Female and Male bodybuilding..

[NewBuilder4Life]

Hello, sorry I'm not a female but I was wondering some things about the way that females are supposed to train opposed to males. If a woman is looking to tone her body not build a lot of muscle (not big time bodybuilder or anything); how would she go about doing that weight training wise? I know she would of course need a good nutrition plan, and often cardio but what else? Thanks

[Imbrication]

If she doesn't want to get big I suggest she lay off the steroids, because it's pretty hard for a woman to get "big" any other way. The only way she can "tone" her body is to put on muscle and lose fat. The best way to do that is to get her diet in check, lift heavy to gain more muscle, and do a little cardio on the side. I lift just like the guys at my gym. My staples are deadlifts, squats, and bench press.

I don't know where this notion came from that women should lift differently then men. Especially this low weight, high rep crap. But ya, I my opinion there should be no difference between the way men and women train. Unfortunately when it comes to women and fitness too many magazine have told them that if they lift heavy they're going to get bodybuilder big, or look like a man. Female bodybuilders bust their butt, have more dedication than I or most people could ever have, have great genetics, a perfect diet, and many have a little chemical help.

[GetnThere]

I have been lifting "heavy" since September of 2003 with cardio on the side. I also eat like a bber since March of 2004 and I am in no way "big and bulky". As a matter of fact, I think I need MORE mass to even LOOK like I work as hard as I do. It isn't easy for a female to get big. We have higher levels of estrogen than testosterone(sp?).

[NewBuilder4Life]

Thanks, If anyone else has opinions please post them. So basically a woman needs to train all the time like a main trains when he's cutting? They need to have a good diet (high protein, med carbs, low fat) but eat a little over maintenance calories, some cardio, and weight lift (increasing their weights gradually)? I'm sorry if I seem stupid to ask but it's just i've been learning about bodybuilding in general for a long time, and I like to learn new things so if someone I know needs help in this area, I can help them learn what they need to know to reach their goals.

Thanks again, Dan

[Aurora]

No a woman should train like a man trains when he is bulking.

6 reps of screaming agony. And she MIGHT with years of training, look like a fitness model.

[MsFit]

No a woman should train like a man trains when he is bulking.

6 reps of screaming agony. And she MIGHT with years of training, look like a fitness model.

There you go.

Hormones and genetics will determine how big she will get. I train brutally hard and can only be 5'4" and 117 pounds of muscle mass. Since I'm at my genetic max, I focus on muscle density.

[Emma-Leigh]

No a woman should train like a man trains when he is bulking.

6 reps of screaming agony. And she MIGHT with years of training, look like a fitness model.
<------- Nods in agreement...

And smiles knowing the joy that the pain of those 6 reps bring....

[amazonchick]

Listen to Aurora and MsFit. They are both about as serious and about as ripped as you will see a natural woman get. Period.

[Aurora]

uh... we aint natty. ;)

[TennisChik]

I really don't understand what the term "toning" means. Either you are building muscle, or you aren't. I would assume that it means just building a little bit of muscle, but not much, which wouldn't do anything if you still have a nice layer of fat covering it.

In any case, for women it's the same as men. If you want to improve your physique to any degree, the big numero uno is to look at your diet & clean it up. Without doing that, you are wasting your time and I find that it's the LAST thing that people are willing to change. Number two is to weight train. Weight training is what changes your composition, tightens everything up and makes you defined and have a nice shape. Cardio is 3rd and that is what will help you burn calories, but it won't necessarily change your composition. It may help you lose pounds, but without the weights you will just be a miniature version of your old self, not really more defined or carry a better shape.

No woman ever has to fear their muscles getting "too big". It just won't happen unless one uses drugs to enhance themselves. Why do women worry about this anyway?? If you reach a point where you don't want to gain more muscle mass, one would just not lift any more, right? No one is going to hold a gun to your head and make you lift more than you want or get bigger than you want. It is something that is easily controlled by YOU. Have you ever heard anyone that ever trained with weights say, "Man, I started weight training, but my muscles got so massive that I just had to stop!"

[Aurora]

"Man, I started weight training, but my muscles got so massive that I just had to stop!"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!

You just scored some rep!!

[kelljyn]

No a woman should train like a man trains when he is bulking.
6 reps of screaming agony. And she MIGHT with years of training, look like a fitness model.

Hearing that does that mean that this is not good to do then....
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/fawnia1.htm
it all says 10-15 reps. SO I need to do six of heaver weight? Same lifting plan, just diff reps/weight?

What would you reccomend for me to intake as far as calories, protein, and fat if I am 5'1", 129 lbs. and wanting to loose 20lbs of fat.

I have currently decided to do the weight watchers diet, but I dont think that that will work with what i need to intake to build muscle.

THANKS IN ADVANCE!!!!

[EnragedFetus]

These people who say to do a set repetition range don't know what they're taking about, or have never heard of periodization. Staying at a set repetition range is asking for stagnation.

Repetitions must be altered to train different muscle qualities, such as muscle hypertrophy, muscle strength, muscle endurance, et cetera. More repetitions and less rest between sets will result in increases in muscular endurance. Less repetitions (at a high intensity) and more rest between sets will result in increases in muscular strength.

[Aurora]

Hearing that does that mean that this is not good to do then....
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/fawnia1.htm
it all says 10-15 reps. SO I need to do six of heaver weight? Same lifting plan, just diff reps/weight?

What would you reccomend for me to intake as far as calories, protein, and fat if I am 5'1", 129 lbs. and wanting to loose 20lbs of fat.

I have currently decided to do the weight watchers diet, but I dont think that that will work with what i need to intake to build muscle.

THANKS IN ADVANCE!!!!

Check out the book "Body for life" it goes thru some good basic workout and nutritional concepts. MsFit also has a really good e-book called iron dolls.