to mitochondria size and number along with higher concentrations of myoglobin compared to males, hence why they have a much smaller fatigue index than males. Also, males have an advantage in absolute endurance in upper body exercises while the Biodex measures the lower body. The males were less capable of maintaining the contractions from fatiguing in the legs compared to the females because males tend to have type II fibres occupying the whole muscle and due to all the factors talked about in question one (mitochondrial size and number, myoglobin concentration, muscle fibre diameter and capillarization) this would explain why males have a higher fatigue index for this particular

For many years, only men were allowed to be in the military and in combat; whereas women were only allowed to aid. According to John in Men and Women in the Military are Equal, But They Are Not The Same, men have more muscle mass that makes them stronger than women. Women have 45 percent less muscle mass and 20 percent less lung capacity than men. When in combat, strength and endurance are important characteristic that soldiers should possess. This shows that the human body and biology may be the reason why men and women have different level of strengths and weaknesses. Through training, both men and women are capable to gain muscle Tia Ghose, in Women in Combat: Physical Differences May Mean Uphill Battle, states a study, in the journal of Applied Physiology, had found evidence that men had an average of 26 lbs more skeletal muscle mass than women. The muscle is important because there are a plethora of tasks

By using the mean, median, and mode of the results recorded, I believe women and men will be alike in ways people did not expect. By looking at the content of fat and muscle composition on the calf, weight of a female/male, and the ability to vertically jump, evidence will be provided that physical activity does not solely rely on the gender of a person. If the circumference of any persons’ calf is high due to fat then their ability to jump higher will decrease because of lack of muscle and/or lack of physical activity. Comparing men and women though, research leads to evidence that men can jump higher than women. If a man and a woman’s were compared, a man will be able to jump higher due to higher testosterone, activity of a male, and the muscle composition of a male.

Weaknesses: Blood samples were not collected post-exercise to measure the serum testosterone. 12 weeks could be short period to see muscle mass & strength improvement. They did not measure amino acid composition in diets. They did not consider the differences in participant’s BMI and age. The highest values achieved for handgrip & isometric strength were used for

So in this presentation, we discussed four components with two pairs of comparisons: Speed & Cardiovascular endurance, Power & Muscular strength. Speed is the ability to travel promptly; it is found in soccer and cross country. Cardiovascular endurance is how oxygen travels in your body. Both components results in your distance limit and speed. Power is the maximum force exerted quickly, and is utilized in boxing and tennis. Muscular strength is the resistance of the muscles against force. Finally, the strength determines the power of the

Femoral length was also greater in African-American children compared to Whites. This characteristic attributed to a shorter sitting height but rather, a greater leg length to sitting height ratio (Gilsanz, 1998). Overall, the African-American children accounted for a 10.7% and 5.7% increase in vertebral bone density and femoral cross-sectional area, respectively, in relation to their White counterparts (Gilsanz, 1998). The reason behind the bone mineral content and bone mass being advanced in African-Americans is that they are better able to resist bone resporption by parathyroid hormone (Gilsanz, 1998). Another theory is that greater muscle mass puts stress on which in turn develops greater bone mineral content and density (Wagner and Heyward, 2000). By having these mechanisms to better strengthen bone, there is evidence to prove that, in general, as African-Americans age their bones will be less problematic for them whereas the Whites will tend to have more problems.

Muscle fatigue is defined as a decrease in the maximum force generating capacity of a muscle (3). Muscle force and fatigability are correlated to muscle mass, muscle fiber type, and motor unit recruitment. Muscle fibers consume stored energy and generate force by contracting. If a muscle depletes its fuel supply faster than they can be replenished by metabolism, then fatigue occurs. The purpose of this study was to determine the time to fatigue to 50% of maximum clench force for both dominant and non-dominant arms, and then determine differences between male and female. Recent literature has suggested that there are sex differences in muscle fatigability, however the physiological mechanisms are not entirely understood. In general, men have

Since I did competitive gymnastics for eleven years, the article “Exercise Prior to Puberty and Adult Bone Mass” involving female gymnasts seemed interesting to me. I started learning gymnastics when I was three years old, and I wondered if exercising that young had any long-term benefits. This research seemed an important and relevant topic because I am now a retired gymnast. The overall purpose of this study was the researchers wanted to know at what stage during growth is exercise a good way to increase peak bone mineral density in females. They conducted this study because they think pre-pubertal exercise is an opportune time during growth to increase peak bone mineral density. By completing this study, researchers hope to find out whether

Across the duration of Professor Van Oosbree’s Exercise Physiology class we had multiple labs which involved testing and the observations of our individual performance. Our first lab was a few weeks in September which was the test of our Muscular Strength. We had various techniques as warm ups to determine our one repetition maximum which was followed by multiple lifting exercises such as bench press, leg curls, and grip strength. On the bench press and leg curl I classified under “Fair” which was listed 4th out of 6 different classifications. Although I received a Fair ranking, out of my whole class I was right in the middle and that was due to the female’s results. Part of this is due to the statistics showing that men have significantly larger type 1 fiber areas and mean fiber areas than women. Secondly, Flexibility was next on the agenda. During this lab we performed several test which included modified sit and reach, shoulder rotation, zipper test, and range of motion. This lab I particularly enjoyed as I classified under Good and Excellent in all the techniques along with a passable range of motion in my joints that were tested. What possibly helped me excel in that flexibility lab could of been the same factor that hurt me in the muscular strength. Lifting weights without the proper stretching activities can limit your mobility and create stiffness. One of the more recent labs and quite possibly my least favorite was determination of our body composition. Now prior to

The more muscle fibers recruited for an exercise the greater the extent of potential remodeling process in the whole muscle.

Muscular endurance is very important for people playing sports and who have to sustain an activity for long periods of time. Muscular endurance is determined by how well your slow twitch muscle fibers are developed. In case your wondering what slow twitch muscle fibers are, I will explain. There are generally two types of muscle fibers in your body, slow twitch and fast twitch. Slow twitch muscle fibers cannot exert as much force as fast twitch, but can sustain an effort over a much greater period of time. Fast twitch muscle fibers can exert a great amount of force but for a very limited amount of time. Therefore, slow twitch equals endurance, while fast twitch equals strength.