Is it true that it's harder for women to build muscle than men?

"Although there is a relationship between testosterone and the amount of muscle mass we have, this doesn't determine how effectively we can build muscle with resistance training. Women have much lower testosterone levels—around 15 to 20 times lower than men."

"If you look at relative change—the percentage increase—men and women respond very similarly to training. For women, pushing body fat very low usually requires quite extreme diets and training."

"Even with training, women are likely to maintain a higher fat-to-muscle ratio than men. You can shift that balance, but pushing body fat very low usually requires quite extreme diets and training."

"At those extremes, there can be trade-offs: Very low body fat in women is associated with hormonal disruption, irregular menstrual cycles and potential impacts on fertility."

Men typically have a higher muscle-to-fat ratio than women due to puberty-related testosterone increases. Women have lower testosterone levels and a higher fat-to-muscle ratio. Both genders respond similarly to resistance training in terms of relative muscle gain. Extreme diets and training are often required for women to lower body fat significantly, which can lead to health issues like hormonal disruption. While body composition differs, gender-specific workouts are generally unnecessary for muscle building.

Read at www.theguardian.com