Female muscle building and toning. Please advise!!!?!
Question: Female muscle building and toning!. Please advise!!!!?
Im 5'7'' 155, and have a goal that I dont know how to accomplish, if its even possible
I want to drop to 140-145 pounds at my gym, and then get noticeable muscle on my arms
not the size guys have it though, but more than a typical girl does
im joining a backyard wrestling team come May, and right now, I think a soft punch or a strong gust of wind could send my face to the floor!.
Im going for a butch-ISH or very very athletic look!. Please keep opinions to yourselves!. There are many times when being strong and quick couldve come useful to me, and Im going to go get that now!.
Ive tried lifting weights, but must be doing it wrong, because nothing but pain happened!. I got a little muscle, but barely anything!.
Also I want a noticeable six pack!. Crunches didnt work- most likely because Im doing that wrong too!.
Please tell me how I should go about doing this!. My mind is made up, now I need your help!. ThankYou to any good answers! Ill rate you kindly :)Www@Answer-Health@Com
I want to drop to 140-145 pounds at my gym, and then get noticeable muscle on my arms
not the size guys have it though, but more than a typical girl does
im joining a backyard wrestling team come May, and right now, I think a soft punch or a strong gust of wind could send my face to the floor!.
Im going for a butch-ISH or very very athletic look!. Please keep opinions to yourselves!. There are many times when being strong and quick couldve come useful to me, and Im going to go get that now!.
Ive tried lifting weights, but must be doing it wrong, because nothing but pain happened!. I got a little muscle, but barely anything!.
Also I want a noticeable six pack!. Crunches didnt work- most likely because Im doing that wrong too!.
Please tell me how I should go about doing this!. My mind is made up, now I need your help!. ThankYou to any good answers! Ill rate you kindly :)Www@Answer-Health@Com
Answers:
Are you looking to get into shape for backyard wrestling by May which would include having a very very athletic look with some more size and but not as much as a guy can develop!? The first thing to do is to make sure that your habits line up with your goal and realize that this is a long term commitment!.
You should not have to worry about becoming too big because women generally have lower testosterone levels than men!.
Being strong and being quick are two separate things and they are ideally trained separately!.
For the explosive strength I would recommend dumbbell swings!. Ideally I would work up to one set of 20 reps or more!. The key is to start easy and then gradually progress!. A description of the dumbbell swing as well as the dead-lift, front squat and overhead squat may be found at: http://www!.bodybuilding!.com/fun/henkin22!.!.!. credit too Josh Henkin!.
For the heavy lifting I would recommend doing two sets of five with a weight that you could normally do ten reps to failure!. Wait 3 to 5 minutes to fully recover between sets!. The key here is to really concentrate on your lifting!. These two sets will develop strength then if you want to build some size I would add a set of 12 reps with 80% of the weight that you use for the 5 reps!. 12 reps is well established as a good rep range for mass building!.
As far as exercise selection goes I would pick three exercises to do in a day!. One upper body push, one upper body pull, and one lower body exercise from the list below!. Workout between 2-4 times a week and it is ok to vary the intensity!. Not every workout should be maximum intensity, and it is ok to work harder on a specific exercise at different workouts!.
As a beginner I would pick exercises that you like and at least one that you do not like!. Standing military press or overhead press is a good developer of upper body strength!. You can also look to do a bench press if that is what you like and another great upper body and total body exercise is the push up and I happen to like the Perfect Push-up because it makes the movement more difficult!. For upper body pulling you can do things like pull ups or seated rows or lat pull downs!. Some descriptions of the exercises may be found here: http://www2!.gsu!.edu/~wwwfit/upperbod!.htm!.!.!.
Lower body exercises can include squats or dead-lifts and front squats or overhead squats!. Overhead squats even with a broom to start develop overall body coordination and strength!. I prefer dead-lifts and either overhead squats or front squats!. Dead-lifts and back squats work the posterior chain or backside more and the front squat is more front side dominant so the two together provide a nice balance!.
