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History has proven that women, too, can lift the weight and look good while doing it. During the 1nineteeth century, bodybuilding women were popular in entertaining crowds. For men, bodybuilding was a sport that was quite popular, especially since the 1950s. In such contests, bikini-clad women were the curtain-raisers. That is how women started being noticed that they, too, could participate in such events.
In the current world, the pressure on women is for them to shed those extra pounds. However, some women, after losing weight, may opt to start gaining muscle and for these women, increasing lean muscle, giving them a sense of strength and perseverance. For women, gaining muscle is not as easy as it is for men since they have low testosterone levels in their bodies.
Many women have managed to maneuver and become recognized for their bodybuilding abilities. Examples of these women are Gina LA Spina. She was the first woman to gain fame as a professional bodybuilder. It was back in the 1970s. She opened doors for women all over the world to recognition for more than just simple feminine looks.
As a woman, gaining muscle is the best way to feel empowered and healthy. Having a sufficient amount of tissue increases the rate at which you burn excess body fat. Adding lean muscles also gives your body a particular aesthetic you cannot get from merely losing extra pounds.
Gaining muscle requires that you follow a specific routine. The routine guides you on the right quantity and type of food you ought to consume to achieve your goals. Also, using the right supplements and exercise routine helps in the weight gain process. The objective in gaining muscle is to do so in an away that leaves your body looking proportional. As a bodybuilding candidate, here are some pointers to help you on your journey:
Add Calories to Your Diet
Adding calories requires that you do so carefully. The way to go about it is by increasing the number of calories by 80. You keep adding them until they add up to 500. When you do it at this rate, your body is less burdened by metabolic activity and steadily gets used to processing large amounts of calories.
A sudden increase in calories causes a metabolic jam in your body. It means that your body starts storing fat instead of turning them into energy to store in body muscle. That is, once you begin to notice that instead of gaining muscle in the target region, you start to observe that you have belly and thigh fat. The goal of adding calories to your diet is to increase your metabolism gradually.
Monitor Your Consumption of Macronutrients
When you hear the word macronutrients, the first thing that should come to your mind is “major.” Macronutrients are those nutrients that form the first portion of your food. Along with tracking the number of calories you consume, you ought to take note of the number of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.
Due to misinformation, you may find women incorporating more carbohydrates than proteins and fats in their diet. It is due to the notion that carbs give you the strength to endure workout routines. Carbohydrates should indeed make up the most significant part of your plate. However, it should be in the correct proportion of proteins and fats.
When consuming macronutrients, they should preferably come from organic natural resources. These sources are nuts, root tubers, and legumes. Macronutrients that come from animal products are quite complicated, so the body takes a while to process them. Besides this, they tend to produce bonus substances that are toxic to your body after processing. That said, your plate should have them in the following percentage:
- Carbohydrates-40%
- Protein-30%
- Fat-30%
Know the Right Time to Gain Muscle
Another common misconception about the bodybuilding process is the activities to partake before starting the bodybuilding process. Most women begin by losing weight only to gain more weight that will be converted to muscle tissue afterward. The weighting process in this particular case usually is to reduce the amount of body fat.
You require to have body fat in the medium or high teens in your body as a woman for you to be termed as healthy. The worst thing about losing a high amount of fat among many women is the amount of time they take to it and the products they use as well.
When it comes to bodybuilding, it is rather challenging to know the right time to start the procedure. Your body needs to have an optimum level of fat to prevent hormonal imbalances. It is because hormones directly affect the rate at which your body builds lean muscles. The correct amount of fat helps in improving your endurance during extreme exercise routines in the course of bodybuilding.
Have an Elaborate Workout Routine?
According to a renowned bodybuilding expert, your routine should target your weakest muscles or those muscles that take time to show changes. Often these muscles are your glutes. You can, therefore, cut back on exercising other muscles of your body and focus in the glutes.
For you to be able to redirect all your energy on the weak parts, you should concentrate less on cardio workouts and more on weight lifting exercises. This way, you can reserve all your energy for the tough bodybuilding exercises. Your routine should cover all the basics that involve exercising.
Put Achievable Goals in Place
When striving to gain muscle, women often tend to attempt to lose fat as they go through the bodybuilding program. It is often too much work on your system, and therefore you should focus on getting one thing done first. Preferably have a plan that will ensure that your body has a sufficient supply of macronutrients.
According to experts, it is better to gain fat than trying to lose since you might lose more than you want and create disparities in your body. Also, give yourself time before starting to take note of the changes. Gaining muscle does not happen in the same way for all women. Be cautious of the plan that you have laid out to prevent doing yourself more harm than good.
Do Away with Diet Regimes
Bodybuilding exercise tends to take a toll on the body. Your goal is to ensure that your body has a sufficient supply of nutrients and calories. Most women perceive to have weight problems and therefore blend diet regimes with their routines. The best time to be on a diet is when you are trying to lose weight without gaining muscle.
When taking up bodybuilding exercising, the goal is to ensure that your body has enough food to supply it with energy. The calories help in repairing torn muscles to produce new stronger muscles. Consequently, when you deny your body the necessary calories, it begins to eat into itself and may cause harm to you. You don’t have to diet but watch your calorie intake.
Know Your Supplements
Female bodybuilders require specific food supplements that promote hormone production to assist in muscle building; women are naturally deficient of some compounds that are responsible for muscle growth. Particular supplements can help with that.
As you use these supplements, ensure you understand the dosage. They may fit for use but can perhaps cause some imbalances in your body if used in the wrong way. The best supplements to use in your bodybuilding course are Beta-alanine, whey protein powder, fish oil, multivitamin, and creatine.
