Many women are often hesitant to lift weights, thinking that it will make them bulky or masculine. However, the truth is that building muscle is essential for achieving a strong, toned, and healthy physique.
In this guide, we will discuss how to build muscle as a woman, including a 5-day workout split and important nutrition tips.
The Importance of Building Muscle
Building muscle has numerous benefits for women, including increasing strength and endurance, improving overall health, and enhancing physical appearance. Moreover, the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn, even at rest. This means that building muscle can help you achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
Eating Enough Food
One of the most crucial aspects of building muscle is eating enough food. Many women are afraid of eating more, thinking that it will cause them to gain fat. However, building muscle requires a calorie surplus, which means that you need to consume more calories than you burn. This is because your body needs energy to build and repair muscle tissue.
While it's essential to consume more calories, it's equally important to eat nutritious foods that support muscle growth. Aim to eat a diet rich in protein, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats. Some excellent sources of protein include lean meats, eggs, tofu, and legumes. For complex carbohydrates, choose whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. Healthy fats can be found in foods such as avocados, nuts, and seeds.
Remember, when you eventually enter a fat loss phase, the goal is to hold onto as much muscle as possible, and having a solid foundation of muscle makes this much easier.
How to calculate your maintenance calories:
370 + (21.6 x lean mass in Kg) x Activity Factor =
Activity factor guide:
Sedentary : x 1.2 (little or no exercise, desk job)
Lightly Active : x 1.35 (Light exercise/sports 1-3 a week)
Moderately Active: x 1.5 (Moderate exercise/sports 3-5 day a week)
Very Active: x 1.7 (Hard exercise/sports 6-7days a week)
Extremely Active: x 1.9 (Hard daily exercise and physical job)
Example: (I will work on an activity level of moderately active (x 1.5)
370 + (21.6 x 55.98) x 1.5 = 2183 Maintenance calories
Start at maintenance and as you progress you can slowly add calories. Remember, you might not need that much of a surplus to build muscle. Being in a 200-500 calorie surplus is more than enough to build sufficient muscle and avoid gaining unnecessary fat.
Workout Split Sample:
When it comes to workouts, you'll want to focus on exercises that target multiple muscle groups, such as hip thrusts, squats, bench presses and shoulder presses.
These exercises allow you to lift heavier weights and stimulate more muscle fibers, leading to better muscle growth.
Additionally, it's important to vary the volume and intensity of your workouts. Women can generally handle more volume than men, meaning they can do more sets and reps per workout. Intensity, on the other hand, refers to the weight lifted during an exercise.
For muscle growth, it's important to lift weights that are challenging but still allow you to maintain good form.
Here's a sample 5-day workout split:
Day 1: Lower Body (Squats, Deadlifts, Lunges)
Day 2: Upper Body (Bench Press, Rows, Pull-Ups)
Day 3: Rest Day
Day 4: Full-Body (Hip Thrusts, Push Press, Pull-Ups, Planks)
Day 5: Lower Body (Step-Ups, Glute Bridges, Leg Press)
Day 6: Upper Body (Overhead Press, Lat Pulldowns, Dumbbell Flyes)
Day 7: Rest Day
Rest Days:
Rest days are just as important as workout days when it comes to building muscle. Your muscles need time to recover and repair after a workout, which is when they grow stronger.
Aim to take at least one or two rest days per week, depending on your fitness level and how intense your workouts are.
When in a Fat Loss Phase:
If you're already relatively lean and want to enter a fat loss phase, it's crucial to have a good foundation of muscle. This is because the longer you're in a fat loss phase and the bigger the calorie deficit you create, the more muscle loss will occur. By having a good foundation of muscle, you can help preserve your muscle mass and prevent your metabolism from slowing down.
In Conclusion:
- Building muscle as a woman is essential for achieving a strong, healthy, and toned physique.
- Don't be afraid to eat enough food and lift heavy weights to build muscle.
- The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn, and the easier it is to maintain a healthy weight.
- With a progressive workout plan and nutrition tips provided in this guide, you can start building muscle and achieve your fitness goals.
Don’t know where to start?
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