Workout program to build muscle for women?

xgettingfitx
xgettingfitx Posts: 1
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey guys,

I'm a 20yo female, 105 lbs, 5'4". I'm about 40 days into Insanity, and while it's been great at toning me up and generally changing my attitude towards working out, it's a bit too much cardio for me. I'll definitely finish it, but I'm trying to decide what to do next. My main goal is to build (or tone) muscle. Insanity sort of exhausts me with cardio before I can focus on the strength exercises (pushups, squats).

Anyone know of workouts that help build muscle, with much less cardio, which aren't exclusively oriented towards men? I also need something less intensive (less time per day) than Insanity once school starts. Since I'm kind of clueless with strength training, I'm looking for something non-intimidating and straightforward, showing correct form and telling me how many sets/reps to do, and what to do daily. I have access to a gym/weights if needed.

Thanks in advance!

Replies

  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    Lift heavy weights. Look at Starting Strength or Stronglifts 5 x 5 or Nia Shanks. The first two are for men and women though there are groups on here with women doing those programs. Nia Shanks is a female and has a lot of motivational stuff for women. I started out with New Rules of Lifting for Women which is a good book for information, but the workouts started taking a looong time, so I switched to Nia.
  • gmallan
    gmallan Posts: 2,099 Member
    New Rules of Lifting for Women, Starting Strength and Strong Lifts are all good beginner programs. Check these out and see which one suits the best. I'm prettty sure the only one targeted specifically towards women is New Rules but this doesn't really matter. For the most part women can and should weight train the same as men.

    As a beginner focus on full-body compound workouts 3 times a week with good form. Generally in the 6-12 rep range for three sets is a pretty good start. Start with slightly higher reps as you learn form with lighter weights and decreasing towars the lower end of the rep range when you've got the form down and can add more weight.

    Best of luck
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    This thread deserves an Adini wall o links
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
    Any workout/program a guy can do, a girl can do and vice versa.
  • lms1220
    lms1220 Posts: 60
    Bump
  • Shelleybean29
    Shelleybean29 Posts: 95 Member
    Body Beast!
  • BeachGingerOnTheRocks
    BeachGingerOnTheRocks Posts: 3,927 Member
    For time constraints, you need to look into Stronglifts 5x5. You'll probably get the most bang for your buck, so to speak, out of it. Don't concern yourself about whether exercises are for men or women.
  • Tessyloowhoo
    Tessyloowhoo Posts: 504
    bumping to read later
  • da_bears10089
    da_bears10089 Posts: 1,791 Member
    I loved stronglifts 5x5. Super easy for beginners to get form down and quick strength gains usually (except that damn OHP). I loved the changes in my body, but that is a strength building program, not hypertrophy.

    Edited because I guess I cant type on my phone. Derp.
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
    I just finished reading Strong Curves and it looks like a great program. Any program that works for men would work for women but he wrote this book specifically for women.

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