Building Muscle - Women

The Same Object as the Men, But a Different Approach

There is no other sport in the world where so much time and effort is spent on preparation for contests as bodybuilding. Yes, bodybuilding is a sport. The sport side of bodybuilding is the intense training that goes into building musclewomen and musclemen.

It takes a tremendous effort to build a body that is fit for showing. The perfection of the body is the common goal of building either men’s or women’s bodies, but the approach has to be different because of the differences in their anatomy and metabolism.

The female body is not capable of developing the massiveness of the male body without chemical assistance. The exercises and natural diet of male bodybuilders produce different results in women.

Musclewomen still lift weights, they eat high-protein meals and they take natural supplements. Their bodies respond with great conditioning, defined musculature and even a “six-pack”, but without the muscle size of their male counterparts.

Bodybuilding for women has gone through a number of phases. In the early days a smooth, shapely figure was the goal. Then came massive muscular development spurred by the use of anabolic steroids and male growth hormones. Some of the female bodybuilders became so huge and muscular that they looked like men.

Currently, the emphasis has returned to a more natural look for women bodybuilders. They perform a lot of resistance exercises that give them definition and muscularity, but they still retain their femininity (think Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2).

Building a musclewoman begins with weight and resistance training. Every muscle group of the body is worked to complete exhaustion at least once a week. But women’s bodies are much different than men’s and their upper and lower body shapeliness requires different exercises.

More emphasis is placed on hip flexors, adductor and abductor muscles in the inner and outer thighs. Squats and thigh-biceps curls work the quadriceps and hamstrings, while calf raises finish the lower body.

For the upper body, women work their chest muscles with barbell or machine presses, dumbbell or machine flies, shoulder presses and arm work.

The arms are pumped with barbell and dumbbell curls, triceps press-downs and French presses on the bench. An advanced female bodybuilder will lift an impressive amount of weight in every workout.

Nutrition is the complementary side of the program for building musclewomen. A diet with about 25% of the calories coming from protein, 40% coming from complex carbohydrates and the rest from fats and fiber is used to rebuild the tissue damaged by intense workouts.

Dietary supplements should also be taken: Protein powder mixed with raw milk, amino acids to help with fat burning and protein metabolizing. A lot of eggs should be eaten for the best source of useable protein.

Soluble oil like wheat germ oil should be ingested for energy and endurance, kelp and desiccated liver tablets for a concentrated protein boost.

Competition is the final aspect of women’s bodybuilding. As women’s bodies are different to men’s, they are also displayed differently for the most part. While they do adopt some of the “male” poses, like flexing the arms, shoulders and back, women’s bodybuilding poses are typically more graceful and intended to show the highly developed female body at its best.

In short, building a musclewoman is a lot like building a muscleman, but the approach is a little different to take into account women’s form and metabolism. The results, however, are just as impressive as mens’!

Bodybuilding Chest Workout

The chest muscle group, the pectoralis major, is the largest muscle group in the upper body. As such, the chest requires a great many very specific exercises to work the upper, lower and inner pecs. A good looking chest really sets off the appearance of a physique.

Even beginning bodybuilders are aware that in order to build muscle, you have to tear it down with exercise and rebuild it with a high-protein diet. A bodybuilding diet should be at least 25% protein and 40% natural, unrefined carbohydrates, with the balance being in fats and fibers.

The bodybuilding chest workout should be the total focus of one workout per week. Other muscles will get worked in this routine, but only as incidental to the chest exercises. The exercises will involve barbells, dumbbells and body-resistance moves.

The exercises should be performed in the order of descending strength of the muscle parts. In other words, begin with the exercise for which you use the heaviest poundage. Then work down the ladder from there.

Most chest bodybuilding exercises will be three sets of eight to ten repetitions each for an intermediate level bodybuilder. An advanced exerciser should consider raising that to five sets of six to eight reps with heavier weights.

Bench Press, with Barbell, Wide-grip

Lie flat on the bench with your feet planted flat and squarely on the floor. Grip the bar at about double shoulder width. Lower the barbell to your upper chest-lower neck region, pause, and return to overhead.

Begin with a one set as a warm-up with a moderate weight. Perform the next sets with the maximum weight you can handle for eight to ten repetitions.

Make each movement slow and smooth and pause at full contraction. Do not bounce the weight on your chest. Do not arch your back or lift your buttocks off the bench as this will place strain on you lower neck and could cause injury.

Front Barbell Raise, Incline

Using an incline bench and a lighter weight barbell, begin with the barbell grasped palms down and your arms facing straight down. Raise the weight smoothly overhead, continuing until your arms are extended behind your head.

Dumbbell Flies, Flat Bench

Using two moderately heavy dumbbells and lying supine, begin with the dumbbells held straight up. Lower them smoothly while bending your arms slightly at the elbow. The finish point should be with your arms parallel with the floor. Don’t hyperextend your shoulder joints.

Incline Press with Barbell, Wide-Grip

Using an incline bench, begin with the barbell straight overhead. Lower the weight to your upper chest-lower neck area. Use a weight that exhausts your muscles at eight to ten reps.

Decline Press with Barbell, Wide-Grip

Using a decline bench, begin with your arms perpendicular to the floor. Lower the weight slowly to the neck and perform eight to ten reps.

Flat Bench Dumbbell Press

 Begin the move with the dumbbells straight overhead and then lower them to your chest keeping your elbows high and your upper arm nearly parallel with your shoulders. Use heavy dumbbells for eight to ten reps.

Flat Bench Dumbbell Pullover Press Lateral

Using medium weight dumbbells and beginning the move with the weights at your chest, rotate the dumbbells past your head towards the floor. In one movement, bring them back to your chest and press them overhead and then immediately perform a lateral fly with your arms bent at a forty-five degree angle.

Push-Ups Hands Together

 Assume the push-up position with your body straight and up on your toes with your hands about a foot apart. Perform push-ups slowly for as many reps as you are able.

And that completes your chest workout. Bring on those ripped chest muscles!

Bodybuilding Diet

“Bodybuilding is 80% diet.” This statement was uttered many years ago by one of the greatest bodybuilding trainers of his era, Vince Gironda.

With some fame as a bodybuilder himself, “The Iron Guru,” as he became known, was more famous for helping a newcomer to the USA, Arnold Schwartzenegger move rapidly up the road to become one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time.

His acolytes list reads like a who’s who in bodybuilding of the 1950s through 1997.

Vince was convinced that a bodybuilding diet was the key to muscle-building success, and he was fundamental in convincing other people of this principle in his multi-decade career as a trainer of champions.

In a nutshell, a bodybuilding diet should focus on the best useable sources of protein, natural carbohydrates in the form of fresh vegetables and fruits, fats and oils, and finally, nuts. Bodybuilders also need to include supplements that help grow muscle tissue and reduce the subcutaneous fat on the body.

Renowned biologist, Bernard Beverley, stated that human tissue is 100% biological. What that means for bodybuilders is that eating foods that are very high in biological content is very important for developing that tissue as far as possible. Lots of people confuse foods high in biological content with foods high in protein, but this isn’t entirely the case as not all protein is the same. Biological content means food that contains protein of a structure that is very similar to the protein contained in human tissue.

This might come as a surprise to some, but the food with the highest biological content is the humble egg! Other foods high in biological content include raw milk, organ meats (heart, liver, kidneys and sweetbreads), steak, lamb, poultry and fish. Beans, legumes and some other vegetables are also good sources of protein, so it’s really important to include them in your diet as well.

On the other hand, soybeans, although famously high in protein, are only 22% biological. Thus you would have to eat huge amounts of soy to equal the amino acid content of the higher quality protein previously listed. For contest preparation, the Iron Guru recommended avoiding anabolic steroids in favor of eating as many as three dozen eggs per day!

The idea is that this gives your muscles a huge influx of biological protein so that they can reach new levels of strength and quickly repair any damage. After six to eight weeks, you should then reduce this amount to one or two per day, as you would have achieved your goal.

On the other hand, other bodybuilding diets focus on red meat and fresh vegetables, or one high in dairy products and fish. Each of these approaches serves a particular goal, that of loading the system with protein to replace and rebuild muscle tissue torn down by heavy workout sessions. They are not long-term diet plans however. Bodybuilding supplements that Gironda recommended were: Kelp tablets, desiccated liver, lipotropic amino acids(inositol, choline, methionine, betain that aid in the metabolism and assimilation of protein) and wheat germ oil. Another diet method the Iron Guru developed was putting his students on a special bodybuilding diet cycle in preparation for contests, to get rid of that last bit of subcutaneous fat.

This was composed of four days of zero carbohydrates, then on the fifth day eat normally. For the next four days eat zero carbs, and on the tenth day eat normally. The students would keep this up for between three and eight weeks, until every muscle separation and vein popped out on the surface.
 

In summary, a good bodybuilding diet should be focused on protein, fats, good carbohydrates and fiber. The breakdown should be 24% protein, 40% natural carbs (no refined starches or sugars) and the balance in fat and fiber.

Just before competition diets, and cycling of zero carbs for four days and the fifth day free, should be followed for no more than eight weeks. Appropriate supplements should be taken.

How to Get Bigger Thighs

The legs are made up of three muscle groups: The quadriceps or frontal thigh muscles, the thigh “biceps” on the rear of the upper leg and the calves on the lower leg. Learning all the exercises for your legs will show how to get bigger thighs.

In most people, legs make up two-thirds of body weight. They are solid muscle, unlike the torso which is an organ-filled hollow containing lots of air spaces. As large muscles, the legs, and particularly the thighs, will require a lot of exercise in order to get bigger.

Researching in the great encyclopedia of bodybuilding, Keys to the Inner Universe by Bill Pearl, four-time Mr. Universe, we find 50 pages of exercise devoted to developing and defining our thighs. More than 150 different exercises are explained and pictured.

The Squat

Arguably the best exercise for getting bigger thighs is the squat. This is also the most avoided exercise by less-than-serious bodybuilders because it requires a lot of exertion. Squats may be performed with barbells (preferred) or with devices like the weight-loaded Smith machine.

Squats may be done with the weight on our shoulders, or held at chest level in front. They may be performed with the heels elevated about two inches or flat-footed. Regardless of how they are performed, the legs should never be “locked out” when in the straight position, or the tension will be off the muscles.

A bench may be used for one type of squat so that you may gauge the correct distance to go down, or you can just go until your butt hits your heels. How you point your knees and your foot spread will determine whether you work inner, outer or upper thighs.

To build bigger thighs, several types of squats should be performed for three sets of ten repetitions.

   • Barbell Squat – using an Olympic bar and weights and a squat rack, elevate your heels and squat down until your thighs are parallel with the floor. Use enough weight that you struggle to reach ten reps.

   • Barbell Squat Wide Stance – with heels elevated and legs spread widely, squat with your knees pointed out for an inner thigh workout.

   • Hack Squat – with heels elevated and the barbell held behind your buttocks, squat until the weights nearly touch the floor.

Leg Presses

   • Leg Press Machine – seated in the machine, the placement of your feet on the foot pads will determine whether you work inner, outer or upper thighs.

   • Decline Leg Press Machine – seated in the machine, the foot placement will change the portion of the thigh that is worked. The gluteus maximus (buttocks) also get worked if you go deeply enough.

Leg Extension Machine

   • Leg extensions will work the outer, inner and lower thigh down to the knee.

Thigh Curls

   • Using a thigh curl machine or cable-and-pulley machine with ankle straps, perform curls to build the hamstrings or thigh biceps muscles.

Abductor and Adductor Machines

   • These machines will work the inner thigh and the hip flexors. The development of these muscles is important to the overall look of your thighs. If these machines aren’t available, a cable-and-pulley machine may suffice.

Dumbbell Lunges

   • This exercise will build the rear thigh muscles, including the gluteus. They are also good for the hips and lower body flexibility.

Should You Use Muscle Building Supplements?

It has long been recognized by the body-building community that many forms of supplementation will speed up the muscle gains and increase the size of those results. Medical science says that some types of supplements are not necessarily good for you, in fact, they may be harmful to your health.

Anyone with a television set and an interest in sports is aware of all the furor about the use of performance enhancing drugs that some athletes have been caught taking.

Drugs like anabolic steroids and human growth hormone (HGH) were the original culprits, but there has been evidence of drug labs formulating products for which there is no known discovery testing.

The awareness of performance drugs in the bodybuilding world has generated two types of contests; those open to all competitors and drug-free competition where testing is done on all entrants.

But what about the average person who just wants to get in the biggest and best condition of his life? What can he or she do to accelerate their program and give them the best results in the fastest possible time?

There are many natural ways to supplement your diet and workouts and none of them require a doctor's supervision or a prescription to the pharmacy.

The late, great bodybuilding trainer, Vince Gironda, eschewed steroids and HGH personally and encouraged his charges to avoid them as well. I'm sure some of them succumbed to the lure of fast and easy muscles, but Vince maintained that you could boost your metabolism and testosterone naturally.

In order to accelerate muscle growth, one has to take is enough protein to rebuild the tissue damaged from extreme workouts.