I would increase the weight of the exercise a little bit with each new workout until you can not perform 5 reps in that given exercise anymore!. Then I would begin back at your original weight that you were doing for 5 reps and then increase the starting weight slightly and begin progressing again!.
For the dumbbell swings I would progress to 20 or more reps and then increase the weight!.
As for cardio recent research has shown the effectiveness of anaerobic training or interval training, although I do not cite a study this can easily be checked online!. Interval training involves brief periods of high intensity work followed by periods of low intensity work!. Such as sprinting for 100 or 200 yards at 80-90% effort and then light running or jogging for two minutes and repeating for 10-15 minutes!. The idea can be applied to most any cardio routine and one of the reasons that it works is that you are increasing your heart rate during the high intensity and then during the low intensity your heart rate remains elevated!. This type of training may be done 2-3 times a week!.
As far as diet the best advice I can give is to try to eat as healthy as possible!. This probably means eating more fruits and especially vegetables for most people!.
The thing to remember is that whatever you decide you should make sure that your actions line up with your goal, and try to think long term!. It would be good at any rate to set shorter term goals to to make sure that you are making progress!. In terms of aesthetic goals you could do a photo shoot of yourself once or twice a year, even if its just you who takes the pictures and deletes them or whatever!. Photos do not lie, and if you put things into perspective in terms of the long term you will be ahead of the curve!. For long term success you would be better doing the things that you enjoy doing because you are more likely to stick with them!. Also do not be discouraged if you take time off because that can be good too,
Sometimes just showing up is the most important thing that you can do and the point is to keep showing up over the long run!.
Good luck!Www@Answer-Health@Com
You should not have to worry about becoming too big because women generally have lower testosterone levels than men!.
Being strong and being quick are two separate things and they are ideally trained separately!.
For the explosive strength I would recommend dumbbell swings!. Ideally I would work up to one set of 20 reps or more!. The key is to start easy and then gradually progress!. A description of the dumbbell swing as well as the dead-lift, front squat and overhead squat may be found at: http://www!.bodybuilding!.com/fun/henkin22!.!.!. credit too Josh Henkin!.
For the heavy lifting I would recommend doing two sets of five with a weight that you could normally do ten reps to failure!. Wait 3 to 5 minutes to fully recover between sets!. The key here is to really concentrate on your lifting!. These two sets will develop strength then if you want to build some size I would add a set of 12 reps with 80% of the weight that you use for the 5 reps!. 12 reps is well established as a good rep range for mass building!.
As far as exercise selection goes I would pick three exercises to do in a day!. One upper body push, one upper body pull, and one lower body exercise from the list below!. Workout between 2-4 times a week and it is ok to vary the intensity!. Not every workout should be maximum intensity, and it is ok to work harder on a specific exercise at different workouts!.
As a beginner I would pick exercises that you like and at least one that you do not like!. Standing military press or overhead press is a good developer of upper body strength!. You can also look to do a bench press if that is what you like and another great upper body and total body exercise is the push up and I happen to like the Perfect Push-up because it makes the movement more difficult!. For upper body pulling you can do things like pull ups or seated rows or lat pull downs!. Some descriptions of the exercises may be found here: http://www2!.gsu!.edu/~wwwfit/upperbod!.htm!.!.!.
Lower body exercises can include squats or dead-lifts and front squats or overhead squats!. Overhead squats even with a broom to start develop overall body coordination and strength!. I prefer dead-lifts and either overhead squats or front squats!. Dead-lifts and back squats work the posterior chain or backside more and the front squat is more front side dominant so the two together provide a nice balance!.
I would increase the weight of the exercise a little bit with each new workout until you can not perform 5 reps in that given exercise anymore!. Then I would begin back at your original weight that you were doing for 5 reps and then increase the starting weight slightly and begin progressing again!.
For the dumbbell swings I would progress to 20 or more reps and then increase the weight!.
