Re: Women lifting heavy weights and hormonal changes

[Guest guest]

Hi

I find your post very interesting, and I'd like to respond, although I can't

give you the scientific answer you seem to be looking for.

Regarding stereotypes: I would guess the stereotype that " if women lift

heavy weights they will develop like a man " is no more prevalent than the

more general stereotype that weightlifters are muscle-bound " dumbbells. "

Stereotypes of all kinds are accepted primarily by people who are

disinclined and/or unable to think with any depth or precision.

Unfortunately, that's a pretty large group.

Allowing for individual differences, the average woman who powerlifts drug

free does not become as muscular or as strong as the average man who

powerlifts drug free, in part because (from what I have read) women have

about one tenth as much testosterone. On the other hand, we all know

people--male and female--who are extremely strong for their size. It seems

as if, even given the same exercise program, some people would demonstrate

gains with a greater hypertrophy to strength ratio while others would

demonstrate gains with a higher strength to hypertrophy ratio. It may be

that some people have a greater propensity toward sarcoplasmic hypertrophy

while others have a greater propensity toward myofibrillar hypertrophy. I'd

love to hear an explanation from those who have a lot more expertise than I

do on the subject.

When I was in college, I used to work out with a fraternity brother, Felix

Detrolio, who was a nationally ranked powerlifter. His normal bodyweight

was 119 pounds. When he would walk out on the platform, some people would

start to giggle because, while he had an athletic V-shape, he had none of

the bulk of the much shorter and stockier guys who " made weight " in his

class. But he was naturally very, very strong. The " quality " of his muscle

(vis-a-vis strength) was much greater than his muscular size.

Pitruzzello, Ph.D.

Chicago, IL

Thu, Dec 18, 2008 at 12:35 PM, Matsui wrote:

> Hey guys,

>

> I am trying to find out why there is a sterotype that if women lift heavy

> weights they will develop like a man?

>

> Reading an article by waterbury he showed a graph stating that women have

> lower T serum level compared to men but women may have the same or more

> inandrostenedione, Dihydrotestosterone, 17b-estradiol levels, and that this

> is the reason why some women can develop muscular size quickly.

>

> Can anyone help me out on this?

>

> Matsui

> NY,NY USA

[Guest guest]

On Sun, Dec 21, 2008 at 3:13 PM, Pitruzzello

wrote:

> On the other hand, we all know

> people--male and female--who are extremely strong for their size. [...]

To further complicate things when considering strength, biomechanics

plays a role.

For instance, I believe Mel Siff had a list in Supertraining of

physical features that suited people to their sports. One of the most

commonly recurring items was biacromial width. In terms of physics, a

punch or throw from a wide set of shoulders is different than the same

move from a set of narrow shoulders, just like a longer " crack the

whip " game. Narrow hips are better suited to many things.

Longer-limbed folks have more difficulty in strength sports. Etc.

People's muscle attachments will also influence their ability to

generate force -- short levers vs long levers.

And then you have the rather puzzling situation of what appear to be

intrinsic muscle imbalances -- for example, research indicates that in

women, quads tend to be stronger relative to hamstrings, which is a

factor in higher knee injury rates. Unlike other sex-differentiated

traits, which seem to have some reproductive purpose (or be sequelae

to reproductive differences), I can't figure out either a physical nor

social reason why this quad-ham situation would be sex-specific. You

might guess high heel wearing, but these problems have been discovered

in populations of girls and women who would be very unlikely to walk

around in stilettos all day.

After all this, we consider the question of neuromuscular factors,

many of which have yet to be elucidated...

Krista

Toronto, ON

--------------------

Krista -Dixon, PhD

Editor-in-Chief, Spezzatino

Research Director, Healthy Food Bank

www.spezzatino.com

www.healthyfoodbank.com

krista@...

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