Is the physical strength difference between genders that big?

Question

If you go to the gym you can see that alot of men can lift twice as much and even more than women. But i was wondering what if men didn't go gym or do strenuous physical activity, would the strength gap be so big. I can remember as an adolescence when i first went to the gym only lifting slightly higher weights than most women in the gym today.

What do you think, is the physical strength difference naturally that big? or are we only much stronger because of the time we put into the gym and strenuous activity we do?

Answer 1

Yes, there is a big difference in strength and even size between most men and women who come from a similar genetic background.  I'm 5'4 and compared to a man of my height, I'm a weakling.  When my husband was doing physical training for the Marine Officer's Candidacy School, there was a guy in his group that was about my height.  There was also a girl around my height and build. The guy gained strength and running speed as quickly as any of the other guys there and the girl struggled. She eventually qualified, but it took her about 5 months longer than they guys, and her physical requirements were lower. It's called sexual dimorphism, and, although it occurs to a lesser extent in humans than in other primates, it still exists.  Why does it exist? Answer: women have been selecting for men who are stronger (i.e. better able to provide) and such men have had the option of impregnating more women.  Testosterone allows the size of the muscles to increase in size more quickly, etc. Men are in fact stronger.    

Answer 2

If men and women train the same,eat the same and sleep the same,there will be a big gap,due to genetics men are always stronger and its a hugh gap.

Answer 3

Yes men are physically stronger then women and it will always be that way. It's genetically that way.

Answer 4

Absolutely. Men are genetically stronger. Especially in regards to upper body strength. Men are biologically built for strength to be able to hunt, defend, fight, etc. Women naturally carry more fat and are built to reproduce.

The women who close the gap either have a build not normal for women or hit the gym regularly..

Answer 5

Halo...by the percentage of people who are overweight in America, you can tell that a lot of people both male and female do not go to the gym to work out and build up strength.  

Still, with the exception of a few women I have known who either work out or do very strenuous and heavy work daily, average men, by in large, have more strength than the average woman by a fairly large margin.

Understand though, that age and health are variants in strength and endurance.  Over the years, many things change about how our bodies perform.

Answer 6

I agree, people don't get big and muscly unless they work out. And men tend to focus on building muscle more than women, because in our society muscles on men is seen as attractive and unattractive on women.

EDIt: I remember seeing these tests a few years ago where they gave men and women the same workout regime and diet and the muscle mass results were equal.

Answer 7

It is.. men have higher muscle ratios than women and their bone structure is denser to give them the ability to pack more muscle onto it.

Many men are naturally well-muscled it's called being a mesomorph. Equally there are men who are ectomorphs and are physically alot weaker but the point is on average a male is physically much stronger than a female of the same body weight and muscle mass. They just have more efficient body structures for strength based activities

Answer 8

Well, when it comes to upper body strength I think the difference is quite noticeable.  My husband has much greater upper body strength than I do, and neither of us goes to gyms (he would sooner die than go to one, so he says), and he doesn't really do much strenuous physical activity most of the time.

Louise

Answer 9

women are actually getting bigger than men I see this as an evolutionary trend. Heh with all these big bruiser women. 200 pounds plus they can kick your butt. Heh I am 195 pounds all the women at work think Im skinny now that's scary. Id say 10 percent of the women are smaller than me in the US.