“Conventionally, men have higher levels of testosterone hormone, which makes it easier for them to gain muscle and burn fat. While women have higher levels of estrogen, which makes it harder for them to gain muscles and lose fat,” points out Praveshh Gaur, founder, Srauta Wellness.
It's true; males build muscle faster than females do. This is because guys have more testosterone (a male hormone), which helps form muscle. Since women naturally have less testosterone, they build muscle at a slower pace.
Body composition differs between men and women, with women having proportionally more fat mass and men more muscle mass. Although men and women are both susceptible to obesity, health consequences differ between the sexes.
Throughout this time period the increase in muscle mass in both sexes is due to the hypertrophy of individual muscle fibers and not hyperplasia. Peak muscle mass occurs between the ages of 16 and 20 years in females and between 18 and 25 years in males unless affected by resistance exercise, diet, or both.
It comes down to hormones and genetics. Chances are, you've probably heard before that every body is different, and on a physiological level, that's really true. For example, some bodies are primed to put on muscle more easily than others.
“Gaining muscle is slightly misunderstood when it comes to strength training in men and women. Women can gain muscles just as easily as men. The only difference is the size of the muscle as these gains are based on one's overall skeletal structure, size and testosterone levels,” explains Khemani.
Typically, muscle mass and strength increase steadily from birth and reach their peak at around 30 to 35 years of age. After that, muscle power and performance decline slowly and linearly at first, and then faster after age 65 for women and 70 for men.
You will not be able to build muscle until you are in puberty. Before puberty, lifting weights will tone your muscles, but you will not build muscles yet.
It is advised that 17-18 years is the best age where the benefits of working out at a gym can be achieved without any trouble. It can lead to strong, muscular, lean and healthy physique in men and slim and healthy outline among women. Always be careful while joining a gym.
Surprisingly, the same study also states that 45 per cent of women prefer men with a little chubbiness or simply the average male body over an extremely muscular one. Many might argue that some do like the latter and so, only 2.5 per cent of women had favoured the lean, muscular type.
Women generally have a higher percentage of body fat than men. Also, women store more fat in the gluteal-femoral region, whereas men store more fat in the visceral (abdominal) depot.
The fact that women have muscles is as natural as breathing; for many men, this is the most attractive feature of the female body. Men adore a body that can support a strong personality. They are especially attracted to strong, capable sexy bbs and muscular women.
Those who have a higher percentage of fast twitch fibers will grow bigger muscles more easily compared to people who have a higher percentage of slow twitch fibers, and will generally be better at short duration, high intensity activities such as sprinting (people with more slow twitch fibers will gain endurance more ...
Calves. Calf muscles are also considered as one of the most difficult to grow in the gym, to the point where many people give up trying.
What muscles develop the fastest? Phasic muscles like the pectorals, rhomboid muscles, glutes, and the trapezius muscles.
Muscularity is sexy.
In a separate study, women reported that their short-term sexual partners were more muscular than their other partners. The researchers suggest women have fewer requirements for muscular men.
Men are physically stronger than women, who have, on average, less total muscle mass, both in absolute terms and relative to total body mass. The greater muscle mass of men is the result of testosterone-induced muscular hypertrophy. Men also have denser, stronger bones, tendons, and ligaments.
On average, strength performance in men is at its peak at the age of 26 years in weightlifting, and at 34 years in powerlifting. Lighter weight class athletes tend to reach their peak performance earlier than athletes competing in higher weight classes.
It's Never Too Late to Build Muscle
While you can't stop your body's natural processes, you can offset some of these changes with strength training, Kolba says. “You can always get stronger and change the trajectory of your muscle health.” Though you might not see improvement in days, you likely will in weeks.
“You can get in shape at any age if you live an active lifestyle and are in good health,” says personal trainer Warren Gendel, winner of the Mr. Santa Barbara 1992 NPC bodybuilding contest and owner of Well-Fit by Warren, a company focused on fitness for men over 50.
Nataliya Kuznetsova, also spelt Natalia (née Trukhina; born July 1, 1991), is a Russian professional female bodybuilder and powerlifter.
They found that women were most attracted to muscles that are harder to develop, primarily the abs and biceps. Interestingly, the muscles women found most attractive were, in this order: glutes, biceps, abs, pecs, shoulders, obliques, triceps, and quads.