How Dose A Female Build Muscle? Help

Caper88

So my main goal is to lose fat but I have heard it can really help you if you focus on muscle building and not just cardio. I heard more muscle burns more fat. Anyways how do I go about building muscle?

1)How often should I lift weight
2) Do I need more reps or higher weights? I want to be defined and have endurance, not bulk.
4) How much protein should I have where I do not want to bulk and have a lot of fat to lose? Is the default protein number enough?
5) Is there such a thing as too much protein?
6) What time of day should I have a protein shake if I need one?
7) Should I only have protein on days I work out?
8) I know muscle weighs more then fat but should I still see a weight loss number on the scale where I need to lose fat?
9) Is building muscle a smart idea when trying to lose fat?
10Is there anything else I am missing?

I am not really use to the idea of building muscle and working out. So any help you have to give to me is greatly appreciated.

luefox

these are great questions! More weight, less reps. Eat protein immediately after lifting. That's the extent of my knowledge. i'll be watching this post.

dracobaby82

I have also heard that it is better to build muscle and not just lose weight... a trainer once told me "you don't wanna be flabby skinny do you, or would you rather have some muscles and be skinny" Makes sense to do it right the first time around! Build muscle and lose weight Not sure on all the rest unfortunately

xxjessikatxx

bump

Caper88

Your right dracobaby82 I do not want to be flabby skinny but I just do not know what the best way to go about it is. I also don't want all of my fat to turn into muscle.

ppais35

Yes you can build muscle - not like a guy,... It s true that it helps with fat burn, your muscles go thru a daily recovery thru-out the day which is an ongoing process burning fat, the more muscle activation the better... ITs not always about the cardio.. However, you do need to have a good diet plan, for pre workout and post... There are so many ways to weight train, and always new information - my suggestion would be to meet with a personal trainor and they can provide with the appropriate diet and excercise to suit your needs and build.. everyone is different... I train with a personal trainor a few times a week and he gives me my workouts and meal plan, to lose weight and define muscle... ITS AWESOME!!! You'll feel better, tighter and leaner... good luck

givprayz

1)How often should I lift weight
A) Every other day to every third day, to give muscles some recovery. You could also do it every day, but work different groups
2) Do I need more reps or higher weights? I want to be defined and have endurance, not bulk.
A) More reps. Shoot for 15 or so reps before the muscles exhaust, then rest a minute and try 15 more.
4) How much protein should I have where I do not want to bulk and have a lot of fat to lose? Is the default protein number enough?
A) The default protein is probably fine, but going up by 5% wouldn't hurt, and may help if you find you remain sore for several days after work-outs.
5) Is there such a thing as too much protein?
A) Absolutely! Too much protein will cause constipation and put your body into ketosis (which is the goal of high protein, low carb diets, but is horrible over the long-term.)
6) What time of day should I have a protein shake if I need one?
A) Within an hour after working out.
7) Should I only have protein on days I work out?
A) Your body needs recovery protein every day.
8) I know muscle weighs more then fat but should I still see a weight loss number on the scale where I need to lose fat?
A) You should still lose weight most of the time. You may see weeks here and there with no loss, but with measurement changes.
9) Is building muscle a smart idea when trying to lose fat?
A) Definitely! As someone else said, being flabby skinny is not really that much better than fat.

PokenStick

1)How often should I lift weight
2) Do I need more reps or higher weights? I want to be defined and have endurance, not bulk.
4) How much protein should I have where I do not want to bulk and have a lot of fat to lose? Is the default protein number enough?
5) Is there such a thing as too much protein?
6) What time of day should I have a protein shake if I need one?
7) Should I only have protein on days I work out?
8) I know muscle weighs more then fat but should I still see a weight loss number on the scale where I need to lose fat?
9) Is building muscle a smart idea when trying to lose fat?
10Is there anything else I am missing?

1, You want 3 or 4 days of rest between work out. So if you're doing a full body workout, twice a week.
2. Higher weight. You want to aim for 8-10 reps. If you're able to do 15, increase the weight. You won't bulk up, unless you roid up.
4. Protein doesn't make you bulk up, you want at least half of your weight in protein. However some people say you need more/less. There is no exact science.
5. Only if you have liver or kidney problems, other than that no.
6. Either first thing in the morning, or right after your workout.
7. You want protein all day, every day.
8. Yes, as long as your diet is still good. If you're still on a calorie deficient diet, you can't build enough muscle to see a big weight gain.
9. Yes, unless you want to be flabby.

