Building Muscle and Burning Fat

We hear it all the time. Our female patients sharing their frustrations that the men in their life seem to make very minor changes in their diet and exercise routine and immediately build muscle and shed fat, while they are trying their best and seem to make little progress. Anecdotally, it is hard to argue this point as it does seem as though men have an easier time on average accomplishing these goals most likely due to a variety of factors (higher testosterone, greater overall muscle mass to begin with, and larger individual muscle fibers). However, when you look at the data comparing rates of muscle gain and rates of fat loss between men and women, is there a surprising positive message for women? That was the subject of this podcast/newsletter. Let’s dive in!

We begin with muscle building. Interestingly, there is little research directly comparing muscle growth between men and women. We started off discussing general observations on how men and women seem to put on muscle. I stated that generally speaking, women have an easier time making gains in their lower body while men have an easier time making gains in their upper bodies. Jason disagreed and we had an interesting/funny back and forth. Tune in to the podcast (link below) and listen for yourself.

Now to the studies. In this 16 week trial looking at body composition and cross-sectional area in untrained individuals, men showed greater absolute increases in muscle mass (meaning more total muscle mass put on), but the proportional changes were very similar between the men and women (meaning they put on muscle mass at about the same rate). In this 10 week trial looking at college-aged, untrained individuals, they did not find a significant difference in upper body strength increases after 10 weeks of progressive strength training. This study did not find a difference between men and women in terms of muscle protein synthesis and anabolic signaling after a session of high-intensity resistance exercise. This study found that younger men and women have similar muscle protein synthesis responses to eating, but this changes as you age with men having the advantage. It does seem that in the elderly, men have an easier time putting on muscle mass and increasing muscle quality.

What about burning fat? We discussed this study which looked at overweight men and women that took part in various diet and/or exercise programs and looked at reductions in body weight, waist circumference, total fat loss, and other factors. It concluded that the total fat loss observed for a given reduction in body weight or waist circumference was not different between men and women.

Give the podcast a listen here… Apple  Spotify  Google  Amazon

Simplified Takeaways…

1. Nick feels that women have an easier time with muscle growth in their lower bodies than men (generally speaking) whereas men have a much easier time with muscle growth in their upper bodies. Jason disagrees.

2. Nick feels that when it comes to muscle growth from resistance training, men have it easier on an absolute basis (they will put on more total mass) but proportionally speaking, the rates of muscle growth are similar between men and women. Jason disagrees again.

3. When it comes to fat burning, men and women will largely lose the same amount of total fat when losing body weight, although there may be differences in terms of what kind of fat is lost and from what part of the body. This will most likely hold true until you get to very low body fat percentages (i.e. we feel it is easier for men to get to very low body fat percentages).

4. Nick is right and Jason is wrong…LOL!

Disclaimer: This newsletter is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing, or other professional healthcare services, including the giving of medical advise. No doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this newsletter or materials linked from this newsletter is at the user’s own risk. The content of this newsletter is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advise, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard, or delay in obtaining, medical advise for any medical condition they may have, and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions.