Women: Lifting for a Sexy Bod!

Girls tend to think that if we pick up a weight in the gym we will become “bulky” and “manly looking”. The truth is women who lift rather compared to the ones doing hours of cardio a day end up building lean muscle and increase their calorie burn/fat loss.

Lifting has many benefits for women including burning more calories during and after your workout. Each pound of lean muscle burns an average of 35 to 50 calories more per hour. Building muscle will not only speed up your metabolism but can support healthy bone health.

Don’t be afraid to lift HEAVY! Girls can lift exactly like guys can and their bodies will build enough muscle to tighten up and build lean muscle. Unless you are on steroids and taking extra testosterone, you will not become bulky from lifting weights,

DIET IS KEY

While your workouts should be tough, the hardest part of your weight lifting journey comes down to the diet. The biggest part of your diet is calories in vs. calories out. The amount of calories you consume will determine whether you are trying to gain or lose weight.

The problem most women have is they are not eating enough calories in order to gain the lean muscle mass they hope for. You should first figure out how many calories your body needs to maintain its weight. Then you can figure out if you want a caloric deficit for weight loss or a caloric surplus for weight gain.

Once you figure out how many calories you aim to hit per day, we can break that number up into percentages of carbs to protein to fat. Depending on your goals will determine the percentages your diet contains. Each person’s percentages will vary depending on your type of body and the amount of physical activity you do on a daily basis.

SUPPLEMENTS

It may seem a little overwhelming at first, but choosing the right supplements are key to seeing the results you desire.

-Let’s start with whey protein, a quick digesting protein that is perfect for pre and post workout. Chicken and other lean proteins are great throughout the day but not digested as quickly as whey protein does for boosting protein synthesis and building muscle. Making a shake 20-30 minutes after your workout is perfect for gaining lean muscle.

-Taking a multivitamin everyday will help your body grow, develop, and function normally. While dieting it is extremely important to get all the essential vitamins you may lose from exercises and food reduction, which is where the multivitamin kicks in.

-Creatine will help during your workouts for energy, endurance and strength.Many pre-workouts contain creatine for a fast energy boost during your workout. Creatine is produced naturally in our muscles and is found to increase gains in muscle and improve your workouts.Girls tend to think that if we pick up a weight in the gym we will become “bulky” and “manly looking”. The truth is women who lift rather compared to the ones doing hours of cardio a day end up building lean muscle and increase their calorie burn/fat loss.

-Sipping on some BCAA’s during your workout will help increase the length of your workout and help with the muscle recovery process. Taking BCAA’’s post workout is extremely important for producing insulin, a hormone that boosts protein synthesis for building muscle. BCAA’s are the building blocks for the creation of new muscle tissue, and can help prevent soreness after lifting.The Wonder Women Stack is the perfect fat loss,muscle building supplement combination aimed towards women. In this stack you get your whey protein, BCAA's, and fat burning pre workout all in one!

Workouts

Lifting heavy with the proper exercises is where the results for muscle all come together. Don't be afraid to push yourself when it comes to weights, go for the extra 5-10 pounds with less reps.  Aim to have a 8-12 rep range for each exercise to make sure your intensity is high while still lifting heavy.

Get off the machines  and get your whole body moving during your workout. Using compound movements in the gym will work a specific large muscle group while working smaller ones at the same time. Many athletes barely train their abs since it is being worked while doing other big movements such as squats and deadlifts. Compound movements will quickly build muscle mass and increase your endurance.

Ladies, I know we all like to chit chat and catch up on each others lives, but when it comes to your workout try and take only a 30 sec-1 minute rest between each set. You want to keep your heart rate up the entire workout and make the most out of the time you have.

Split your workout schedule up by training upper and lower on separate days. You can pair muscle groups together when you have a tight schedule. Always change up your workout however, you want to challenge your body and put it in shock.