NoAdditives

You will build a little muscle by lifting heavier weight and doing fewer reps. But, you won't build much if you're at a calorie deficit. You need tons of protein and you need to eat more than maintenance to actually build a lot of muscle.

msbanana

these are great questions! More weight, less reps. Eat protein immediately after lifting. That's the extent of my knowledge. i'll be watching this post.

YES!
Lift heavy stuff!! As you do reps you want fail at 8-10 and do that three times with a fair break in between for a set. As you lift you want to focus on exploding into the lift (or out of it depending on your direction). Doing lots of reps really fast will not get you anywhere though. Definitely want to do some research and learn proper form to prevent injuries. DO NOT take example from the meat heads at the gym who do curls and are lifting weight so heavy they have to throw their entire body into the lift- that is POOR FORM.

Increase your weights regularly. As a weight becomes easier (lets say you could only do 8 or 9 reps before and now you can do 10 without failure) you MUST increase weight. Doing the same weight light weight 1000 times isn't going to build strength like this will.

As for time- your muscles need 48 hours to recoup. Most trainers will recommend having an upper body day and a lower body day and alternating. This will likely have you lifting 5 or 6 days a week but since you're alternating muscle groups it's ok.

BULK IS A LIE!!! As a female you don't have enough testosterone to "bulk up" so forget about that. It's a myth created by some dumb girl who didn't want to get sweaty. (Every offense intended for anyone that actually BELIEVES this) One thing you want to make sure of is to use PROPER FORM, get FULL EXTENSION and STRETCH.

There is a book out called something like The Guide to Lifting for Women or something and I hear that it's awesome. Basically, every well toned, muscular, FIT woman I've ever met lifts like a dude and finishes with loads of cardio.

Don't be skerrred just dive in. You'll like it!!

koosdel

Your muscles don't know your sex but.... varying hormones from men do require small differences in routine.
Typically, a female will require longer recovery time and more intense workouts.

Depending on what routine you choose, 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps of a weight equaling 75% of your max capacity for upper body, and 4 to 6 sets of 10 to 16 reps for lower body.

I would also suggest the simplest routine composed of mostly compound exercises. A workout stretching routine, and post workout cardiovascular.

A good starter routine would be;
Day 1- chest, & back
Day 2- shoulders, arms, & forearms
Day 3- thighs, calves, & lower back

If you are going to a gym, use whichever machine you feel comfortable with for each muscle group. At least 48 hrs rest between group specific muscle groups, and try out lower impact on cardiovascular exercises. I stick with stationary bikes.

A note on the amount of weight; not all sets need to be the same weight. For example, let's say you go to the gym on chest and back day and find the most you can bench press is 100 pounds. That means your working set will ne 75 pounds. Does that mean all your sets are 75 pounds? No. Your first set would be 12 reps of 30 pounds, second set; 10 reps of 60, third; 8 reps of 75, fourth; 8 reps of 75.

Now, in practice it isn't that simple. It will be difficult to complete that work out as I have written, maybe impossible.... BUT that is the point. As time progresses, you will gradually be able to complete that routine. Then you can increase weight, or even out the number of reps to, say 8 sets of 8 to maintain your magnificent figure.

If you have any questions about specific muscle groups or exercises, I will do all I can to help.

I am soooooooo happy you decided to do weight training!!!!!

koosdel

BULK IS A LIE!!! As a female you don't have enough testosterone to "bulk up" so forget about that. It's a myth created by some dumb girl who didn't want to get sweaty. (Every offense intended for anyone that actually BELIEVES this) One thing you want to make sure of is to use PROPER FORM, get FULL EXTENSION and STRETCH.

This simply isn't true. On average, a female will have less testosterone than the average man. The fact is that everyone has, and produces testosterone. Within a few hours of moderate compound lifting, everyone will begin producing T. I'm gonna call it T because I don't like typing testosterone. Between 12 and 72 hours production will go back to normal. The body will adapt. We are the most advanced things in the existence of time, we will adapt. Also, T isn't the only thing linked to muscle growth. And lastly, even the most delicate of female can acquire a physique of stregnth with proper diet, sensible exercise, and quality rest.

Don't let the detractors bum you. You can do it.

Caper88

Thank you all so much for the input and advice.

pyro13g

So my main goal is to lose fat but I have heard it can really help you if you focus on muscle building and not just cardio. I heard more muscle burns more fat. Anyways how do I go about building muscle?

