Why Girls are Different

So, I know the title of this post is a bit ambiguous, and you are probably wondering what on earth i'm going to say. Is this going to be a feminist rant? Am I going to be discussing deep political issues? Well i'm afraid not, in fact this post is all about exercise and fitness, and until recently, everyone was pretty sure that both men and women should train the same. Some may still believe this, but after some discussion, research and observation I believe girls  should train differently to guys. We are different, no matter how you look at it we are biologically different, our physicality's, how we store more fat for reproduction, differences in hormones, our menstrual cycle, these are just a few. So why do we try and exercise  the same way? Here are the reasons that I think us girls should have a different gym routine to the lads...

1. Women are more capable of training with higher reps

 In Training, specifically weight training, female muscle fibres are more likely to be converted to type 1 fibres (slow yet long lasting) or aren't converted at all, whereas in men they generally change to type 2 (faster but don't last as long). Female type 1 fibres are also proportionally bigger than men's, and show a high resistance to fatigue. Therefore, women can often achieve more reps than men. 

2.Women have been shown to recover faster

Research has shown that women not only need less rest-time between sets, but also recover faster between workout sessions, and therefore are capable of training more often than men. This is because of oestrogen. This female hormone helps muscle repair, and protects muscles by reducing the damage being caused to them during exercise. We are also capable of having less rest in-between sets due to more type 1 fibres, as they have a higher resistance and are less prone to fatigue.  


3. Explosive training doesn't work as well e.g HIIT

As Previously explained, females are better at endurance work, and can work better at a consistent and achievable level over longer periods of time. Men on the other hand deal better with explosive training, due to having more type 2 fibres that are stronger, but don't last as long. It has also been proven that men create significantly more muscle when completing high intensity training than women.

4. The menstrual cycle 

Last but not least, the menstrual cycle. Unfortunately, we can't escape it and we all know we have that time of the month that affects our mood and body pretty damn significantly. It affects some more than others but for around 4-6 days we have our periods, and some may say that whilst exercising in this time, you should do less intense workouts and not push yourself too much. Other research suggests that women may be stronger and more durable during menstruation, this might be something you might like to experiment with if you're looking to hit some pbs!

So here's a short summary of what us gals should do differently... Train high reps 
Do more sets
Rest less time
Train more often
and work with your period!

I hope this helps out anyone looking to change their gym routine.


K.

My Workout Playlist

Hey Guys! As i've had a recent change of gym I thought I'd share my new playlist with you to give a taste of the sorts of songs I use to keep myself hyped on a workout...

1. Work : Rihanna & Drake

2. Missing : EDX, Mingue 

3. Breathe : Wilkinson, Shannon Saunders 

4. Lush Life : Zara Larsson 

5. White Tiger, The Heaveytracker Remix : Izzy Bizu, Kano 

6. Stay : Kygo, Maty Noyes

7. Good Times : Ella Eyre

8. Something Special (into you) : Fastlane 

9. Ex's and Oh's : Elle King 

10. Alive : Chase & Status, Jacob Banks 

SUPERSET

1. Breakn' A Sweat : Skrillex, The Doors, Robby Kreiger

2. Go : The Chemical Brothers 

3. Better Love : Foxes 

K. 

The F-Word

So here it is, I have finally plucked up the courage to write a blog post on the F-word, yeah you guessed it, feminism. Over the past few months I have become increasingly agitated by this topic and conversations surrounding it, so here it goes, here's to my feminist rant...

I'm not one for labelling, I highly dislike confining an individual to a specific genre, style, group or lifestyle. Contrary to this I would in fact consider myself a Feminist. There I said it, that dreaded word that many of my friends curl their nose up at, I am a feminist, and to be quite honest I am proud of this. As a current third year English student, when it came to deciding a dissertation topic I knew that I wanted to explore Feminist Theory, Literature and it's influence on modern-day popular culture. In the past year or so the word feminist has frequently popped up in the media, and although many people may believe that feminism is now an outdated and obsolete movement- yes we women do now have the vote, but our struggle does not end here- feminism is still very much alive. You only have to look at J Law's, Meryl Streep's and various other celebs recent speeches to see that females are still subjected to inferiority between genders, the pay gap, lifestyle opportunities and gender performance issues. So why is it that when I say to some of my closest friends 'What do you think about feminism?' or 'are you a feminist?' do they tend to roll their eyes and say that they in fact are not? Saying that I myself am a feminist does not make me man-hating, or mean that I believe females are the superior sex. No. This word, and what I have come to learn that the word means, is that I believe females and males are equal.

One of my closest friends seems to sum up the general consensus on the word quite nicely, 'I am not a feminist but...' she then went on to say that she believe's in equal pay, the equality of men and women and that females should be able to use contraception. This is where I got very confused and slightly angry, I then turned to her and asked 'So why do you not consider yourself a feminist?' To this she replied 'Well i'm not one of those extreme women who'd go out burn my bra and believe that men shouldn't hold a door open for you.' Unfortunately, I hadn't the energy to argue, you see so may women and men hear the word feminist and think of Radical feminism. Radical feminism was a form of feminism that originated within the second-wave in the 1960's, a perspective that holds the belief that MEN OPPRESS WOMEN. Well i'm sorry to offend anyone but I believe this is a highly outdated way of thinking, and that this issue shouldn't be a US vs THEM argument, men can be feminists too, I like to think my father one, my boyfriend one and many of my male friends to be feminists, although many boys seem to squint at the topic and are scared to share their opinion, in fear of being beaten down by a man-hating psycho bitch. 

And so, I could rant about this topic for hours, days or even years, but I would like to leave you with this; if you find yourself answering the question 'Are you a feminist?' in the same way my close friend did, 'I am not a feminist but..' Are the reasons that you are about to state not those that in fact make you a feminist? Do you not believe that men and females are both equal, and should be treated that way? I'm fed up with this negative stigma that looms over the word, you are a feminist, believe me you are.

K.