Getting beaten by a girl in a strength test

[tjw1971]

I believe it.
There are several things in play here, really.

For one, you have two kinds of muscle fibers. The shorter ones give quick bursts of strength, but it's the longer ones that give more endurance or stamina. Women tend to have more of the longer type, as I understand it. So while they may not excel at the really heavy lifts compared to guys, they're able to do things like those wall sits longer than most guys would be able to do them.

Then, you have the (pretty well accepted by now) fact that women have more lower body strength, compared to men having more upper body strength. So while the world record type leg presses and lifts still go to guys, there are a lot of women out there who have quite a bit of natural leg strength -- at least comparable to guys who don't do a lot of leg work in the gym on a regular basis.

And lastly? While I have no real scientific proof or studies to point at for this? I've observed, consistently, over the years that women often have stronger legs than guys at doing certain type of lifts. For example? I've seen a lot of women do leg extensions with hundreds of pounds on the machines. I remember seeing several of the female swim instructors at the YMCA lifting 120-140lbs. on leg extensions, casually, like it was no big deal, when they were hanging out in the Y's gym on a Saturday after finishing teaching a class. I don't think most guys would be able to walk in to a gym and just casually do leg extensions with that much weight, like it wasn't even difficult... That's just not a leg movement you tend to do with much weight in daily life.

The leg scissors is another one of those movements where I think women tend to be stronger. Again, how often do guys even use their leg muscles in that way - unless they're in a sport like wrestling where it's called for? Women have a different shape to their pelvis and hips though, so I wonder if that gives them a natural advantage with such things?

Originally Posted by Suede_shoes

Yeah
My girlfriend is 5?10, 180, and athletic. She trounces me and every other guy I work out with when it comes to leg strength. She maxes out the hip abduction machine at our gym. She calls it ?The Lady Doctor? lol. She does three sets of 10 at 300lbs. I?m 6?3 and around 180, and I can?t budge that weight. My other friends I work out with can?t match her either. She loves it because she?s very competitive.

She also won the Wall Sit challenge at our gym with 30 minutes and 2 seconds. If you don?t know what Wall Sits are, you should look it up and try it! It?s basically holding a squatting position for as long as you can. I can do about two minutes, most people can?t do a minute. Give it a try and let me know how you do! That will give you an idea how powerful her thighs are.