1)How often should I lift weight
2) Do I need more reps or higher weights? I want to be defined and have endurance, not bulk.
4) How much protein should I have where I do not want to bulk and have a lot of fat to lose? Is the default protein number enough?
5) Is there such a thing as too much protein?
6) What time of day should I have a protein shake if I need one?
7) Should I only have protein on days I work out?
8) I know muscle weighs more then fat but should I still see a weight loss number on the scale where I need to lose fat?
9) Is building muscle a smart idea when trying to lose fat?
10Is there anything else I am missing?

I am not really use to the idea of building muscle and working out. So any help you have to give to me is greatly appreciated.

1. As a beginner 3 times a week in the circuit training fashion.
2. For max muscle, higher weights. Something you struggle hard to do 8-12 reps.
4. The default is fine.
5. Yes, if you have kidney or liver problems. You urinate the excess out as waste.
6. Right after your work out. No workout days protein should come from food.
7. No protein shakes on non workout days. Eat your protein. Shakes only right after a workout.
8. No, you should measure body fat percentage and inches lost (navel, inch above, inch below, thighs, upper arms)
9. Absolutely, it's the best strategy.
10. Yes, it's a learning journey. Keep learning, eating better, and getting your workouts in.

TsamIam

Before I joined this site I was working out with a personal trainer because I had a lot of weight to lose (and ended up losing over 20lbs with him). I'll share what we did and what he told me and try to answer the questions you posted to the best of my knowledge.

1. & 2. I worked out with him only 2 or 3 times a week because that's what my schedule (er, and wallet) settled on. You could do more I'm sure. We'd do weight training exercises and he usually chose a weight so that if I did 3 sets of 12 reps, I was definitely feeling it in the third set, but wasn't overdoing it from the beginning. This falls into the "less weight, more reps" philosophy. I say "usually" because once a month he'd mix it up and shock my body during one workout by adding a lot more weight. He said he was trying to keep my body from getting used to the routine and plateauing.
His workout plan was also based on interval training: after every 2 or 3 weight lifting exercises, we'd go over to the elliptical or treadmill and I had to power through 2 minutes of cardio, going as fast as i could handle, then we'd go back to a few weight lifting exercises. This kept my heart rate up throughout the whole workout. We also went directly from one machine to another, from one muscle group to another instead of sitting around and waiting in between reps; the next machine you go to IS when your first muscle group gets to rest. This maximized the amount I worked out in the 45 minute time frame (instead of having me sit around a lot, like most people in the gym seem to do). I was supposed to go in on my own outside of the training sessions and do some cardio, to help with the weight loss aspect.
I'd voice my concern about getting too buff to him and he always said that i'd need more testosterone to really bulk up or would have to have little to no body fat so all the muscles would show and that I wouldn't need to worry... and in the end I didn't bulk up even though I definitely got stronger and lost fat too... people just saw a leaner me.
4. He gave me a rough meal plan where an example of lunch would be 3 oz of chicken, a pear, and 6 almonds ( to get the serving of protein, fat, and good carbs). I had 3 meals per day plus 2 snacks (that had to include protein, like low fat yogurt). Note that the plan was for me specifically, but in general he tried to have me eat protein, good carbs, and a tiny bit of good fat (6 almonds or a tablespoon of avocado) per meal. I kind of cut out most breads and focused on getting carbs from fruits and veggies. Trust me, I got bored with this plan and still went out to eat, but tried to keep my meals within 250-300 calories. Note also that everyone recommends not dropping below 1200 calories per day.
5. Too much protein? My trainer's answer was no, but he was definitely a body builder guy whose every 5th word was "proteeeeeeinnnnnn." Might have to google the correct answer. His opinion was that your body would get rid of excess protein instead of turning it into fat, but I am not so sure about that...
6. Um... Not sure. If you see my number 4, I'd have some protein with each meal and would have a protein rich snack like yogurt. He'd definitely get mad at me if I hadn't eaten anything at all for hours before my workout, and would suggest I go have a snack after my workout too. He (and I) preferred real food over protein shakes (and I had no problem with getting protein because I love sushi, especially sashimi) and he only told me to eat the meal replacement shakes if I had nothing else around to eat.
7. No, have protein every day, with all meals. Protein helps repair the lean tissue you are essentially tearing and building back up during your workouts. Your body won't just burn the fat when you are starving (which you are essentially doing to get your body to lose weight), it will also eat the muscle, so protein is supposed to help prevent that.
9. YES! More muscle in your body = higher metabolic rate = burning more calories while resting. My trainer would tell me that a lot of girls just go to the gym and do a little cardio and they stay skinny looking, but their body fat % can still be really high because they have no muscle on them. My friend is a victim of that. She called me crying because her doctor told her she was obese (she is very skinny looking but because she doesnt have much muscle her body fat % fell into the "obese" category).
10. Don't focus on weight as a number; if you can, measure your weight AND body fat percentage (I bought a scale with a built in body fat % calculator but it is junk... never matched the measurements from the little handheld device my gym had). You can use the body fat % to calculate how many pounds of fat you have, so as you keep weighing yourself and calculating how many of your pounds are fat, you can see if you are losing fat or something else (muscle, water, etc) each week. Whenever I seemed to be losing weight that wasn't fat, my trainer would tell me to check my eating habits and make sure I had proteeeeeeeeinnnnnnn.

