Personal Trainer Rochester NY Report on Difference in Metabolism between Males and Females in Endurance Training
Define Endurance Training
Endurance training is the intentional act of working out to increase power and endurance. Exercises for endurance tends to be aerobic in nature. This type of training is clearly fundamental when preparing for any kind of long-distance run, bike ride or swimming event. The objective of endurance training is to develop the energy production systems to meet the demands of an event.
Endurance Exercise Metabolism in Women
The scientific community has always taken for granted that men and women have similar types of muscle fiber. Therefore, based on this presumption they metabolize proteins, carbohydrates and fats in a similar fashion. Lamentably, a majority of the studies on metabolism were researched solely with men under the hypothesis that the results will hold true for both sexes.
However, in a study reported in the Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, researcher Tarnopolosky, M.A., made it evident that females have increased fat and lowered carbohydrate energy utilization compared to their male counterparts. His research reported that substrate (protein, carbohydrate and fat usage for energy) oxidation (loss of electrons due to the breaking down of substrates), increased fat usage among women during endurance exercises longer than 60 minutes.
This phenomenon was observed during endurance exercises with women before and after their training. Therefore, implying that the rudimentary mechanism is caused difference is gender, and not a training effect.
Tarnopolosky also notes that females have been known to have a slightly higher percentage of slow twitch (oxidative) fibers. This may partially account for the elevated fat metabolism during endurance-type exercises.
One more fascinating perspective is the presence of higher levels of 17-beta estradiol estrogen in women, thereby augmenting fat oxidation in endurance training exercises.
Since women metabolize fat better during 60+ minutes of endurance exercise, a workout program which involves sustained aerobic exercise is encouraged for females who want to boost fat metabolism through exercise.
Please note that the study involved high-intensity endurance training (over 60 minutes long) and may not have the same effect for short-term, moderate or low-intensity cardio-vascular exercises. For most women who are just starting an exercise program, this is definitely not a recommended program for body fat loss. A combined healthy diet with gradual decrease in caloric intake as well as a combined strength training and cardiovascular exercise program is still the best way to decrease body fat for the average woman or man.
Reference:
Tarnopolosky, M.A. (2008). Sex differences in exercise metabolism and the role of 17-beta estradiol. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 40(4), 648-654.
