Are you a woman looking to change her body, get leaner, and put on some sleek feminine muscle? I want to have a conversation with you about building muscle, and more specifically how you can really maximize the gains that you see in the gym – and of course do it the natural way.
I get so many women who come to me asking questions about how they can best build up that lean tissue. Often, they feel it’s so hard to really see the results that they want. So, what I’m going to share with you today is going to clear up some things that I see a lot of women not doing. These are some basic training tips that I want you to start doing a lot better (and a lot smarter), to start seeing the results that you want.
Tip #1: You’re Not Eating Enough to Naturally Build Muscle
Now, the number one thing that I will say that a lot of you are doing out there (and that you need to start fixing right away) is this…
You will never be able to build muscle if you’re not eating enough.
The simple fact of just increasing your calories and eating above maintenance (more importantly) is the number one factor that needs to happen in order for you to put on muscle. And yes, that’s a little bit scary for a lot of you! But, I need you to start shifting your focus, and really start thinking about the fact that the only way that you’re going to be able to actually put on muscle is if you are feeding your body and fueling it. You’ve got to be eating in a caloric surplus!
Now for some of you, you might get a little nervous and think to yourself, “Oh my gosh if I eat more I’m going to get fat and I can’t do that!”
Well here’s the thing I want you to think about… Yes, when you are lean building you are going to put on just a little bit of body fat at the same time that you put on muscle, and that’s just a part of physiology. It’s just what happens to everyone. But, it doesn’t have to get sloppy! It doesn’t have to get all out of shape, and it doesn’t have to see you really feeling uncomfortable in your own skin.
In fact, when I’m working with women who compete that are looking to put on more muscle (and this also applies to women who don’t want to compete), I warn my clients to get comfortable with the fact that you’re going to see a little bit of their definition go away.
But, know that once you follow a lean building plan for a couple of weeks, and you successfully reach your goals, you can always go back and do a mini cut. And at that point, focus on creating a little fat loss. This is all to say, don’t be afraid of the lean building process. You have to eat more in order to see your body actually put on muscle.
Tip #2: Thou Shalt Lift Heavy to NATURALLY Build Muscle for Women
The next thing that you really have to be sure that you’re doing is lifting heavy enough.
Now here’s a little bit of science for you…
Science and research says that when it comes to program design, you’re going to see hypertrophic gains (hypertrophy means building muscle) when you lift within the eight to about twelve rep range. So, eight to about twelve repetitions are what really elicits the body to want to build muscle, put on tissue, and put on that size that you’re looking for.
That’s something you want to keep that in mind when you are lifting.
I spent a lot of time studying program design over the years, and applying various techniques to client programming. And so here’s a little trick of what I like to do with clients. I don’t design a plan and make them hang out in just that eight to twelve rep range when they want to put on size. No, instead what what we do is also incorporate lifting in higher rep ranges. I like to switch it up as well so that we also lift in lower ranges. But the key is to put the body through a challenge to make sure that even if you’re lifting fifteen repetitions, that you are lifting heavy and you cannot go any further beyond those 15 reps that’s on your program.
So, raising the bar in the gym is a super important point of this process when wanting to see your body gain lean mass.
Now the other thing I want to say is that I don’t want you to think about a “no pain no gain” kind of thing, because you don’t want to be injuring yourself. And you’ve got to be very mindful as well about how you lift.
But, lifting heavy is going to be the key alongside eating more to seeing your body put on muscle and to be able to do it naturally.
Tip #3: Make Sure You Are Throwing in Adequate REST!
The next thing that I want you to do is to make sure that you are getting adequate rest, okay! So, hear me out on this… Your body is not building a damn thing when you’re working out. You’re not building anything in the gym! What you are doing is tearing down tissue, you’re tearing down muscle, and that’s okay you’re supposed to be doing that!
But, it is in that recovery time that your body actually has the ability to rebuild tissue, to regenerate – and when it’s doing that, guess what it’s regenerating?
Lean Muscle.
You got to give yourself some days off from the gym, and I know that’s hard for some of you, but listen hear me out on this.
Do not train every single day of the week.
I have clients that come to me, sometimes when we first start, and they’re in the gym seven days a week! Or six days a week! But then they’re wondering why their body isn’t responding – even though they may be eating well. Or, even though they may be consistent in their training,. If you never allow your body to actually recover, honey you’re never going to see any changes!
I like to stick to five-day programming. This way you can split the five days however you want do it:
- Three days in the gym then do a rest day, followed by two more days in, then a rest day.
- Two days over here in the gym, then rest two days over here, and so on.
What’s great is that you can split things however you want to do it, and however works with your schedule.
But, make sure that you are giving yourself some time to have some downtime and adequately rest. At the end of the day, that’s what’s going to help you to see better results in the gym.
Tip #4: Use That Mind-Body Connection While Training
When you are lifting, the next tip that I want to give you is to think about lifting mindfully.
I talk about this a lot with my clients when we start with each other… It’s not just enough to bang out sets just like, “boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!” – essentially trying to go all beasts in the gym.
There’s nothing wrong with that, but I want you to start thinking about lifting mindfully through entire ranges of motion. Let’s say you’re doing a chest press, and you’re really thinking about that squeeze on the way out, maybe holding at the top of the motion. Then really focusing on resisting that weight as it comes down. Play around with tempo because time under tension is also a huge factor in seeing muscular growth, and seeing your body actually respond by putting on lean mass.
So, think about how you’re lifting. Be more mindful in the gym. Don’t think about banging things out just for the sake of banging things out. Play around with tempo and see how that works for you.
Tip #5: Give Up On Overusing Cardio Already!
The final tip that I’ll give you is to slow down on that cardio.
Back it up a little sister, because guess what…! If you’re doing MORE cardio by thinking you’re going to combat some of the extra calories from food that you’re eating, you’re just creating a caloric deficit.
Very often, when I have a woman who’s really trying to focus on putting on muscle and lean size, I actually have her never doing any more than about maybe 20 to 30 minutes in the gym depending on her body and her body type.
If you have a slower metabolism, do about thirty minutes or so when you’re in the gym. If you have a faster or a regular metabolism you can do 20 minutes. Even if you have a fast metabolism, cut it down to about maybe 10 to 15 minutes or don’t even do any at all for a couple of weeks.
Ok, I know that’s really hard for some of you, but we don’t want to create a caloric sink where you’re just burning the calories that you actually need to see your body start to respond the way that you want. So, think about cutting back on your cardio, not going all crazy trying to think that you’re balancing out things out, or you’re going to stay leaner by doing that…
You could well be shooting yourself in the foot.
Ready to Put Some Lean Muscle on YOUR Physique? Let’s Do It The SMART Way. Apply to Become a Roxstar!
Now for those of you that are out there who are really interested in working with me, you like what I have to share in my videos! You know that you’re in a place right now where you want to start kicking up the intensity in your workouts. And you’re ready to start doing things in a way that’s going to allow you to be independent, and to be able to work on your own one day, not having to rely on a coach or trainer, then I want to talk to you.
You would probably be a perfect match for me in my coaching and mentorship program! So, come on over and apply to see if you qualify to become a Roxstar.
Go to www.Roxstarfitness.com/claritycall, fill out an application, and I’ll get back to you and let you know if we can set up a phone call for us to talk about your goals and exactly what it is that you need to get to the next level.
And, if you’re not ready for coaching yet, but you definitely want to stay in contact with me, you like some free goodies and free stuff, you like attending online workshops… And want to know when I have special events and stuff like that coming up, join my email list www.Roxstarfitness.com/emaillist.
