For ladies, this will come as no surprise. But now scientists have confirmed that women really do have more endurance than men.
While men can complete running races much faster, women have more staying power – meaning that in extreme events, it’s the girls that come out on top.
The Canadian research has revealed that females are considerably less exhausted after natural, dynamic muscle exercises than their male counterparts.
For the study, Brian Dalton, a professor of neurophysiology at the University of British Columbia, asked nine women and eight men to perform calf raises.
Both sexes performed equally well at the beginning of the test – but fatigue set in earlier for the men.
And after 200 repetitions, the strength of the males fell 15 per cent more than the women. Professor Dalton concluded: ‘The answer is pretty definitive: women can outlast men by a wide margin.
‘So even though they can’t hit the same maximum capacity for strength or power, they are able to perform a task much longer.’
While only one isolated muscle group was studied, the academic said he would expect similar results for others. And on women performing well in ultra-marathons – which are races longer than the standard 26.2-mile marathon – he said: ‘Males may complete them faster but females are considerably less tired by the end. If ever an ultra-ultra-marathon is developed, women may well dominate in that arena.’
It adds to a growing body of evidence that women are better at endurance events.
Last year US cyclist Lael Wilcox became the first woman to win the Trans Am, a 4,300-mile race, taking her just over 18 days. And women runners also won five US ultra marathons, with 42-year-old Caroline Boller setting a record at the Brazos Bend 50-mile trail race in Texas.
© Daily Mail