Study Finds Men’s Workouts Are Less Effective Than Women’s

Fellas, it’s time to step up your workout game — at least if preserving your health and improving your longevity is the goal. Women may have to work harder to break the glass ceiling in the workplace, but when it comes to exercise, they get twice the results with half the effort. 

It’s not all bad news, however. You now have the perfect excuse to spend more time on healthy leisure at the gym. What should you know, and how much exercise do you need, based on your sex?

The new research may surprise you but also lend insight into how to make your current habits more effective.

What the Research Found 

According to the World Health Organization, the average person needs at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week to preserve good health. Researchers wanted to know if men and women achieved similar benefits. They investigated over 400,000 results of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Health Interview Survey between 1997 and 2017 to gauge the comparative health perks for males and females.

Crucial findings from their research include the following:

• Women who engaged in regular leisure-time physical activity lowered their risk of all-cause mortality by 24%. Men who did the same decreased their risk by only 15%.
• Men derived the greatest survival benefit from 300 minutes per week of cardiovascular activity, whereas women only required 140 minutes for the same result.
• Women who engaged in muscle-strengthening activities reduced their mortality risk by 19%, while men who did the same decreased it by 11%.

In essence, men have to perform twice the amount of exercise as women to achieve similar results. That’s bad news if you’re a dedicated couch spud but excellent if you are a die-hard gym rat — or simply seek an excuse to sneak out of laundry duty a little early.

Should There Be Different Exercise Standards for Men and Women? 

That’s not to say you should substitute gym time for every chore. Women still spend twice the amount of time on unpaid labor such as cleaning house and raising kids as men. However, it should be a relief for the ladies that they get a break on treadmill time.

The study begs the question of whether there should be different exercise standards for men and women. Perhaps in time, leading health authorities such as the WHO and CDC will issue new guidelines. In the meantime, men should strive to stay at the upper end of the current guides by indulging in at least 300 minutes of moderate activity weekly, which need not all take place at the gym.

5 Ways Men Can Meet Their Weekly Exercise Needs

If you work and raise a family, exercising for 300 minutes — which breaks down to a full hour per day, five days per week — can seem overwhelming. However, men can use the following five tips to meet their quota without feeling swamped, with or without a gym membership.

1. Master a Few Bodyweight Moves 

It doesn’t take long to get good at moves like burpees, pushups and squats, which you can do right in your living room. Make it a game. When ads come on while watching TV or streaming, alternate a few bodyweight moves with cardiovascular activities like jumping jacks for a quick HIIT workout.

2. Pick Up Some Resistance Bands

Resistance bands are the ultimate in-home exercise equipment because they’re inexpensive and slide under your couch for easy storage. Additionally, you can take them on the road if you frequently travel for business and don’t always book hotels with fitness centers. Many sets come with instructional videos, or you can use YouTube to find band variations for bicep curls, tricep extensions and lat pulldowns.

3. Walk or Bike It

How often do you get a chance to lengthen your life span while saving the planet? Only every time you run an errand. Walking or biking to the store provides cardio and burns calories — not fossil fuels — and the right bags and baskets carry your groceries home.

Are you a parent? Teach your little ones the joy of movement by walking or biking to school with them instead of idling in the parent pick-up line.

4. Help With the Housework 

You knew you weren’t getting out of chores that easily, right? While you can sneak off to the gym on occasion, you can also burn up to 500 calories scrubbing toilets, vacuuming Cheerios out of couch cushions and dusting ceiling fans. Furthermore, you keep your relationship healthier by doing your share, and studies show being happily married also increases your life span.

5. Choose Active Recreational Activities 

Should you watch a movie this weekend or go hiking? If your goal is increasing your longevity, the answer is obvious. Of course, you can also save the flick for after your trek, but the point is to get in the habit of choosing active recreational activities.

It might take the form of joining a gym with your spouse so you can push each other or help one another overcome insecurities. It may also mean doing so separately if you and your partner prefer a little “me” time. However, it can look like participating in the following each week: 

• Bowling 
• Golf — including hitting the driving range
• Hiking 
• Bouldering
• Gardening 
• Hunting and fishing — assuming you walk to the tree stand or hole
• Camping 
• Woodworking 
• Rebuilding cars

Exercise Guidelines and Improving Longevity for Men

As it turns out, men have to put in a little more exercise to get the same longevity benefits as women. However, they can embrace this as a chance to improve their lifestyle, seize more leisure time and make it active with movement that betters their overall health.