As for cardio recent research has shown the effectiveness of anaerobic training or interval training, although I do not cite a study this can easily be checked online!. Interval training involves brief periods of high intensity work followed by periods of low intensity work!. Such as sprinting for 100 or 200 yards at 80-90% effort and then light running or jogging for two minutes and repeating for 10-15 minutes!. The idea can be applied to most any cardio routine and one of the reasons that it works is that you are increasing your heart rate during the high intensity and then during the low intensity your heart rate remains elevated!. This type of training may be done 2-3 times a week!.
As far as diet the best advice I can give is to try to eat as healthy as possible!. This probably means eating more fruits and especially vegetables for most people!.
The thing to remember is that whatever you decide you should make sure that your actions line up with your goal, and try to think long term!. It would be good at any rate to set shorter term goals to to make sure that you are making progress!. In terms of aesthetic goals you could do a photo shoot of yourself once or twice a year, even if its just you who takes the pictures and deletes them or whatever!. Photos do not lie, and if you put things into perspective in terms of the long term you will be ahead of the curve!. For long term success you would be better doing the things that you enjoy doing because you are more likely to stick with them!. Also do not be discouraged if you take time off because that can be good too,
Sometimes just showing up is the most important thing that you can do and the point is to keep showing up over the long run!.
Good luck!Www@Answer-Health@Com
For a female to have visible abs, she must get her body fat below 15%!. That's the only way to do it!. So, make sure you're eating a healthy diet of not more than 1500 calories per day, with lean protein (turkey, chicken, fish,tofu, legumes eggs (limit to 3 a week!.!.!.can have double whites with one yolk), Whole grains (4 or 5 servings, measured carefully so as not to overeat), veggies (peas and corn are grains, not veggies, fruit (2-3 servings a day), skim milk (2 servings!.!.!.also can have fat free yogurt)!. Try doing a sculpting class where there are fewer repetitions with a bit lighter weights!. Crunches aren't the be-all and end-all of ab exercises!. Captain's chair (where you lift your legs up) or bicycles are better!.!.!.do a variety of ab work!. Seriously, I have had very good results at the sculpt class!. You can also still use machines if you'd like!. If you are at a gym, invest in a personal training session!. You don't need a weekly session, just perhaps one session with a trainer to get advice!. If they know your goals, they can design a program for you!. :)
Good luck!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
Good luck!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
I'm still working on my abs, BUT one that that has helped me get some serious muscle tone in my arms is lifting newspaper vending machines!.
So, if you can find something heavy in your house to lift and hold in your hands for resistance!. Resistance builds muscle!.
As for the abs, I'm sure you have to work all those abdominal muscle!. Aerobic exercise work too because it'll get those spots you might miss with just crunch varieties!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
So, if you can find something heavy in your house to lift and hold in your hands for resistance!. Resistance builds muscle!.
As for the abs, I'm sure you have to work all those abdominal muscle!. Aerobic exercise work too because it'll get those spots you might miss with just crunch varieties!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
Gaining muscle but losing weight is almost an oxymoron!. The more muscle you gain the more weight you will gain because muscle weighs more than fat!. You will need to focus on how you "look" more than how much you weigh!. What you want to do is lower your body fat percentage!. Add a decent amount of cardio to your workout in addition to weight training!.
Start eating a lot of protein!. Shakes, chicken, tuna, meat meat meat! Protein builds and helps develop muscle!.
Also find yourself a good routine!. You can find these on the internet!. Find one that will focus on the muscles you want to build!. Work on back one day, legs the next, arms the next and chest the next!. You should be working out 1 set of muscles per day and per week!. You need to do high amounts of weight that seem almost impossible to do and will make your limbs feel like jello!. No pain no gain!.
Women aren't genetically inclined to build a lot of muscle!. So keep that in mind!. Most women bodybuilders need to rely on steroids to be big!. You will get cut but not big!.
Also concentrate on drinking AT LEAST 8 glasses of water a day and take a diuretic!. Also cut out a lot of sodium from your diet!. Sodium will make you look bloated and cause you to retain a lot of water so that your muscles will not be easy to see under your skin!. This could be why you are not seeing your ab muscles!. Also eating bananas and other foods high in potassium helps with water retention!.
