The Differences in the Exercise Routines of Men and Women

While gender stereotypes are beginning to lose popularity, one of the reasons why some continue to persist is because they are based on genuine differences between women and men.

There are a couple of women who are able to match men in terms of upper body fitness. However, men obviously have an advantage in this particular realm. The values that men hold in terms of how they appear also somehow reinforce their desire to take advantage of this natural inclination and capacity to build up upper body strength. This isn’t always true among women.

Women, on the other hand, define their attractiveness by how well-toned and shaped their legs and hip areas are. Interestingly, they are more capable of gaining their preferred results in exercises that target either the buttocks or the legs. This is primarily because of the difference in how the pelvis of a woman tilts compared to a man’s. This, in effect, creates an impact in how and how efficient squats are. Women have the tendency to tilt their feet outward with legs wide open without having to do the squats very intensely.

Majority of women have much less muscle mass than men and a higher concentration of fat in the body. This is the reason why most routines that are designed for women focuses not on building muscles, but in toning the ones that are already there and making the body more flexible. Women are prone to injuries when they lift weights.

Men are generally less flexible than women, partly because of the difference in how joints are arranged, and partly because of how little they value flexibility. Men, in fact, are less likely to be patient with exercise routines as their female counterparts.

These differences are generalizations that may vary across real individuals. Whatever the case may be, men and women may learn a lot from learning from the opposite sex in terms of exercise routines.

Women are more open to the prospect of trying new exercise routines, such as those proposed by yoga or Pilates. These activities are able to target a huge variety of body parts in order to fully maximize flexibility and fitness. While the focus of the exercises are not on strengthening the muscles, it becomes an inevitable consequence of continued yoga or Pilates routines.

There are a lot of yoga routines that focus primarily on balance. Balance is achieved only when the muscles are in concert with the joints and the body’s bone structure. This is the reason why with improved balance, muscle strength is also achieved.

Pilates, on the other hand, is able to create a coordinated way through which the body is strengthened and posture is better improved. In the process, muscle groups are put into better control.

These two new routines were made popular in western countries only in the last two decades. Apart from being physical routines to achieve wellness, yoga and pilates also focus on the interaction between the mind and the body to collectively keep one healthy and sound at all times. Both exercises are also useful in rehabilitating a person from spine injuries.

While women and men may place different values on different exercise goals, they will both benefit by allowing themselves to look into the other gender’s routines and integrating some of the good stuff they see.

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