PEAK TORQUE PER UNIT CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA DIFFERS BETWEEN STRENGTH-TRAINED AND UNTRAINED YOUNG-ADULTS

It is unclear whether gender differences in the relative strength of t he upper and lower body are due to differences in muscle mass distribu tion or dissimilarity of use. There is also controversy as to whether prolonged resistance training increases strength per unit cross-sectio nal area (CSA). To help resolve these questions, maximum isometric tor que per unit muscle and bone (M+B) CSA was measured in the upper arm a nd thigh of 26 trained (13 males; 13 females) and 26 untrained (13 mal es; 13 females) young adults. Muscle and bone CSA values were calculat ed from limb circumferences and skinfolds. Maximal isometric torque va lues were recorded by a LIDO isokinetic dynamometer. There was no sign ificant difference (P > 0.05) in mean upper arm or thigh torque per un it M+B CSA between the trained males and trained females, or between t he untrained males and untrained females. However, mean torque per uni t M+B CSA was significantly higher for the trained subjects of both ge nders compared with the untrained subjects of both genders for the upp er arm (28.9%; P < 0.0001) and thigh (18.8%; P < 0.0001). These result s suggest that muscle quality (peak torque/CSA) is equal between gende rs, and that the increase in muscle strength per unit area that occurs with resistance training is not gender-dependent.