In the first-ever study of its kind, San Francisco State University and California State University, Fullerton researchers found that elite women weightlifters have the same amount—and in some cases more—of the muscle fibers needed for the sport compared to their male counterparts. These "fast twitch fibers" are especially suited to fast and powerful movements, such as those in "clean and jerk" lifts. By finding that males don't have more of the fibers, the study, published on March 27 in PLOS ONE, helps disprove a stereotype about women athletes that has persisted for years.
* This article was originally published here