TrainerRobin

1)How often should I lift weight
Three times a week is ideal. You can do more if you'd like but be sure to give the muscles you work (yes, that includes abs which folks used to believe could be worked daily) at least a 48 hour break between workouts.
2) Do I need more reps or higher weights? I want to be defined and have endurance, not bulk.
If you are starting out, do ease into it the first week or so, but then work your way toward a weight that is the MOST you can do for eight to ten reps. In general -- more weight, fewer reps. I never let my clients get to a weight they can lift more than 12 times (my rules is "we graduate at 13"). Many reps will get you nowhere fast. The "long and lean" versus "bulk" is a total misrepresentation.
4) How much protein should I have where I do not want to bulk and have a lot of fat to lose? Is the default protein number enough?
The default protein is enough, but not as high as you might want. That said, I'm not a proponent of super high protein diets and have trained many people to amazing transformation with a healthy diet with reasonable (but not super high) levels of protein. The myth of "more protein is better" has predominantly died in the medical/research community, but the updated data hasn't reached many gyms ...
5) Is there such a thing as too much protein?
Yes. But if you're eating a reduced calorie diet, it would be tough to impossible to hit that dangerous level. Just be sure you're not too heavy on protein because if that's the case, you'll be forgoing the important nutrients we need via your healthy carbs and healthy fats.
6) What time of day should I have a protein shake if I need one?
You don't NEED one, but if you'd like one, within 30 minutes of a heavy workout. The perfect combo for that purpose will have protein with a touch of carbs and a touch of fat (necessary for the good stuff to work well).
7) Should I only have protein on days I work out?
No. You should have protein every day. But if you're talking about a supplement, that's fine.
8) I know muscle weighs more then fat but should I still see a weight loss number on the scale where I need to lose fat?
Ultimately, yes, but in the short term, do not be surprised if you actually see a gain. Just persist and you'll love what you see and the scale will follow. More importantly, your body composition will improve!
9) Is building muscle a smart idea when trying to lose fat? This is more complicated than it might seem, but for your purposes, yes. Just know that you will likely not see as dramatic of a loss on the scale (which is okay!).
10Is there anything else I am missing?
--It's a big subject, but remember that your lifting should be done with impeccable form, good intentional timing, no cheating (blasting through moves, leaning back, etc.
--Ask a "qualified and reputable" trainer for advice on form and proper movement and then do that EVEN THOUGH most of the gym rats will not be working out properly. The thing is that many of them know what they are supposed to be doing, even though they're cheating their way through weights too heavy for them. Do the right thing and your results will be improved! --Remember that being sore is a good thing, but you should not be hurt. Gradually increase your volume and ask a trainer for advice on changing things up after about five weeks or so.
--Respect your limitations and get help from a good trainer about how to work through/around them.
--Ensure you're medically okay to start a training program.
--Ask the trainer for advice about doing things safely (e.g., ask "what are common mistakes or things that I might do that could be dangerous"?)
--Learn about opposing muscle groups and be aware of balancing your workout (e.g, if you're working your biceps, you want to ensure you're hitting your triceps appropriately). An imbalance can lead to tightness and ultimately injury later. You can Google opposing muscle groups and learn a little about that on your own.
--You will NOT bulk up from too much muscle gain (although you can bulk up from simply too many calories).
-- a solid 8 hours of quality sleep is CRITICAL to making gains in muscle development
-- quality food is also CRITICAL to good progress (eat clean, whole foods, lean proteins, complex healthy carbs, and healthy fats).
-- Record regularly (at the most, every week) your weight, your body fat percentage, your weight in lean, your weight in body fat, and the improvement in the same. You should be hanging onto your lean as you lose weight. When I have clients who I see their lean body mass dropping much, that's a red flag to examine the things I mentioned here.
-- It's HARD work to add muscle to a woman's body. Like it or not, it comes slowly and yet, grrrrrrr, disappears all too quickly (especially as we age). Don't be afraid of pushing yourself and working harder than the other women in the gym. If you're doing that, you're likely on the right track!

