Tabitha has been working out at the gym for months and does not understand why her muscle mass is not increasing the way her brother's is, even though she works out more often than he does. Explain why women will not achieve the same increase in muscle size as men, no matter the intensity of their strength-training regimen.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Even though the quality of muscle in men and women is the same, endocrinological differences do not allow women to achieve the same amount of muscle hypertrophy (size) as men. Men also have more muscle fibers, and because of the sex-specific male hormones, each individual fiber has more potential for hypertrophy. On the average, following 6 months of training, women can achieve up to a 50 percent increase in strength but only a 10 percent increase in muscle size.The idea that strength training allows women to develop muscle hypertrophy to the same extent as men is as false as the notion that playing basketball turns women into giants. Masculinity and femininity are established by genetic inheritance, not by the amount of physical activity. Variations in the extent of masculinity and femininity are determined by individual differences in hormonal secretions of androgen, testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone. Women with a bigger-than-average build often are inclined to participate in sports because of their natural physical advantage. As a result, many people have associated women's participation in sports and strength training with large muscle size.