Week 167 :: What Is The Best Muscle-Building Workout For Women?

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* Note: How can I win? Answer all questions in the order that they are asked.

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TOPIC: What Is The Best Muscle-Building Workout For Women?

For the week of: 8/26 - 8/31
Monday @ Midnight Is The Final Cut (Mountain Time, US & Canada).

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Bodybuilding comes in many different sizes, shapes, and sexes. Although this topic has been covered numerous times for men, it has not quite been covered as often for women.

What is the best muscle-building workout for women? Be specific.

Which women would benefit from this workout the most?

How much different is a male's muscle-building workout than a woman's?

* IMPORTANT: Please make sure your responses are original and not copied from previous topics.

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Don't discuss any other topic in this section. ONLY discuss the question above.

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[bigcalves]

nice question...

[soundcheck129]

Bodybuilding comes in many different sizes, shapes, and sexes. Although this topic has been covered numerous times for men, it has not quite been covered as often for women.

For most people, big, bulky muscles and women don't exactly go together too well. While traditionally the general public has considered bodybuilding to be a sport for men, there are many talented female strength, fitness and figure athletes, such as Heather Armbrust, Jamie Eason, Tanji Johnson and many more. As the barriers of the past continue to break down, society is coming to realize that women can perform just as well as men in a wide variety of pursuits.

But professional bodybuilders aren't the only women interested in fitness. Exercise is a great hobby and an excellent way to beat stress and obesity for women of all ages and interests. Fitness is becoming a very popular leisure activity and weight training is increasingly being incorporated as people realize that working out with weights doesn't necessarily mean one will end up big and bukly.

What is the best muscle-building workout for women? Be specific.

While many female bodybuilders have successfully built incredibly muscular physiques, the average woman doesn't have to worry that a workout routine is going to result in the development of a massive, masculine body. Genetically, women's bodies tend not to accumulate as much muscle as men's, partly due to hormonal differences. However, an impressive amount of muscle and a high level of toning can be achieved through this workout program.

Warm-Up
In order to get the blood flowing to your muscles and raise their temperature to improve flexibility, five to ten minutes of light cardio (jogging, exercise bike, etc.) should be performed. This should be followed by several minutes of static stretching to ensure that muscles will be able to be moved through their entire ranges of motion. It is important to stretch those muscles which will be used during the workout session, and if possible, try to perform stretches that involve similar movements to the weight-bearing exercises that will be used during the workout.

There should also be two warmup sets of about 12 reps with low resistance performed for each different lift.

There should also be a cool-down period consisting of light cardio and stretching to prevent blood pooling and ease the body back to a normal heart rate.

MONDAY

Squats: 3 x 8-10
Incline Press: 3 x 8-10
Lying Leg Curl: 3 x 8-10
DB Row: 3 x 8-12
Hip Adduction: 3 x 8
Triceps Pushdown: 3 x 8
Abdominal Crunch Machine: 4 x 12


TUESDAY

30 to 60 minutes of low to medium intensity steady state cardio OR 30 minutes of moderate to high intensity interval training.

WEDNESDAY

Stiff-Legged Deadlift: 4 x 6
Seated Row: 3 x 8-10
Leg Extension: 3 x 8-10
Chest Press: 3 x 8-10
Hip Abduction: 3 x 8
Barbell Curl: 4 x 8
Roman Chair Leg Lifts: 4 x As Many As Possible

THURSDAY

30 to 60 minutes of low to medium intensity steady state cardio OR 30 minutes of moderate to high intensity interval training.

FRIDAY

Leg Press: 3 x 8-10
Shoulder Press: 3 x 8-10
Seated Leg Curl: 3 x 8-10
Lat Pulldown: 3 x 8-10
DB Flies: 3 x 8-10
Torso Rotation: 3 x 8
Lateral Raises: 3 x 8
Weighted Crunches: 4 x 25

SATURDAY

Optional Abdominal Circuit (Repeat as desired):

Mountain Climbers
V-Ups
Romain Chair Leg Lifts
Bicycle Crunches
Supermans

SUNDAY

Off

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

This workout routine will work best with a healthy nutrition, favoring lean protein, complex carbohydrates and mostly unsaturated fat. For those wishing to gain muscle, try to eat 300-500 calories above your daily maintenance level to gain roughly one pound per week. For those wishing to tone up or lose weight, eat around 300-500 calories below maintenance daily. Note that these are rough estimates and any new dietary plan should be cleared by your doctor or a nutritionist. Increased muscular activity may require more protein than you are used to consuming, so you may want to opt for a whey protein supplement. Protein powders are convenient, easy ways to increase protein intake and also serve as a delicious reward after a tough workout.

