Why estrogen makes us weaker?

[Sad Girl]

Why does it make us weaker than we previously were pre-HRT?

[Melody Maia]

Because you lose muscle mass. Thus you get weaker.

[LordKAT]

Different types of strength. Trust me, women have a strength all their own and some of you wield it well.

[Joelene9]

Hey Girl,
  The testosterone and other androgens are there for muscle building and bone maintenence. The androsols have better calcium control of those structures which governs the size of the muscle cells and the nerve ganglia than the estriols.  Remember, you actually have LESS muscle and nerve cells, including brain, that was there shortly after you were born.  A lot of those cells die over time. Nerve cells expand by adding neurons over time with experience and knowledge, muscle cells with use. These are controlled by calcium and the calcium by the various hormones, the body's messengers. That's why adult females are usually shorter and weaker than males. (WARNING! I am not PC!)
  Keeping those muscles in use may stave off both bone (ostioporosis for one) and muscle mass losses and still look feminine. Some of the female 'gym rats' can really bulk up! This is from the use of certain strenuous excercises and a lot of protein powder shakes. Yet they don't show a hint of "Ahh-nold" when they relax their muscles.  This is at times grotesque if you ask me. We do have the shoulder size problem though.

In the 3 months I've been on HRT, I may have increased my muscle mass! Certain times of the month I take heavy pieces of equipment out in the middle of nowhere in the fall - winter evenings, stick around, and load up the truck at dawn and do it again the next night in the freeze! A couple of pieces weigh 250 lbs and has to be rolled-off and on again using a ramp, set up and later dismantled. I may tell you what I do as time passes on this forum. I've been doing this for the past 15 years. I have notice no cold sensitivity changes nor the ability to handle the gear in the 3 months of HRT.  Too much androsols in my system may have caused the low development of those muscles and the prostate problem I am having.  Too much of any of the endocrine hormones will cause that system it targets to freeze as a computer will freeze with data overload and do nothing whatsoever, with the overdose of the sugar regulating hormone insulin, death.  One reason not to overmedicate! Another is possible liver damage!

Decent amount of excercise will keep you healthy, Don't overdo it. You may even save a few bucks and need not to go to the gym. Walk, bike or even a jog around the park is enough. 
Joelene.

[pebbles]

because testosterone = anabolic steroids.

Well are basically a form of it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anabolic_steroid

"Anabolic steroids, technically known as anabolic-androgen steroids (AAS) or colloquially simply as "steroids" or "'roids", are drugs which mimic the effects of the male sex hormones testosterone and dihydrotestosterone."

Women who take steroids become stronger and turn into men. Its why on average men are stronger than women.

Or at the very least end up in the same position as pre-HRT Transwomen.

I don't understand them at all. who would put themselves in such a situation.

[Debra]

Yeah I've come to realizations that women are physically more fragile (in general). My skin got so soft that it bruises/scratches easily, my nails became brittle and break easily, and in general I lost a lot of muscle mass.

Frankly, that's been ok with me (although I started on prenatal vitamins to help with the nails and I try to participate in yoga and zumba to keep physically fit).

[Simone Louise]

Women, in general, may be weaker than men, but an active woman who exercises, whether as a leisure activity or as part of daily life, is stronger than a male couch potato. I have seen striking examples at various points in my life.

I farmed for a while. Farm women frequently perform tasks requiring strength: dealing with large animals, hay bales, etc. This was brought dramatically to my attention, when, as a 20-something office worker on vacation, I was working shoulder to shoulder with one, grabbing 60-pound bales from the field and tossing them onto a wagon. She didn't seem to be struggling; I was. In no way would she have been confused with a man.

For the past ten years, I have worked at UPS alongside women. One requirement for employment is the ability to pick up 70-pound packages. The women I work with are as strong as most of the men I know outside work, and remain feminine. And male or female, we do break nails and suffer bruises and cuts.

As with so many areas in life, it's not how much you've been given, but what you do with what you have, that is important.

S

[Nero]

So that we have someone to protect. 

[japple]

I farmed for a while. Farm women frequently perform tasks requiring strength: dealing with large animals, hay bales, etc. This was brought dramatically to my attention, when, as a 20-something office worker on vacation, I was working shoulder to shoulder with one, grabbing 60-pound bales from the field and tossing them onto a wagon.

I had the exact same experience.  I had this farm girl literal-runway-model rail thin woman over to help me clean. She brought her boyfriend and they started moving furniture up and down stairs. Her arms look like they have zero muscle but she could lift more than I could comfortably and kept at it long after I was tired.  It's so odd how deceiving female strength can be.

[FairyGirl]

So that we have someone to protect. 

omg big strong men are SOOOOOO hot! I think I need some protecting hehe

[VeryGnawty]

It's so odd how deceiving female strength can be.

Yes.  Female strength can be very deceiving.  Female muscle is more likely to be obscured by fat than male muscle, so it's not always easy to tell how much muscle they actually have.  Female muscles also tend to be more slender, which actually gives them more leverage.

Although females tend to be much smaller than males, particularly in muscle size, they can often generate more plyometric strength.  The record for the strongest weightlifter relative to total bodyweight is actually held by a female.  Although she doesn't lift as much as the guys in the big competitions do, she is stronger if you compare the weight she is lifting relative to her own weight, compared to the guys with the huge muscle.

Females are only weaker when you use "absolute strength" as a comparison.  "absolute strength" tends to favor the ability to displace a large amount of mass, but it tends to ignore other factors like speed, flexibility, leverage, and other physical factors which can affect someone's ability to manipulate the environment in a natural setting.

[Debra]

omg big strong men are SOOOOOO hot! I think I need some protecting hehe

OMG Amen!!! lol. I love when they carry me into the bedroom squeee! hehehe

It's so odd how deceiving female strength can be.

True. Before I lost the majority of my muscle mass, I was still stronger than than some of my guy friends...even the tall skinny ones. When we moved into my house...I had one side of the couch and 2 guys had the other side ROFL. Not sure if I could do that now because in the last couple months I lost A LOT....but that was after 6 months of HRT.

[Joelene9]

To update what I posted above and in my thread in the Introductions forum, I just got done replacing the fence that blew down. 1 1/2 days! Even though it was only 21' of fence, I had to redo the gate and the uneffected part as well. This job would have taken me about 3 days 3 months ago. Yesterday I noticed the fence down while retrieving the mail. I went to Home Despot, got the sacks of concrete, posts and framing lumber. I had no problem with the two-handled post hole digger, found a thin layer of ice in only one hole (north side of the house! I was placing stuff on the patch of snow). I had no problems with my strength or concentration I had in the past. I carried all of the 80 lb bags of concrete from my truck to my wheelbarrow and hand mixed the slurry then filled the hole around the placed and leveled posts.
This morning, I put up the framing on the posts, then I got all of the cedar dogear pickets I wanted plus the screws and completed it this afternoon plus the gate. I wanted to widen that gate anyway, my wheelbarrow barely cleared the opening. The lifting, head calculations and the minor adjustments went well. No swearing nor audibly cursing at myself! Ahh the smell of fresh cedar!
I kinda like the effects of the HRT thus far. I hope I don't lose this kind if strength. Now to go down to the kitchen and cook that salmon with garlic butter! I never liked garlic on my seafood, but that had changed these past 3 months. Bye.
Joelene

[Virginia]

A year plus on a full transition level regimen and I can still lug a quarter barrel up two  flights of steps from the car to the game room. At 5'10" 146 pounds, I've always been strong for a bean pole and am convinced it has more to do with mind that muscle.