Why do men run faster than women?

Running is a sport that is equally loved by men and women, regardless of whether they do it every morning for the sake of maintaining their health or take part in professional marathons and sprint competitions. But, despite the types of classes, it can often be seen that men run much faster than women, even if they train in the same way in terms of time and effort.

Given this, scientists wondered why this is so? Even the fastest man in the world runs a 100-meter distance faster than the fastest woman: Usain Bolt needs 9.58 seconds, and Florence Griffith-Joyner - 10.49 seconds.

It turns out that the difference in the results depends on many factors, and the hormones and body sizes of men and women are not the last among them.

Effect of testosterone

Before puberty, the bodies of girls and boys are quite similar. However, with the onset of the transition period, boys experience a rush of testosterone. Finally, at mature age, the testosterone level in the body of some men is 20 times higher than that of women.

Testosterone plays an important role in the body and performs several functions. First of all, this hormone induces the body to create new blood cells, keeps the bones and muscles strong, and also causes muscle growth surges.

"Since the body of women produces less testosterone, they are at a disadvantage in terms of muscle," says Dr. Emily Kraus, a sports medicine specialist. "Simply put, the amount of muscle mass in men is much higher."

Muscle mass

Moreover, the legs of men are about 80 percent composed of muscles, but in women this figure is lower - only 60 percent. These extra muscles help men run faster. In addition, muscle in men, as a rule, have more fibers, capable of rapidly contracting, which are involved in sprinting.

Estrogen

In addition, women have more estrogen than men, which means that the percentage of fat in their body is higher. It also puts women at a disadvantage compared to men when they decide to take part in a sprint race.

Lung size

Another factor is the size of the body. On average, women's lungs are smaller in size than men, which means that their maximum oxygen consumption is also lower. In the sitting position, the woman makes the maximum use of 33 milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute, and the man in the same conditions - 42 ml / kg / min. These results were obtained in a study conducted in 1998.

If we talk about professional sprinters, they have the maximum oxygen consumption, but men are still ahead of women. At maximum load, the lungs of men use more oxygen than women. This means that the body of women has to make more efforts to breathe oxygen.

The amount of blood

The heart of women, as a rule, also has a smaller size than that of men. This means that the indicators of blood oxidation are also lower.

Despite the fact that women have a higher heart rate, this is not enough to balance the smaller volume of oxidized blood. Every time the heart pumps blood, its amount is less for a woman than for a man. This, among other things, means that the muscles of women receive less blood and oxygen.

To top it off, women also have less hemoglobin. It is a protein in the red blood cells, which carries oxygen to the tissues of the body, including muscles.

Biomechanical factors

As for biomechanics, it is worth noting that the legs of men are often much longer compared to women's, that is, their muscles have more opportunities for work. In addition, the step length for men is also greater. And because women tend to have wider hips, their position during running is not as effective as men's. Muscles work effectively when they are on the same line. If the hips are very narrow, like a man, then the quadriceps act in the same direction as the man runs. But if the runner has wide hips, their muscles can not work straight while running. In other words, the functions of their muscles are less optimized for running.

Of course, this does not mean that women with wide hips can not run, but this is one of many factors that affects why men on average are much faster.

Draw conclusions

To summarize, it is worth saying that women's lungs and hearts have less ability to breathe and saturate blood with oxygen, respectively, they have less hemoglobin in the blood, which should carry this oxygen through the body. In addition, women tend to have less muscle and shorter legs, as well as wider hips, which makes their running less effective.

Given all these shortcomings, it becomes surprising how some women manage to make up a worthy competition for men.