Differences found in men's, women's workouts
Shannon Johnson
Issue date: 4/8/09 Section: Dixie Sun Link Features
As Dixie State College men and women begin hitting the gym more often as the summer season approaches, they may be going about their work-out regimens very differently.
Zack Heideman, a personal trainer at the DSC fitness center, said he sees a huge difference in how the opposite genders go about getting in shape. He is at the gym at least five days a week, and he said he has noticed that guys generally focus on perfecting the upper body while women focus on the lower body.
"The only thing I see in common is the working out of abs or core muscles," he said.
Quite a few students have noticed a gender gap in the goals of working out at the gym as they observe people around them.
Dustin Higgins, a freshman undecided major from Carson City, Nev., said girls probably do a lot of toning when they come to the gym, whereas guys are always there to bulk up.
"Bulking requires less reps and a lot more weight," he said. "And toning is more reps with less weight."
Heideman agreed that most women don't want the bulk because they'd rather spend their time thinning down.
"However, this isn't effective because you want to keep the body in balance," he said. "If you only work on upper body then it will make your body become unbalanced because your upper body will get stronger than your legs."
At work, Heideman has noticed a difference between where DSC guys and girls usually head when they first walk in the door.
Cardio seems to be a hit for the women while increasing muscle mass is an incentive for the men. He said girls seem to head straight for the treadmill while guys go for the bench workouts.
"I also notice that guys tend to stay in the gym for longer periods of time because they think as long as they are working out they are going to build more muscle," he said.
Although the amount of time spent working out may be different between genders, he said that girls do ultimately have similar goals.
Haley Schumers, a senior business major from Plain City, said most people think girls just want to lose weight and get skinnier. However, as a softball player, she is always trying to get stronger.
"Guys come to get bigger," she said. "I come to get stronger."
Building strength may be an important factor to remember while working out.
Heideman said: "For women you can burn more if you do a little bit of strength training because it will make your metabolism a little higher and burn more calories while you are at rest, whereas with cardio you will burn more [calories] while you are exercising as compared to weight lifting."
However you plan your personal exercise routine, take note of the sweaty guy or girl on the next machine over because you may just learn an important lesson from him or her that you would not have thought about otherwise.
Zack Heideman, a personal trainer at the DSC fitness center, said he sees a huge difference in how the opposite genders go about getting in shape. He is at the gym at least five days a week, and he said he has noticed that guys generally focus on perfecting the upper body while women focus on the lower body.
"The only thing I see in common is the working out of abs or core muscles," he said.
Quite a few students have noticed a gender gap in the goals of working out at the gym as they observe people around them.
Dustin Higgins, a freshman undecided major from Carson City, Nev., said girls probably do a lot of toning when they come to the gym, whereas guys are always there to bulk up.
"Bulking requires less reps and a lot more weight," he said. "And toning is more reps with less weight."
Heideman agreed that most women don't want the bulk because they'd rather spend their time thinning down.
"However, this isn't effective because you want to keep the body in balance," he said. "If you only work on upper body then it will make your body become unbalanced because your upper body will get stronger than your legs."
At work, Heideman has noticed a difference between where DSC guys and girls usually head when they first walk in the door.
Cardio seems to be a hit for the women while increasing muscle mass is an incentive for the men. He said girls seem to head straight for the treadmill while guys go for the bench workouts.
"I also notice that guys tend to stay in the gym for longer periods of time because they think as long as they are working out they are going to build more muscle," he said.
Although the amount of time spent working out may be different between genders, he said that girls do ultimately have similar goals.
Haley Schumers, a senior business major from Plain City, said most people think girls just want to lose weight and get skinnier. However, as a softball player, she is always trying to get stronger.
"Guys come to get bigger," she said. "I come to get stronger."
Building strength may be an important factor to remember while working out.
Heideman said: "For women you can burn more if you do a little bit of strength training because it will make your metabolism a little higher and burn more calories while you are at rest, whereas with cardio you will burn more [calories] while you are exercising as compared to weight lifting."
However you plan your personal exercise routine, take note of the sweaty guy or girl on the next machine over because you may just learn an important lesson from him or her that you would not have thought about otherwise.
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