The best source of natural protein is the food you eat, but sometimes that isn't enough, so protein supplements are recommended. The best protein-in-a-can comes in natural forms, will little or no filler or additives.

Creatine Monohydrate is a hormone produced naturally in the body. Creatine aids in the assimilation of protein and the rebuilding of muscle tissue and it gives explosive power to your workouts. Creatine is taken by many bodybuilders and there are no known negative side effects.

L-Glutamine is another naturally occurring supplement. L-Glut assists the muscles in recovery from strenuous exertion. Taking L-G will ease the soreness that accompanies a hard workout and will get you back into the gym sooner.

Amino Acids are the building blocks of protein and are responsible for muscle tissue growth. Inositol, Choline, Leucine, Isoleucine and Valine are some of the amino acids that may be safely taken as supplements.

In some medical circles the use of human growth hormone (HGH) is advocated to stave off the body deterioration that comes with aging. Our bodies produce a diminishing amount of HGH past the age of 30, heralding beginning of physical aging.

Properly supervised by medicos, the supplementation of HGH has shown remarkable results in muscle growth, fat reduction and the reversing of aging signs.

As the saying goes, "You may not live any longer, but you'll look great at your viewing."

Nitric Oxide (NO) has been discovered to be a "heart healthy" product. The Nobel Prize winning medical doctor, Louise Ignarro has researched the benefits of NO and has written extensively on this gas that is formed by the breakdown of the amino acid arginine in the body.

Dr. Ignarro maintains that supplementation with NO will improve the health of your cardiovascular system. For a body builder it produces better blood circulation and increased energy.

In summary, natural supplements can boost your metabolism and help you build muscle while losing fat. This is good. Excessive supplementation may be counterproductive, however as your body will slough off the excess.

Anabolic steroids may cause a health hazard as well as being illegal in many forms. It is always best to consult with a doctor before embarking on any program of supplementation.

How to Lose Man-Boobs

There are a number of causes of “man-boobs”, but being overweight or a hormone imbalance are two of the most common. In order to figure out how to lose man boobs, you first have to know the cause of your problem.

If you are not morbidly obese, then your man boobs are probably caused by low testosterone. If this is the case, you should consult with your medical practitioner about hormone supplements or dietary changes. Also, heavy exercise will increase testosterone production naturally.

Fat collects on our bodies in different ways. Women’s bodies tend to store fat on their lower extremities: hips, thighs and buttocks. Men on the other hand, tend to store fat on their upper bodies: stomach, chest and back.

The obvious answer to how to lose man boobs is exercise and diet . . . just like any other weight loss and bodybuilding program! Exercise will help condition the muscles, and more muscle tissue will help burn more fat, both stored and ingested.

Diet will help your body burn stored fat and you won’t be overeating of all the things that probably caused the problem in the first place. Your diet and exercise can be very specific to address the problem of man boobs, as well as the fat stored elsewhere on your body.

Spot reducing is a myth from the early days of health and fitness clubs. These clubs perpetuated the myth because of the vast amount of money it generated. They were filled with vibrating belt machines, hip-rollers and other contraptions that mechanically agitated specific body parts.

If these clinics had any successes, it was because of a diet regimen, not their flash vibrating belt machines.

Today we know that fat is stored pretty equally in those key areas subject to that storage. Any good nutrition program will reduce that fat about as evenly as it is stored. So, if you want to diet away those man boobs, you will lose fat in other areas as well. This isn’t a bad thing.

Exercising your chest muscles will make them grow underneath your man boobs. You will be firmer, but until you lose the fat, you will still have the problem.

Here is how to lose those man boobs. This is a good program of nutrition and exercise that will strengthen your body and reduce your overall body fat.

The Exercise Program Strength training will increase your strength and muscle size. Your program should include exercises for all body parts.

Unlike a serious bodybuilding program where massive size is the goal, your program will divide the upper and lower body workouts into alternate days.

The upper body will be worked on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The lower body will be exercised on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Sunday you rest. You will perform three sets of each exercise, most of them for 10 repetitions.

