Women and Bodybuilding

In general, bodybuilding still isn't something readily associated with women. The cultural stereotype still exists that women work out to get smaller and men work out to get bigger. While the stereotype does still have some basis in reality for the general public, there is certainly a large population of female bodybuilders.

One problematic result of this stereotype is the lack of readily available information. Disturbingly, the top three or four links after a Google search on "female bodybuilding" will take you to sites that have fitness information, supplement information, erotic chat and nude photographs. Many women who want to compete in bodybuilding end up nearly forced to sell risqué or nude products because they aren't as supported financially as male bodybuilders.

Two questions are commonly asked by women looking into bodybuilding: should they exercise differently than men and are they genetically predisposed to building muscle in the same way men do?

Before delving into anything genetic, the first consideration relates to sociology and psychology. Aside from professional bodybuilding, which isn't what we're discussing, the goals of men and women are likely to be quite different when it comes to working out. The main reason for this is society and the ideals of attractiveness we've created.

I'm neither agreeing with nor condemning this; I'm simply stating it as a fact. While an argument can easily be made, and I fully support the argument, that everyone should improve their health and physique for themselves alone, the reality is that many people do it with the desire to be attractive to the opposite sex.

Thus, the goal of someone working out is going to be at least somewhat dependant on the culturally accepted stereotype of sexiness. In our current society, this means that many women are deeply concerned with becoming too muscular for fear of not being desirable any longer.

There is very little difference in the way men and women build and develop muscles. The main difference is due to women producing less testosterone than men. One effect of this is that women won't naturally get as large and bulky as men, regardless of their training regimen.

This hormonal difference also has an impact on the level of intensity a woman should put her body through. Although the general public doesn't seem to know this, we develop larger muscles because working out inflicts microscopic "tears" in the muscle tissue. The muscles grow in size and strength as the body rebuilds them, which is why proper recuperation after working out is so important.

Because testosterone is important to the rebuilding of muscles, and women naturally have less of it, it is estimated that women should only work out at eighty-five to ninety percent of the intensity of their male counterparts. Scientific examination and testing has repeatedly proven that women and men both burn fat equally well.

The concept of burning fat does present one potential downside for women working out. The act of increasing muscle mass and tone does not decrease the size of a woman's breasts; in fact, increasing the size of the pectoral muscles can actually make them appear larger. However, greatly reducing overall body fat through either diet or exercise can reduce a woman's breast size. In my opinion, your overall health should be more important than the size of your chest, but it's a personal decision.

Pregnancy may be a concern for women who work out seriously, but then again it may not. Experts don't seem able to reach a consensus. Most sport science and medical people believe that the individual can make her own determination regarding appropriate levels of working out while many obstetricians and gynecologists have a much more conservative attitude. As always when experts disagree, the final decision rests with the individual.