A Woman’s Guide to Building Muscle
I know we’ve all heard the claims or read the Instagram comments: muscular women are gross! Women shouldn’t have muscle; it makes them look too much like men! Women should be dainty and tiny and frail and should only work-out to look skinny! Blah blah blah… I’m here to tell you, this is nonsense. There is nothing more empowering than building some muscle, and I’m sure I’m not the first to tell you this but: strong IS sexy! Building muscle is totally doable, and there are plenty of reasons to tailor your fitness goals to put on some muscle mass.
Why would I want to build muscle?
First and foremost, there is nothing better than being able to open that stubborn jar all by yourself!
Similarly, if somebody can’t open their drink at the next family gathering, you can pop it open and amaze them all with your incredible strength.
Gaining upper body muscle can help you get that hourglass figure- if that’s something you’re interested in!
While it’s not something all of us are longing for (and that is totally okay!), some of us have always desired to have an hourglass figure, but nature had other plans. However, gaining upper body muscles can help your waist look smaller, giving the illusion of an hourglass figure.
You can eat more!
Okay… that might be a bit of a stretch, but the body actually burns more calories when you have an increased muscle mass! Muscle is more metabolically active than fat, meaning that it burns more calories throughout the day, even at rest.
So. Many. Health Benefits!
Building muscle and strength training has so many positive effects on your health and well-being! It decreases your risk of osteoporosis (which affects one out of every four women over the age of 65) and heart disease, improves cardiovascular function, and even improves blood chemistry.
Honestly, it’s just fun!
Gaining muscle can help you feel so confident- in and out of the gym. You can walk into any space and own it, whether it be the weight room or the conference room; you deserve to feel like you’re rockin’ it, wherever you go!
What do I need to do to start building some muscle?
Chances are, you’ve already figured out you need to do some weight-training if you want to build muscle. However, when you’re training to gain muscle, there are a couple of changes you might want to make, like focusing on…
Training consistently!
While working out only twice a week can help some ladies build muscle, it’s recommended that you plan three to five weekly workouts to see consistent results. Now, that doesn’t mean your workouts should be two hours every single day, but lifting for forty-five minutes to an hour consistently will definitely help you see some results. Try to pick set times throughout the week to work-out so that you make exercise a consistent habit! Remember, a work-out plan only works if you do!
Train different body parts!
In order to build muscle evenly, you’ll want to switch up what movements you do to target all muscle groups you want to build. If you focus on legs one day, try to focus on back work or arm work the next! If there’s a certain muscle group that you want to focus on building, you could even train it twice a week to bump up the intensity; just remember to give those muscles a rest in between workouts!
Train with intensity!
If you’re training consistently but not seeing results or breaking a sweat, you might not be training intensely enough; time to bump up the weight! If you’re weight training but you’re not feeling much of a burn, you should steadily increase the weight until it challenges you. Once that weight feels comfortable, it’s time to add some more weight on! You’d be surprised to find out how strong you actually are, trust me. You could also add on more reps, or increase your number of sets in order to make the workout more challenging; in order to build muscle, 3-5 sets of 8-15 challenging reps is a good place to start. Your workouts should be challenging; if it’s not challenging you, it’s not changing you!
Focus on compounds!
This is something that might be a little less well-known, but compound exercises, or exercises that work more than one muscle group at a time, are excellent for building all over muscle. These compound exercises include lifts like squats, deadlifts, and bench press, all of which will help you build more muscle mass- and some strength! If you supplement these compound exercises with isolation exercises, such as bicep curls, you’ll be happily on your way to building well-developed muscle groups while also looking like you own the weight room!
Protein, protein, protein!
I’m sure you’ve heard this a million times, but here it is again: you need protein to build muscle! Simply put, protein is the building block of muscle, so when you eat enough of it in combination with rigorous strength training, it promotes muscle growth. An easy recommendation to remember is that you should be eating 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight; so if you weigh 160 pounds, you should be eating 160g of protein per day. That’s the equivalent of ~3 6oz. chicken breasts a day! It’s best to reach your protein goals through your regular diet, but if you have difficulty meeting those goals, you can always supplement with protein powder; honestly, protein powders are so delicious these days, you might want to look into them regardless!
Get. Some. Sleep!
Without sleep, trying to gain muscle is pretty much impossible. Sleep helps your body recover from past workouts and prepare for the oncoming day, all while helping your body process and digest all the food you ate. Your body also produces hormones while you sleep that are critical for building muscle, so without those integral 6-8 hours (yes, 6-8, not 5! Just put your phone away and try to get some rest!), you might be ruining your progress!
Remember: it takes time!
I know, I know… easier said than done, right? Just like any physical change, building muscle takes time, patience, and a whole lotta work, but it is totally worth it and totally attainable. You might not look like the she-Hulk after a few months of training (I know, darn it!), but keep at it, and you’ll start feeling and noticing considerable changes in body composition. Remember, strong is sexy, and there is nothing better than feeling empowered!