It's a lot of hard work!. GOOD LUCK!Www@Answer-Health@Com
Start eating a lot of protein!. Shakes, chicken, tuna, meat meat meat! Protein builds and helps develop muscle!.
Also find yourself a good routine!. You can find these on the internet!. Find one that will focus on the muscles you want to build!. Work on back one day, legs the next, arms the next and chest the next!. You should be working out 1 set of muscles per day and per week!. You need to do high amounts of weight that seem almost impossible to do and will make your limbs feel like jello!. No pain no gain!.
Women aren't genetically inclined to build a lot of muscle!. So keep that in mind!. Most women bodybuilders need to rely on steroids to be big!. You will get cut but not big!.
Also concentrate on drinking AT LEAST 8 glasses of water a day and take a diuretic!. Also cut out a lot of sodium from your diet!. Sodium will make you look bloated and cause you to retain a lot of water so that your muscles will not be easy to see under your skin!. This could be why you are not seeing your ab muscles!. Also eating bananas and other foods high in potassium helps with water retention!.
It's a lot of hard work!. GOOD LUCK!Www@Answer-Health@Com
Hi,
Well, let's dissect your question and I will try to answer it as completely as possible!.
It is VERY possible for you to drop 10 lbs yet gain muscle mass!. This is done ALL the time by people that work out!.
Lifting weights is the way to go if you are trying to get that type of body!. If you were experiencing pain when you were working out you were either a) working out with too much weight b0 working out too often c) it was the normal recovery soreness!.
First, it can take up to 11 weeks to start seeing results depending on your body type ( endomorph/mesomorph) and you have to be VERY consisitant with your workouts and also make sure not to over train!. Here is a sample workout that you could implement!.
Day 1 Chest and Shoulders - Bench Press/ Barbell Press/ Pec!. Flies!./Front Delt Raises/Side Delt Raises/ Underhand Delt Raises/Front and Rear shoulder Shurgs
Day 2 Back - Lat Pull Down/Lat Row/Hyper-extensions (or good mornings)/Lat Dumbbell Raises!.
Day 3 Legs - Leg Press/ Leg Extension/ Calf Raises/Squats
Day 4- Biceps and Triceps- Dumbbell Curls / Hammer Curls/ Preacher Curls/ Barbell Curls/ Skullcrusher tricep Curls/ tricep extension on a lat pull down bar/
All these exercises should be done 4 sets of 10 reps!. Make sure the weight is heavy enough that you strain to get the 10th rep up!.
Make sure you work your ABS EVERY DAY!. Your abs are the only muscle that should be worked out EVERY day!. Side Bends/Crunches/Leg Lifts!.
Cardio is important as well to get that "ripped look"!. Start out 3-5 times a week at 30min of moderate intensity (biking/swimming/!.!.etc!.) After 6 weeks check your cardio progress and you may need to either extend the intenstiy or frequency!.
If you are unsure about how to perform these esercises a GREAT website that shows video workout clips to make sure that you have good "form" is http://bodybuilding!.com
Make sure that when you work out you breathe correctly!. Always EXHALE on the powerstroke and inhale on the set stroke!. NEVER hold your breath
Now on to what to eat:
You want a diet rich in carbs ( for energy) and protein ( for building muscle)
Eggs, pork, lean beef, poultry, mushrooms, cottage cheest, yogurt, pasta, potatoes!.!.!.!.!.etc!.!.!. These are all good sources of either protein or carbs!. If you feel that you need a supplement, once again go to bodybuilding!.com and check out their Muscle Juice 2488!. Pound for pound it is the cheapest and highest protein content supplement on the market ( and tastes VERY good) and it has all the Essential and Non Essential Amino Acids that you will need if you are trying to hypotroph your body ( Make the muscles grow bigger)
The main thing is to stay consistant and do NOT over train!. Ovrtraining can give you signs of " tennis elbow" ( which is a soreness in your forearm from lifting too much)!. Just do the program 1ce a week, with the exception of doing ABS every day!. If you want!.!.!. On day 6 you can do a half rep/half set full body maintenance workout!. so it would be 2 sets of 5 for each exercise!.
