Sex Differences in Endurance Training Metabolism
Definition of Endurance Training
A workout designed to sustain cardiovascular performance for an hour or more is called endurance training. The goal of endurance training is to prepare an athlete to sustain energy and performance over a long period of time. This type of training is clearly fundamental when preparing for any kind of long-distance run, bike ride or swimming event. If a client wants to improve cardiovascular stamina for a sport or simply improve their health, trainers would usually incorporate endurance training in their workouts.
Endurance Exercise Metabolism in Women
It has always been understood that males and females have comparable types of muscle fiber. Therefore, they metabolize carbohydrates, fats and proteins likewise. Presuming this similarity, majority of the research on metabolism have been completed with male subjects alone.
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 postulates that women are known to have a slightly elevated ratio of slow twitch (oxidative) fiber muscles compared to men. This may somewhat justify the increased fat metabolism when they practice endurance-type exercises.
According to Tarnopolosky, during endurance exercises it looks as if the higher levels of the 17-beta estradiol estrogen in women, is the interceding hormone which heightens fat oxidation.
If women metabolize fat more efficiently during stamina exercises (60+ minutes); an exercise routine that involves a prolonged and adhered to aerobic program is excellent for women who need to promote fat metabolism via 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.
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