Hope that helps!
Good luck!!!
Keep me posted on your progress!!

crystal_sapphire

i'm going to do a big disagree with those saying 15 reps.

to build you need a calorie surplus and more protein and heavier weights at 8-10 reps so that on that one it's really hard to lift but you still maintain form.

seemichellerun

I highly suggest you pick up the book The New Rules of Lifting for Women. Great info about diet and an easy to follow lifting program. I'm about halfway through it and I'm very happy with the strength I've gained.

olsenl

Weight or strength training will do it. Join a gym or club and learn how to use the weights. Most of these give a free introductory session to help you set up a personal program. That is important so that you don't injure yourself. Also remember that muscle weighs more than fat! So if you are building muscle and losing weight at the same time, remember that. You will feel toned and trim as the muscle replaces the fat.

TrainerRobin

i'm going to do a big disagree with those saying 15 reps.

to build you need a calorie surplus and more protein and heavier weights at 8-10 reps so that on that one it's really hard to lift but you still maintain form.

Agreed!!! If you're working out hard, that's no time to skip on the calories. Watch it of course, but you can't starve yourself to added muscle. And yes, 15 reps is too much. Let me put it this way with a story:

At the Cooper Institute, our instructor asked our big crowd of experienced trainers (all of who were built, many who had up to 20 years of experience and most of whom were just working to get their Cooper Institute certification) "Who has experience training women?" Most of the hands went up. Then she told them to leave their hands up if they followed the system of having woman lift weight that permits them to do 15 reps, with three sets. Most of the hands stayed up. She said, 'To all of you who have your hands in the air, I have news for you. It's not 1980. We've LONG since learned that to gain or maintain muscle mass, women need to train like we now train men." She added, "If you won't accept the newest science on this, then please, please, please DO NOT tell anyone that (IF YOU PASS THE EXAM) you studied at the Cooper Institute." There were a few embarrassed well-built, very experienced gym rats at that moment. But it was a learning moment, and we all benefited from the following instruction that detailed the research on the subject.

Caper88

Thanks so much for all of the advice and input, specially from you TrainerRobin

sbilyeu75

these are great questions! More weight, less reps. Eat protein immediately after lifting. That's the extent of my knowledge. i'll be watching this post.

YES!
Lift heavy stuff!! As you do reps you want fail at 8-10 and do that three times with a fair break in between for a set. As you lift you want to focus on exploding into the lift (or out of it depending on your direction). Doing lots of reps really fast will not get you anywhere though. Definitely want to do some research and learn proper form to prevent injuries. DO NOT take example from the meat heads at the gym who do curls and are lifting weight so heavy they have to throw their entire body into the lift- that is POOR FORM.

Increase your weights regularly. As a weight becomes easier (lets say you could only do 8 or 9 reps before and now you can do 10 without failure) you MUST increase weight. Doing the same weight light weight 1000 times isn't going to build strength like this will.

As for time- your muscles need 48 hours to recoup. Most trainers will recommend having an upper body day and a lower body day and alternating. This will likely have you lifting 5 or 6 days a week but since you're alternating muscle groups it's ok.

BULK IS A LIE!!! As a female you don't have enough testosterone to "bulk up" so forget about that. It's a myth created by some dumb girl who didn't want to get sweaty. (Every offense intended for anyone that actually BELIEVES this) One thing you want to make sure of is to use PROPER FORM, get FULL EXTENSION and STRETCH.

There is a book out called something like The Guide to Lifting for Women or something and I hear that it's awesome. Basically, every well toned, muscular, FIT woman I've ever met lifts like a dude and finishes with loads of cardio.

Don't be skerrred just dive in. You'll like it!!

I agree with just about all of this. The book is called The New Rules of Lifting for Women. It's worth the $15 investment.

millerll

Lots of good advice here. The book mentioned above is highly recommended. Also, check out scoobysworkshop.com for great videos and tips on how to exercise, eat, etc. This guy is a serious athlete and knows his stuff. Good luck!

