LESSON

3 EXERCISE PERFORMANCE
3 HOURS

Exercise plan or work-out plan is not a one size fits all thing. The way your body reacts to exercise
may depend how much you exercise, your diet and your biological make-up, specifically your body
type and gender.

1. Discuss how a person’s physical structure and gender affects one’s exercise performance.
2. Recommend appropriate exercise in accordance with one’s body type or gender
3. Determine one’s body type
4. Craft an exercise plan
5. Identify ways to encourage diverse gender to participate in aerobics and other fitness exercise

Instruction: Draw a simple illustration of how you describe your body type and gender.
Have you ever started an exercise plan and yet don’t see any improvement? This module aims to
let you understand what your missing. This will tackle the different body types and how your
gender affects your exercise performance.

BODY TYPES AND EXERCISE

William H. Sheldon, PhD, MD, introduced the concept of body types, or somatotypes, in the
1940s. Since then, nutritionists, exercise physiologists, and even doctors have used it to help
design effective, individualized fitness plans. The gist is that everyone falls, though not altogether
neatly, into the three categories below. Keep in mind that these are generalizations, and that most
of us have characteristics of two or even all three somatotypes.

Somatotype, human body shape and physique type. The term somatotype is used in the

system of classification of human physical types developed by U.S. psychologist W.H. Sheldon. In
Sheldon’s system, human beings can be classified as to body build in terms of three extreme body
types: endomorphic, or round, fat type; mesomorphic, or muscular type; and ectomorphic, or slim,
linear type. 

People are born with an inherited body type based on skeletal frame and body composition.
Most people are unique combinations of the three body types: ectomorph, mesomorph, and
endomorph.
ENDOMORPH, a human physical type (somatotype) tending toward roundness, as determined by
the physique-classification system developed by American psychologist W.H. Sheldon. The
extreme endomorph has a body as nearly globular as humanly possible; he has a round head, a
large, round abdomen, large internal organs relative to his size, rather short arms and legs with fat
upper arms and thighs, but slender wrists and ankles. Under normal conditions the endormorphic
individual has a great deal of body fat, but he is not simply a fat person; if starved, he remains an
endomorph, only thinner.

MESOMORPH, a human physical type (somatotype) that is marked by greater than average
muscular development, as determined by the physique-classification system developed by
American psychologist W.H. Sheldon. Although the Sheldon system of classification does not make
absolute distinctions between types, a person is classed as a mesomorph if mesomorphy
predominates over endomorphy and ectomorphy in his body build. The extreme mesomorph has
a square, massive head; broad, muscular chest and shoulders; a large heart; heavily muscled arms
and legs; and minimal body fat. He tends to develop muscle easily. His muscular development can
usually be distinguished from that of one who has developed his muscles through body-building
exercises.

ECTOMORPH, a human physical type (somatotype) tending toward linearity, as determined by the
physique-classification system developed by the American psychologist W.H. Sheldon. Although
classification by the Sheldon system is not absolute, a person is classed as an ectomorph if
ectomorphy predominates over endomorphy and mesomorphy in his body build. The extreme
ectomorph has a thin face with high forehead and receding chin; narrow chest and abdomen; a
narrow heart; rather long, thin arms and legs; little body fat and little muscle; but a
large skin surface and a large nervous system. If well fed, he does not gain weight easily; if he
becomes fat, he is still considered an ectomorph, only overweight. 

GENDER AND EXERCISE PERFORMANCE

PHYSICAL AND BIOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES

Several physical characteristics of postpubescent males predispose them to outperform
females in sports that require strength, power, and speed. Adult males tend to be taller with
longer limbs. The breadth of their shoulders allows for more muscle on a larger shoulder girdle,
the main contributor to postpubescent males' advantage in upper-body strength. Adult males
have more overall muscle mass and less body fat than females, even in trained samples. Male
athletes average 4% to 12% body fat compared to 12% to 23% in female athletes. Males develop
larger skeletal muscles, as well as larger hearts and lungs and a greater number of red blood cells
(which absorb oxygen for an aerobic advantage). Without question, males and females differ on
several physical characteristics that influence sport performance. But what about the gender
differences that appear before puberty, when the physical differences between males and females
are still very small?