As a female who is interested in bodybuilding, you probably visited the gym that is closest to you but then didn’t know where to start exercising. It is often a common phenomenon among first-time visitors to a gym. Most of the time, you will notice the instructor but then feel too scared to approach them since you don’t want to look bad.
Here are some tips about where to begin exercising the next time you visit the gym. It’s time for you to be independent and again and build those beautiful muscles. There are various programs you can take up to develop those muscles.
Weight Lifting Techniques for a Ripped Body
The greatest that women have when it comes to lifting weight is achieving a masculine look instead of a feminine ripped look. The good news is that unless you have a hormonal disorder, there is no way it will happen. Women have fewer testosterone levels than men, and therefore their muscle mass is less. Most of the time, some women have to include testosterone pills to achieve a ripped look.
The goal is not to look like a professional female bodybuilder; therefore, you need not worry about lifting weight. It is the first part of the bodybuilding program. Consequently, you cannot afford to miss out on it. You have to lift weight to build more muscles to process calories. You are building muscle by lifting weight, toning your body, and defining your muscle outlines.
The 12-week program
In this program, you work to develop your muscles to appear more defined, creating endurance and gaining general body strength. The program has a four-week phase.
Here are the steps to take in a bodybuilding exercise routine
Stretching Exercises
In any work out session, regardless of the goal, this is always the first step. Your stretching alerts your muscles so that they can relax to stimulate blood flow. In this step, you work for the legs, shoulders, chest, and hands without missing the calves.
Stimulation Movement for Speed and Vigor
This step requires 20 reps that you can do in intervals. The goal here is to go through this step without accumulating fatigue.
Main Movement for Muscle Firmness
In this step, you incorporate weights with rest periods. You make compound movements for five sets of 5 reps. This part should be more intense compared to support movements.
Support Work for Muscle Definition
The result so this step in your routine is the gradual definition of muscles. It is quite intense with up to 12 reps, depending on your endurance level. You can opt to do away with the weights in this step. The rest period in this step is at least two minutes long.
Control for Cardiovascular Wellness and Fat Loss
In this step, you do 20 minutes of intense work on the cardio machine of your choice. You can choose a challenge that works for you as long as it does not go below the recommended time. You have to ensure that you do the maximum amount of exercising before resting.
How to Customize Bodybuilding Routines for Yourself
The routine mentioned above is one developed by bodybuilding experts over time. If you cannot access the ready material, you can come up with your method. The good thing with this is that you customize a program that works for you best. Here are routines that make a standard self-customized program:
Compound Lifts
These are lifts that require you to involve all your muscles. They help make your muscles firm and more defined. You don’t have to do all of them at once. You can choose the one you would like to do on selected days. They help improve the functioning of your entire body.
For you to ensure that you get the most out of your program in this routine, ensure that your body has sufficient calories to help with your endurance. There are different types of compound lifts that you can choose. They include; Squats, push-ups, Lunges, Deadlift, Bench-press, push press, and pull up.
Accessory Lifts
As the name suggests, these serve as additions to compound lifts. The quantity of accessory lifts you combine with compound lifts depends on the compound lifts that you perform. They are referred to as isolation lifts. They mostly work on the parts that you would like to appear defined, for example, the biceps.
Since they are not intense, you can combine up to 3 accessory lifts with your compound lifts.
Sets and Reps
A standard set is usually in 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps. As a beginner, your first and last reps have to be similar. Avoid pushing yourself too hard to avoid injury. To improve your muscle strength, do compound movements in the range of 4-6 reps.
Rest
Thus, it refers to the time you take between sets. If you want your routine to be intense, take short rests of 30-45 seconds. If you are a first-timer, you can let your rest period be 1-2 minutes long.
Progression
For you to make change happen, you switch between your routines. It means that you do different movements every other day and every other week. After you develop endurance, you can comfortably switch between movements. As you go along, you can also reduce your rest period.
Cardio
This regimen allows you to choose the one that you find most comfortable. It comes in four options;
High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)- If you want to accelerate your body fat burning rate, then this is the option for you. You can choose your favorite cardio gym equipment to use. Your objective in this option is to make intense movements. Your movements are 030 seconds long for 20 minutes with one minute of rest.
Weight Training-In this option, you don’t have to do any cardio. However, ensure your movements are intense. The way to go about it is to minimize the amount of time you allocate for rest. That way, your pulse rate stays high, and your body uses up more energy.
Low-Intensity Steady State (LISS)-Most females prefer this option since it is not so intense but still helps burn some fats. The bad news about it is that it does not do the maximum amount of work a routine is supposed to do for you. If you are on a considerably low-carb diet, then this option is suitable for you.
Endurance Training-This option is women who don’t mind running. You can use this option to replace your lifting work. The good thing about this routine is that it helps conserve some energy and is as well as stretching routine.
Conclusion
Regardless of how you go about in the bodybuilding process, the thing that counts the most is your attitude. You may experience periods of frustration, especially when you notice slow results of your hard work. The best way to go about the bodybuilding process when you experience these setbacks is to seek professional help.
The goal of engaging in the bodybuilding routine mentioned above is to gain confidence in a male-dominated arena. Therefore, you are not happy with the results that you observe on yourself, and then you probably need to switch up on your routine. When you employ a bodybuilding program, ensure that it covers all the basics that entail fitness. It means that if it is causing you injury, leave it. It’s your journey, and you determine how it makes you feel.
