Muscle Building Differences between Men and Women
Perhaps the primary difference between men and women are their hormones. Women have high levels of estrogen, a hormone which limits the capacity to build new muscle tissue. Biologically, women have less muscle mass because of the estrogen hormone, which can hamper muscle building. Men have testosterone hormones that stimulate muscle growth and protein production. Men find this to be an advantage for building muscle because it makes it easier for male bodies to signal rapid muscle growth.
In general, women use weight training to add firmness and tone and shape their muscles. Men often do weight training specifically for the purpose of enlarging their muscles. One long-term effect of weight training for women is that it will lessen the risk for osteoporosis during old age. This is not as much of a concern for men. It is important to know build muscle that women have more body fat than men simply because they have less muscle mass. But, they also tend to be more flexible. Men have less body fat because they typically burn more calories than women.