Which women would benefit from this workout the most?

The great thing about this workout plan is that any woman can achieve success with it. It is not composed of complex, advanced techniques, so beginners and casual lifters will have no problem performing it. However, it is composed of highly effective, compound exercises so even experienced lifters can find success. Also, it is not overwhelming in volume, so techniques such as drop sets and supersets can be implemented so it is customized to individual needs and desires. If one is dedicated to this plan, she will see success. Whether one adds muscle or drops fat on this plan depends largely on diet, but the exercise routine itself will work well in either case.

Special considerations should be made for women who are pregnant. Consulting with a physician before beginning any workout is essential. With that said, though, there are no exercises here that involve lying in a supine position, which can put excessive pressure on the spine due to the weight of the fetus. If one is pregnant and wants to use this plan, I would recommend using the low-moderate intensity cardio options and dropping the abdominal exercises to avoid harming the fetus.

Even older women can find success on this workout, as strength training can help retain bone density, which delays or possibly prevents the onset of osteoporosis. Older women may want to lower the resistance slightly and increase the volume a bit as well. In addition, older women should extend the warm-up and cool down periods and consult with a physician before beginning.

How much different is a male's muscle-building workout than a woman's?

There are some ways in which a woman's muscle-building workout will be similar to a man's. One area would be exercise selection. Lifts such as the squat, chest press, and biceps curls are all classic exercises and will be effective for both sexes. While men and women are not exactly the same physically, the basic muscular structure is very similar, so the exercises performed may be very similar as well. However, there will be differences as well. For instance, the workout routine above consists mostly of higher repetition work, as lower ranges tend to be used for maximal strength and recruitment of fast-twitch fibers, ideal for power lifters. Because most women do not have power lifting or maximal strength as their goals, the higher (8-12) rep range is used. This range is good for stimulating muscle growth as well as muscular endurance, and can be used to 'tone up.' Also, this plan does not include back-to-back weight-lifting days, as women typically do not eat as much as men and therefore may not have the caloric energy necessary for full recovery within 24 hours. Despite these differences, though, there is no reason that a well-designed program won't produce as much success for a woman as it would for a man.

[UCIMTHEROCK]

My best training partner ever was my girlfriend in 1994, it was also when I made some of my best gains and won two overalls in bodybuilding competitons.
I firmly believe men and women can use the same basic workout to build muscle and contrary to what you think unless you are a woman that uses drugs you will not get big and bulky from training hard and pushing your strength past the point you are right now.
We used a basic one on one off split with weekends off. doing 3 basic excercises each workout with 2 isolated movements and then abs and we were done!
What you must remember is the workout cannot be so taxing on your body that you do not want to come back, you want to get tired and a little sore but not acute soreness.
I firmly believe that consistency in training is a major key to being in top shape just like eating consistent but not overboard will make you look healthy but no stringy.
as far as the workout heres what we did
Monday- Squats, military press, pullups, calf raises, biceps, abs
Wednesday- Lunges, Bench press, pullovers, triceps, calf raises, abs
Friday- Deadlifts (Sumo) Dips, rows, lateral raises, biceps, abs
weekend off
if you truly want to grow muscles cardio should not be too taxing, brisk walking or walking in the sand is best.
As far as sets and reps you will have to gauge that by how in shape you are, we worked up to 4 sets of each and reps from as low as 8 and as high as 25
if you are just starting out I would recommend only one set of each to start and see how you feel the next day.
also one other thing I must stress is perfect form, if you do not know how to do the lift perfect learn it! if your form is not good take some weight off the bar! the weight is merely a helper for perfect form and precise excercises.
My girlfriend won the 1994 Southwestern Natural Overall that year. we must have been doing something right
Also she is now my wife we have been married for 13 years!