MOTIVATION
On a study on Gender Difference and Motivation for performing physical exercise among
adults it has found out that, Females exhibit lower levels of physical exercise performance than
males. It seems that gender factor motivates people differently, in performing regular exercise.
Our objective was to determine the relationship between 21 motivating reasons for performing
physical exercise and genders. We found that males showed significantly higher means score in
two motivating reasons; to have a positive effect on the sex life (4.18±1.01, p<0.001) and more
energy to go about the daily chores (4.62± .63, p= 0.027). No significant gender difference in the
mean score for the other 19 motivating reasons. Conclusion: Both sexes were almost equally
motivated in performing physical exercises.

Church et al. (2009) found that women who exercised did not lose significantly more
weight than women who did not exercise. In light of these findings, it is reasonable to suspect that
if one exercises for weight loss and this motive is not fulfilled, the effects of exercise on quality of
life may be different than if one were exercising for an alternative motive such as health reasons
and improved health is attained. 

Specifically, male exercisers are more likely to report that they exercise for social and
competitive reasons (Markland & Hardy, 1993; Silberstein, et al., 1988), whereas female exercisers
are more likely to report exercising for appearance reasons such as to lose weight or to maintain
weight loss (Crawford & Eklund, 1994; Furman, Badmin & Sneade, 2002; Hsiao & Thayer,
1998; McDonald & Thompson, 1992; Prichard & Tiggemann, 2005; Strelan, Mehaffey &
Tiggemann, 2003; Tiggemann & Williamson, 2000). Given these gender differences in reasons for
exercise, it is plausible that men and women may experience different benefits from exercise
resultant from their exercise attributions.

EXERCISE HABITS
Men and women report different exercise habits and reasons for exercise. Given that
quality of life is affected by exercise habits and reasons for exercise, the present study explored
gender differences among these variables. Participants reported quality of life, exercise habits,
and motives. Results revealed that women (n = 108) reported significantly higher exercise and
quality of life levels than men (n = 72). Women reported exercising for weight loss and toning
more than men, whereas men reported exercising for enjoyment more than women. Reasons for
exercise predicted quality of life for women over exercise. For men, exercise was the best
predictor of quality of life. Ultimately, exercise is not beneficial for a woman's quality of life under
all conditions.

Lustyk et al. (2004) found that women engaging in regular, low-intensity activity report
higher self-esteem and quality of life when compared to women engaging in regular, high-
intensity activity. Similarly, men show higher self esteem and psychological well-being with higher
levels of exercise, while women, especially young women (mean age was 18 years), report lower
levels of self esteem the more they report exercising (Tiggemann & Williamson, 2000). While
exercise habits may be associated with quality of life and psychological well-being, one exercise
prescription in particular that has been called into question is exercise for weight loss.
PERCEPTION OF RISK DURING EXERCISE
By understanding students’ exercise preferences and the perceived risks associated with
certain exercise activities, an institution’s recreation center can minimize these barriers to
increase usage and safety perceptions.

Overall, results of a certain study demonstrated a difference between workout behaviors

and perceived risk between male and female college students. Men tended to participate in
exercise more per week with their preferred activity being free weights while women favored the
cardiovascular equipment. Males perceived a lack of knowledge of the equipment or the exercise
to be an indicator of injury risk. Additionally, males received more training on the use of free
weights when compared to their female counterparts. Those that exercises and felt unsafe in the
recreation center due to no or little experience with the different areas, chose to use the cardio
machines. With most of the participants choosing to use the cardio machines being female, this
supports other research that shows that voluntary risk-taking practices are intertwined with
gender. Furthermore, previous research also suggests that risk is an integral component to the
perception of masculinity. Lastly, this study identified that females identified less supervision in
the recreation center, which could also contribute to the feeling of increased risk and the feeling
of being unsafe.