Women Have Men Beat When It Comes To Stamina

In case you need to counter any mansplaining at the gym: A new study found that women have more stamina than men when it comes to exercise. Published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, the study discovered that women's muscles are often more resistant to fatigue than men’s. Too often, research on exercise focuses solely on men, which ignores the nuances between the sexes. “I may not be able to bench-press the same amount of weight as a big muscle-bound guy," study author Sandra Hunter, PhD, associate professor of exercise science at Marquette University, explains. "But if you ask us both to perform a contraction at 100% of our maximum strength and sustain it as long as we can, I should be able to outperform him." This is important when it comes to designing exercise routines, because it's no longer a given that one size fits all. “The bottom line of training or rehab is that you have to fatigue a muscle in order to increase its strength,” Hunter told Health. “So if men and women fatigue differently, they should be treated differently.” Women won't be able to reach their full potential healthwise if their unique differences and capabilities are overlooked. That's why Hunter hopes this research continues and is taken into account for future programs. For now, women can relish their newly-confirmed abilities, either at the gym or comfortably from afar in bed.