Caper88

I will have to pick up the book

msbanana

BULK IS A LIE!!! As a female you don't have enough testosterone to "bulk up" so forget about that. It's a myth created by some dumb girl who didn't want to get sweaty. (Every offense intended for anyone that actually BELIEVES this) One thing you want to make sure of is to use PROPER FORM, get FULL EXTENSION and STRETCH.

This simply isn't true. On average, a female will have less testosterone than the average man. The fact is that everyone has, and produces testosterone. Within a few hours of moderate compound lifting, everyone will begin producing T. I'm gonna call it T because I don't like typing testosterone. Between 12 and 72 hours production will go back to normal. The body will adapt. We are the most advanced things in the existence of time, we will adapt. Also, T isn't the only thing linked to muscle growth. And lastly, even the most delicate of female can acquire a physique of stregnth with proper diet, sensible exercise, and quality rest.

Don't let the detractors bum you. You can do it.

For the record- I didn't say BUILDING MUSCLE is a lie- I said BULK. I know DOZENS of girls and have seen dozens more on here that say they're afraid to lift weights because they're afraid they'll bulk up and look like a guy. If that's your goal as a female- cool but it's hours and hours and hours in the gym, a super strick high calorie, low carb diet and in most instances "supplements" read here something to boost testosterone production. The reason I even brought that up is that the reason have a propensity toward larger muscle mass, bone density and body hair has EVERYTHING to do with testosterone. Women, working out or not, DO NOT produce anywhere NEAR the levels that men produce and unless enhanced are not going produce muscle at the same rate nor are they going to produce muscle in the same way.

If you're eating a well balanced diet, lifting hard and doing plenty of cardio all your going to get is what most of us here are looking for a trim toned sexy physique.

**steps off soap box**

mrb_9110

Bump, same problem

koosdel

I

BULK IS A LIE!!! As a female you don't have enough testosterone to "bulk up" so forget about that. It's a myth created by some dumb girl who didn't want to get sweaty. (Every offense intended for anyone that actually BELIEVES this) One thing you want to make sure of is to use PROPER FORM, get FULL EXTENSION and STRETCH.

This simply isn't true. On average, a female will have less testosterone than the average man. The fact is that everyone has, and produces testosterone. Within a few hours of moderate compound lifting, everyone will begin producing T. I'm gonna call it T because I don't like typing testosterone. Between 12 and 72 hours production will go back to normal. The body will adapt. We are the most advanced things in the existence of time, we will adapt. Also, T isn't the only thing linked to muscle growth. And lastly, even the most delicate of female can acquire a physique of stregnth with proper diet, sensible exercise, and quality rest.

Don't let the detractors bum you. You can do it.

For the record- I didn't say BUILDING MUSCLE is a lie- I said BULK. I know DOZENS of girls and have seen dozens more on here that say they're afraid to lift weights because they're afraid they'll bulk up and look like a guy. If that's your goal as a female- cool but it's hours and hours and hours in the gym, a super strick high calorie, low carb diet and in most instances "supplements" read here something to boost testosterone production. The reason I even brought that up is that the reason have a propensity toward larger muscle mass, bone density and body hair has EVERYTHING to do with testosterone. Women, working out or not, DO NOT produce anywhere NEAR the levels that men produce and unless enhanced are not going produce muscle at the same rate nor are they going to produce muscle in the same way.

If you're eating a well balanced diet, lifting hard and doing plenty of cardio all your going to get is what most of us here are looking for a trim toned sexy physique.

**steps off soap box**

I may have misunderstood your post. In that case, I apologise.

Caper88

For the record- I didn't say BUILDING MUSCLE is a lie- I said BULK. I know DOZENS of girls and have seen dozens more on here that say they're afraid to lift weights because they're afraid they'll bulk up and look like a guy.

I am not afraid to lift weights. I just know there is a difference in they way you do it to build bulk and build endurance. I just want to know as a female what is the best way for me to maximize my time and define my muscles while losing body fat. It just never seems building muscle works for me.

tolygal

bump - I need to read all of this, cuz I'm trying to do the same thing and have no clue!

RunHardBeStrong

I highly suggest you pick up the book The New Rules of Lifting for Women. Great info about diet and an easy to follow lifting program. I'm about halfway through it and I'm very happy with the strength I've gained.

Completely agree..awesome book!!! Easy to follow routines for whole body workout using higher weight less reps getting you out of the gym faster!! Not to mention GREAT reasults!!!

kwardklinck

I also want tone but I still want a woman's shape. I only do light weights with many repetitions. I will gradually increase the weight as I get stronger. I don't think a woman can really build muscle like a man, especially if she's eating a limited number of calories.