How to Body Build for Women
Bodybuilding is beneficial to your physique and also reduces your risk of developing health complications such as osteoporosis or heart disease. Weight training should start out with short sessions that progress into workouts with increased weight or repetitions. A healthy diet that has a balanced ratio of protein, carbohydrates and fat also is a must, according to James Villepigue and Hugo Rivera, authors of "The Body Sculpting Bible for Women," 2006. While it is impossible to build as much muscle mass as men due to the lack of testosterone in your body, you can still firm your body and create a cellulite-free look.
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Things You'll Need
- Whey protein
- Comfortable workout clothing
- Water bottle (1 liter)
- Gym membership
Instructions
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Eat balanced meals. Depriving your body of necessary nutrients such as carbohydrates can cause ketosis, a temporary state of starvation. Although you lose water weight, your body eventually adjusts to the lack. Your muscles will begin to feel flat and you can suffer joint pain. Your diet should consist of starchy and fibrous complex carbohydrates, found in oatmeal, potatoes, plain pasta, yams, whole-wheat bread, asparagus, broccoli, green beans, celery, mushrooms, lettuce and peppers.
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Eat just as much as you can burn off. When you eat more than you can burn off, your body turns the calories into stored fat. Eat small meals five to six times a day at 2 1/2 to 3 hour intervals. Eat fatty fish such as salmon, trout, anchovies, mackerel and albacore tuna to get your daily requirement of protein. You need 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. Small amounts of protein can be found in dairy products, nuts, eggs and vegetables.
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Work out for no more than 60 minutes. Working out for longer than 60 minutes lowers your fat-burning and muscle-building hormone levels. Stored carbohydrates, which are used as fuel, become depleted. This makes working out harder on your body and can cause overtraining. Overtraining is a condition that causes you body to recover slowly from intense workouts and can lead to loss of muscle mass and strength.
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Switch up your techniques. By varying your workouts you prevent your muscles from getting used to certain exercises. You should change your repetitions or the length of rest time between sets, which helps stimulate the muscle. Villepigue and Rivera recommend that variation should be included every two weeks to guarantee continuous gain in strength.
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Focus mostly on free weight exercises. Machines decrease the amount of work your muscles have to do while exercising. Wide-grip pull-ups incline bench presses and barbell squats are basic exercises that will help you start building muscle in your back, chest and thighs. Stiff-legged deadlifts help target your hamstrings, while dumbbell curls and barbell extensions help strengthen your biceps and triceps. Basic crunches, leg raises and V-ups help build your abdominal muscles.
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Use whey protein supplements. Whey protein can be used to achieve your daily requirement of protein by replacing meals, but should not be used as your only source of protein. Follow the package's directions carefully to avoid misuse.
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Tips & Warnings
Request a personal trainer at your gym if you are unsure about use of the free weights.
Talk to your dietitian to determine the best diet plan for you.
