Women’s Physiques vs Men’s Physiques

My name is Scott Keppel and I am the proud owner of Scott’s Training Systems. I am a certifed personal trainer with over thirteen years experience and I specialize in pre and post natal training, weight loss management, preparing women for figure, fitness, and bodybuilding competitions. I have been featured in both national and local media. I hope you all enjoy my first article and keep your eyes open for the next one. I’ll discuss how you can avoid the pitfalls of eating too much candy this Halloween season.

1. Whether you want to hear this or not, women are the fatter sex. Largely due to the distribution of adipocyets (fat cells) women carry about twice the amount as men.  There are two basic types of fat receptors: alpha receptors and beta receptors. Think of the fat cells as doors to your body. Alpha allow fat into adipocytes for long-term storage while beta allow the fat out of adipocytes to be burned for energy. Women on average have more of the alpha receptors in their lower body which is why they may have the “pear” shape and have “hips”.  Another reason women have more fat than men is due to the hormone estrogen. Estrogen is integrally involved in the storage of body fat.  An interesting note about estrogen is that is suppresses the activity of lipoprotein lipase in the upper body which impedes fat deposition, but it stimulates lipoprotein in the lower.

2. Men produce more testosterone, which is androgenic (i.e. masculinizing); it promotes characteristics associated with being a male. Including; facial and body hair, deep voice, male pattern baldness tc. Testosterone is also anabolic (building) which allows muscle tissue to increase protein synthesis at a cellular level that allows for growth. What this all means is the more testerone one has the greater their propensity to build muscle. Since women produce only about one-tenth the amount as men they are less apt to get “big”. I have been training individuals for thirteen years and I still hear from women that they don’t want to get “too bulky”. It is virtually impossible for a woman who is not taking Human Growth Hormone, Steroids, etc. to get big. One must eat a lot, lift heavy, and normally supplement to achieve this look. So women, hit the weights!

3. Menstrual cycles along with pregnancy will impact a woman’s physique. Fluid retention and cravings for sweets are frequently associated with premenstrual period, thereby inducing temporary weight gain and water retention.