To get rid of the soreness you could make suer to "squeeze out" your musles at the end of your workout!. ( Use your hands and physically squeeze the muscles so that the lactic acid goes closer to your body,!. and not your extremities!. Taking a multi-vitamin with an anti-oxidant will aid in relieving your body of lactic acids as well!.
Well, my fingers are gettign tired so I hope that this is enough information to get you started!. If I missed anything bodybuilding!.com has a vast forum and video workout section that is invaluable!.
I hope this helps and Best wishes!
Www@Answer-Health@Com
Well, let's dissect your question and I will try to answer it as completely as possible!.
It is VERY possible for you to drop 10 lbs yet gain muscle mass!. This is done ALL the time by people that work out!.
Lifting weights is the way to go if you are trying to get that type of body!. If you were experiencing pain when you were working out you were either a) working out with too much weight b0 working out too often c) it was the normal recovery soreness!.
First, it can take up to 11 weeks to start seeing results depending on your body type ( endomorph/mesomorph) and you have to be VERY consisitant with your workouts and also make sure not to over train!. Here is a sample workout that you could implement!.
Day 1 Chest and Shoulders - Bench Press/ Barbell Press/ Pec!. Flies!./Front Delt Raises/Side Delt Raises/ Underhand Delt Raises/Front and Rear shoulder Shurgs
Day 2 Back - Lat Pull Down/Lat Row/Hyper-extensions (or good mornings)/Lat Dumbbell Raises!.
Day 3 Legs - Leg Press/ Leg Extension/ Calf Raises/Squats
Day 4- Biceps and Triceps- Dumbbell Curls / Hammer Curls/ Preacher Curls/ Barbell Curls/ Skullcrusher tricep Curls/ tricep extension on a lat pull down bar/
All these exercises should be done 4 sets of 10 reps!. Make sure the weight is heavy enough that you strain to get the 10th rep up!.
Make sure you work your ABS EVERY DAY!. Your abs are the only muscle that should be worked out EVERY day!. Side Bends/Crunches/Leg Lifts!.
Cardio is important as well to get that "ripped look"!. Start out 3-5 times a week at 30min of moderate intensity (biking/swimming/!.!.etc!.) After 6 weeks check your cardio progress and you may need to either extend the intenstiy or frequency!.
If you are unsure about how to perform these esercises a GREAT website that shows video workout clips to make sure that you have good "form" is http://bodybuilding!.com
Make sure that when you work out you breathe correctly!. Always EXHALE on the powerstroke and inhale on the set stroke!. NEVER hold your breath
Now on to what to eat:
You want a diet rich in carbs ( for energy) and protein ( for building muscle)
Eggs, pork, lean beef, poultry, mushrooms, cottage cheest, yogurt, pasta, potatoes!.!.!.!.!.etc!.!.!. These are all good sources of either protein or carbs!. If you feel that you need a supplement, once again go to bodybuilding!.com and check out their Muscle Juice 2488!. Pound for pound it is the cheapest and highest protein content supplement on the market ( and tastes VERY good) and it has all the Essential and Non Essential Amino Acids that you will need if you are trying to hypotroph your body ( Make the muscles grow bigger)
The main thing is to stay consistant and do NOT over train!. Ovrtraining can give you signs of " tennis elbow" ( which is a soreness in your forearm from lifting too much)!. Just do the program 1ce a week, with the exception of doing ABS every day!. If you want!.!.!. On day 6 you can do a half rep/half set full body maintenance workout!. so it would be 2 sets of 5 for each exercise!.
To get rid of the soreness you could make suer to "squeeze out" your musles at the end of your workout!. ( Use your hands and physically squeeze the muscles so that the lactic acid goes closer to your body,!. and not your extremities!. Taking a multi-vitamin with an anti-oxidant will aid in relieving your body of lactic acids as well!.
Well, my fingers are gettign tired so I hope that this is enough information to get you started!. If I missed anything bodybuilding!.com has a vast forum and video workout section that is invaluable!.
I hope this helps and Best wishes!
Www@Answer-Health@Com