Do Women Build Muscles?

Bodybuilding isn’t restricted to the male gender, as more women have been actively involved in workout sessions lately. Muscle building helps to retain your muscle tone and strengthen your muscles. Women can build their muscles without becoming too muscular. Unlike men, you should normally not have high testosterone levels to support muscle development. So if you are undergoing some serious muscle exercise, you need to do it in such a way that you don’t become more muscular than you set out to be.

10 Ways Women Can Moderately Build Muscles

Follow a Daily Routine of Strength Training

Building your muscles will require you to undergo a strength training, and this should be a regular task for you. You may begin with weight lifting using barbells, weight plates or dumbbells. Such training will improve your strength and stamina. It will surely cause incidents of wear and tear for your muscles, then the muscles will work towards being rebuilt after some days, becoming stronger and tougher. This is why you will need adequate rest after each exercise.
Here’s a sample routine of strength training you can embark on.

• First Day

Work on your legs with some dumbbell lunges, goblet plie squat, leg press, barbell split squats, weighted walking lunges, barbell hip thrust, and TRX squats: 3 sets of 12 reps each

• Third Day

Exercise for your triceps and chest such as push-ups, chest dips, chest fly, planks, side planks, incline dumbbell press, bent over row, resistance band tricep extension and dumbbell overhead press: 3 sets of 12 reps each.

• Fifth Day

Traps And shoulders barbell row, plank, front raises, lateral raises, machine shoulder press, lat row, lat press, low cable face pull, overhead barbell press, dumbbell shrug, and one arm rear delt raises, 4 sets of 7 reps each.

• Seventh Day

Exercise for biceps and back with hammer curl, standing T-bar row, close grip pulldown, bicep push up, barbell curl, bicep push-ups, biceps curl, single-arm dumbbell row, and plank up and down: 3 sets of 12 reps each.
You need adequate rest after each exercise period, so you are advised to workout in an alternating sequence. Make sure your physical exercises are dynamic in order to achieve a strong, balanced and toned body.

Improve the Quality of your Workout Sessions with HIIT

High-Intensity Interval Training can also help you to achieve a properly shaped physique. Include HIIT in your personal exercise ritual. This training procedure involves quick and timely movements for a duration of thirty seconds and ten seconds of recess in between each set.
High-Intensity Interval Training works on your fast-twitch tissue fibers. It is crucial for building tough fibers of your muscles through training which stamina workouts and long duration drills such as long walks and jogging may not do because the latter focus on slow-twitch muscle fibers.
Some High-Intensity Interval Training exercises include leg ins and outs, squat jumps, side jackknife, Russian twist, burpees, jumping lunges, high knees, crunches, battle rope, sit-ups, alternate straight leg kicks, and rope jumping.

Exceed Yourself

For each exercise, there’s always a starting point or target; you then improve by increasing your target. Give yourself that extra nudge to do better and faster than you did before. You should know that if you dwell on the same quality of training as you began, there will be no improvement. You must keep practicing with greater exactness and ability. This will also help you to get used to the exercises. You will only experience reasonable progress if you raise the level of difficulty in your training.

Get Adequate Sleep

You will be doing your body some harm if you deny yourself enough sleep. You need at least 7 hours of sleep for your body to recuperate from the day’s work and training. This also wards off fatigue. Prioritize your bedtime. You can also have quick power naps between 30 minutes and 1 hour during the day.

Maintain a Healthy Sleep Routine

Always go to bed and wake up early; this is the best sleep routine for you as you train for a great body. This is a simple but very beneficial aspect of your lifestyle, it will train your body to adapt to a definite timeframe for rest.

Speak with an Expert

Personal trainers can be instrumental in your bodybuilding journey; get yourself one. They can offer insightful tips and proper routines for you to follow. Having a dietitian and a physician to ask important questions are equally necessary. They will provide you with professional advice and alert you of health hazards.

Rest

Your body is not a machine, and even machines have cooling time. You must make out some time to recover from the stress and fatigue which follow physical exercise. When you have enough rest, you experience a quick revitalization and recovery for your muscles which may be sore or worn out. Injuries come along more often if you don’t have enough rest after every body-building training you undergo. You should have daily rest intervals without exerting your body too frequently, neither should you lift weights every day.

Meditate Often

Take some time out to work with your mind in order to develop and nurture the discipline needed to remain focused on your athletic lifestyle. Make out some time daily, preferably a fixed time, to meditate.

Ride with Positivism

Relate better with people who motivate you to stay on track and keep going. You will need all the encouragement around to be pumped to hit the gym as scheduled. Those who are optimistic and inspiring provide a much needed positive energy. You might also want to make friends with disciplined athletes.

Maintain a Healthy Diet

The type of food you consume is as important as your workout sessions. If you don’t eat enough, or you fail to follow a proper bodybuilding diet, the many exercises you undergo will become a waste. Here are some diet guidelines you may follow.

6 Diet Tips for Healthy Workouts

Eat Protein

Your muscles consist of several proteins, and physical exercises stress these muscles, making them lose their protein content. Your body will be needing enough protein after you lift heavy weights for some time, so include protein-rich foods in your diet, in order to replenish the proteins in your muscles.
Some eggs, beans, beef, chicken, nuts, soy chunks, and fish added to your meals will be a rich source of protein in your diet. A protein-based diet works toward repairing and building up the muscles in your body.

Have Pre-Workout And Post-Workout Meals

Eating well as you practice bodybuilding is vital. Pre-workout meals fuel your body in preparation for each exercise, while the post-workout meals will recover lost energy and rebuild worn-out muscles after some time.
So it is advisable to consume a pre-workout meal that is rich in carbohydrates and some protein because of the energy-demanding exercises you are about to partake in. A post-workout diet should be based on protein, vitamins, and water. After lifting heavy weights and exhausting yourself, your body will be in general need of water, and your muscles will need the protein to repair or rebuild.

Consume Healthy Fats in Limited Amounts

Everybody needs some type of fats in their body, and these healthy fats are present in fish, ghee, seeds, nuts, avocado, among other meals which are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and are healthy for your heart and great at mitigating inflammation in the muscles. These healthy oils are also sources of vitamin E which is responsible for flushing toxins out of the body. It also enables your body to recover from physical stress.

Eat Healthy Carbs in Right Proportions

Your body needs carbohydrates a lot, but not in excess. Try to consume only high-quality carbs which are rich in fiber such as whole grains, fruits, and veggies. These high-fiber meals will empower your body with dietary fiber and vitamins to keep you healthy.

Draw Support from Supplements

Supplements are an effective way of giving your body the nourishment you may not be getting from the food you eat.
Before taking any supplement, ensure you speak with your doctor. You may also consult a Registered Dietitian to better understand these supplements and their relationship with the food you eat.

Abstain from Alcohol

When aspiring to have that perfect body shape, you need to abstain from alcohol. Alcohol is processed as extra calories in our body; that means you automatically boost your chances of weight gain even as you work toward weight loss. Excess alcohol in your body drains your energy quickly and reduces your stamina significantly. If you must, a glass of wine once or twice weekly.