The application of science to sport: physiological profiles of male and female athletes.

Detailed physiological profiles have been established for athletes in various sports for both sexes. This paper synthesizes the results from previous studies in the areas of body composition and phsyique; muscle fiber characteristics; strength; and cardiovascular endurance capacity. Similarities and differences between male and female athletes are discussed. While there are rather substantial physiological differences between the average male and the average female, these differences are reduced considerably when comparisons are made between the highly trained male and female athlete who are competing in the same event or sport. Highly trained male and female athletes are similar in lower body strength, when expressed per unit of body weight; cardiovascular endurance capacity; body composition; and muscle fiber type. What once appeared to be dramatic biological differences in physiological function between the sexes, may, in fact, be more related to cultural and social restrictions placed on the female as she attains puberty, i.e. a sedentary lifestyle.