"The differences across the menstrual cycle for a woman.are much less than the differences between men and women," Hunter explains. She says the menstrual cycle in fact has very little impact on a woman's performance. Hunter says that some male researchers she has met express their reluctance to study women because they are uncomfortable in dealing with menstrual cycles. This not only has big implications for sports research, but for medical research as well. She also states that women are not studied or included in research as often as men. "The reality is you get less women and less men competing in those events, so you get more of these anomalies that occur," notes Hunter. Hunter notes that women could not officially compete in marathons until the 1970s, therefore the amount of records compiled is clearly not equal. The latter method of research is not as accurate because the records of women's performances in sporting events have not been compiled as long as men's. There are two approaches to understanding the sex difference, according to Hunter: one is to bring men and women into the research laboratory to research physiology, and the other approach is to take real-world performance data and try to understand physiology based on that data. "Women on average have more fatigue resistant muscle fibers then men," says Hunter. Women's arms and lower limb muscles consistently outperform men's due to the different makeup of muscle fibers. Her research shows that while men may succeed more in endurance sports, women are less fatigue-able than men if you get them to perform a very particular exercise at the same intensity as a man. "That's just the bottom line, and it's always going to make it difficult for women to outdo men." Hunter notes that there is about a 10-12% difference in world records between men and women across the board. If women aren't competing at the same rates and the participation is less, we really won't and don't understand the true physiological sex differences and what's relevant for women. There is overlap where a lot of women can perform better than men, says Hunter, but "in terms of endurance, the maximal oxygen consumption - that capacity for men is better due to larger hearts, bigger muscle mass, more hemoglobin, and less body fat to carry." She states that overall, in most sports that require power or some type on endurance, the best men will always outperform the best women. Sandra Hunter of Marquette University's Exercise Science Program has been studying the sex differences in sports for more more than two decades - long enough to compile a great deal of data. But are these victories exceptions rather than the rule? Dr. Women have broken through to either win or set records in major endurance competitions such as ultramarathons, World's Toughest Mudder, and the Trans Am. However there have been claims made over the years that the longer an event goes - think ultra-marathon or even longer - the more advantages women have over men. Men are generally stronger and faster than women thanks to their physiology. When it comes to sports performance, things are not equal. Women have made tremendous strides in both novice and professional competitions, but the question of attaining a truly even playing field remains uncertain. The battle of the sexes has been long documented - especially in sports.
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