Chest

• Wide-Grip Bench Press

• Wide-Grip Incline Barbell Press

• Wide-Grip Decline Barbell Press

• Dumbbell Flies on Flat Bench

Shoulders

• Standing Barbell Press

• Upright Rowing with a Barbell

• Front Dumbbell Raises

• Lateral Dumbbell Raises

Back

• Lat Machine Pull-Downs

• Seated Rowing with Cable-And-Pulley Machine

• Bent Over Rowing with a Barbell

• Pull-Ups on the Chinning Bar

Arms

• Biceps Curls with Easy-Curl-Bar

• Triceps Press Downs on Cable-And-Pulley Machine

• Preacher Bench Curls with Easy-Curl-Bar

• Triceps Presses on Flat Bench

• Concentration Curls with a Dumbbell, alternating arms

• Bent Over Triceps Extensions

The Nutrition Program

Caloric intake for an active person is determined by age and gender. Consult with your physician about your daily calorie limits.

Calories should come from protein (25%), carbohydrates (40%), fats and fibers (35%). No refined carbohydrates are allowed: No sugar, starches, refined grains or artificial sweeteners. Carbs should come from natural, unprocessed vegetables and fruits.

Protein should come from eggs, milk, organ meats (liver, heart, kidneys, sweetbreads), beef, pork, poultry and fish.

Fats should come from protein rich foods and soluble oils such as olive oil, wheat germ oil and walnut oil.

Fiber will come from the fruits and vegetables.

Supplements you might wish to take: Protein powder, amino acid are the building blocks of proteins (Lipo3 Compound is a good one as lipotropic amino acids help the body metabolize fat), desiccated liver and kelp tablets.

How to Get Bigger Arms

Nothing says “fitness” more than a pair of big, muscular arms. Men and women alike appreciate the look of rippling triceps and bulging biceps. Big arms are apparent (and can be admired!) even when they are covered with shirt sleeves. Here are some ideas on how to get bigger arms.

First of all, in order to grow those arm muscles you have to work them hard. This isn’t something you can accomplish sitting on your butt squeezing a pair of rubber balls or spring-loaded hand grips. You have to hit the gym and pump some iron.

The arms are divided into two muscle groups: The biceps, the two-part muscle on the front of the arm that is fully contracted when your arms are tightly curled; and the triceps, a three-part muscle on the back of the arm that is fully contracted when the arm is straightened.

The biceps are for pulling things towards you, the triceps are for pushing them away.

The biceps are worked the most while curling a weight (positive exercise) and resisting the return to the beginning point (negative exercise). A bodybuilder should take care to exert the muscle in both parts of the movement.

The triceps are worked most while pressing the bar away (positive) and resisting the return of the weight to the start position (negative). Like the biceps (or any other exercise) both sides of the movement should be exerted.

Your focus-on-arms workout should be performed one day per week. Your arms will get some work on your other muscle group days, but they should be worked to total exhaustion only on the focus day.

Biceps Exercises

   • Barbell and Dumbbell Curls – These exercises may be performed in a wide variety of manners, both seated and standing. The movements should be controlled and performed slowly with mental focus on the biceps. Three sets of 10 repetitions should be completed for each of the following exercises:

   o Seated, close-grip barbell curl.

   o Standing, close-grip cheat curl.

   o Standing, close-grip cheat curl.

   o Incline, face-forward barbell curl.

   o Lying face-forward on high bench, barbell curl.

   o Standing dumbbell curl.

   o Incline dumbbell curl.

   o Reverse-grip curl with the easy-curl-bar.

   o Concentration curls on Scott Bench using easy-curl-bar.

   o Flat Preacher Bench close-grip curls with easy-curl-bar.

Triceps Exercises

   • Triceps Presses, Curls and Press-Downs

   o Standing close-grip triceps curls.

   o Seated close-grip triceps curls.

   o French Press supine on flat bench.

   o Supine triceps curl and press.

   o Reverse-wide-grip bench press.

   o Standing dumbbell triceps press.

   o Triceps machine press downs.

   o Reverse grip triceps press downs.

   o Standing triceps press using wall pulley and rope or towel.

   o Bent over triceps extension with wall pulley.

Super Sets

For advanced bodybuilders, you should alternate a biceps exercise with a triceps exercise. In this manner you will shorten the workout time without sacrificing the integrity of your workout. Move between the exercises with no rest and one minute rest between sets.

Now you’ve torn the muscle down with this “killer” workout, it’s time to rest and rebuild that tissue. 

A high-protein diet is critical to the rebuilding. Your diet should consist of at least 25% of your calories coming from protein. You should also have dietary fats included as they help metabolize the protein.

Protein supplements are good as are amino acids in the form of Lipotropic 3, a compound of three essential amino acids that help burn body fat. Desiccated liver and kelp tablets are also good. A cold-pressed wheat germ oil will boost your energy and endurance.