As much as some might argue that men and women are equal, it is simply not the truth, at least in terms of our bodies reactions to training and ability to grow and adapt. For example, testosterone is one of the key components to muscle growth and it decreases with age. Due to this fact, we must train and eat differently from women to archive the results we are after.
Bench pressing 10 pound dumbbells because your just trying to "tone" is a load of crap. Don't even waste your time going to the gym if your not going to challenge yourself, just stay home. Want to do some light cardio and a few machine exercises? That will be cute, maybe your little sister can spot you on the treadmill. Men, all that's going to get you is a waste of your time and frustration because you never see results. If you are comfortable while you are working out, your not training hard enough.
Men's bodies repond similar to strength training than women's bodies. Weight training is going to result in more pronounced muscle growth in men where in women the process is slightly less pronounce. That's why when I hear women say that don't want to lift weights because they don't want to get bulky, they are not thinking rationally. Hey, don't start laughing either big man. I can't tell you how many times I've heard the line from guys, "I just want to tone, not get too bulky". Common man...you seriously think you just lift weights one day and next week your muscles are too big? Fat Chance! First of all, if you stretch properly, not matter how much muscle you gain you will not lose flexibility and range of motion. Look at Mr. Olympia, Ronnie Coleman, the guy can do a full split and he has more muscle than all of us put together. So let me go ahead and lay that worry to rest.
Muscle mass deteriorates with age unless you take a pro-active approach to keeping it. The biggest concern for older men when working out should be maintaining the muscle mass they currently have. The only way to do this is to lift progressively heavy weight. The main reason for this is the lose of testosterone as we age. That's why it is easier for younger guys to put on muscle than men who are in their 40's, 50's, and older. Lifting progressively heavier weight while still maintaining good form is the best way to workout....period.
I would venture to say that about 90% of the guys I train or talk too have no aspirations of being ripped or having softball-size biceps, they just want their "man strength" back. "Man strength" is that strength that separates us from the opposite sex. It's the reason they always ask us to open the twist-open lids or carry the groceries. Men want that strength back that let's them say, "no honey, let me get that for you" or "yeah, don't worry I can handle it". For us as men, our strength is something that we can take pride in and gives us a sense of confidence in all aspects of our lives. There are millions of American men that rely on their strength to provide for their families through hard manual labor. The satisfaction that comes from a long days manually working your tail off hauling concrete, or hauling logs, or driving railroad spikes is something that us as men can really appreciate.
It's not that we are better than women or they are better than us, we just think different and are driven by different means. Equality is great and all but let's get real here, we can't all be treated the same because we are not all the same. We simply don't have interest in the same hobbies and are not inspired by the same goals (generally speaking). Women want to go shopping...that's great...leave me on the sofa with a cold beer and football on the big screen and I'm loving life. While most women I know love little cats...personally I'd rather be caught dead than have a cat. Me? I'll take the dog that compares in size to a new born horse. I mean I'm all for cats, but only because they give my dog something to case after, but you know maybe that's just me.
