Gaining muscle

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ebonyleewalton1
ebonyleewalton1 Posts: 3
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey guys just looking for some general info/opinions on how to train and eat to gain muscle!

I'm at 20 year old female who has always had a very very small build, always bullied for my weight and told by people I have an eating disorder.

I don't want to take in to the extreme of fitness competitions or anything like that, but I would like to build a lot more muscle and look super tonned. No really sure where to start, a lot of info online is directed at males, and I'm not sure if that also applies to females.

Would really appreciate any info, opinions, personal experiences etc.

Thanks in advance guys

Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    Eat all the food and start a decent heavy lifting programme.
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
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    Gaining muscle requires a combination of eating at a surplus and a progressive overload exercise program. It is time consuming. It takes work.

    Your ticker shows nine pounds to lose. Gaining appreciable muscle and losing weight are opposing goals.
  • DeserveVictory
    DeserveVictory Posts: 133 Member
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    I'd recommend reading The New Rules for Weight Lifting for Women. Muscle does weigh more than fat, so the scale might creep up (especially while sore muscles are retaining water), but the inches will melt off and you will appreciate you're new found strength.
  • AllanMisner
    AllanMisner Posts: 4,140 Member
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    The NRFWLFW is a good book. Or you can go with the basic compound movements of squat, deadlift, bench press, barbell row, and overhead press. Since you want muscle hypertrophy (muscle mass) over strength, I go with repetitions of 6 - 9, with 3 - 5 sets of each exercise (rest 90 - 120 seconds between sets). Use the heaviest weight you can use to do 6 - 9 reps with good form. Once you find yourself doing all of the sets with 9 reps, up the weight.

    As for food, you don’t have to overeat to gain mass. Just make sure your at or slightly above maintenance and ensure you’re getting good protein. Learn to time your meals to make your workouts pop. You should feel strong and energized for your workouts, spent when you’re done, and find recovery easy.

    As for muscle gain, you’ll need to work hard and rest well. Get good quality sleep (most people need at least 8 hours per night). Doing a full body program, you’ll probably only get in three workouts per week (try MWF or two rest days between each work day, if you have a more flexible schedule or need more recovery).
  • monikker
    monikker Posts: 322 Member
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    Don't do any cardio unless it's to warm up your muscles for lifting or a brief session after lifting. Eat more than you need to maintain + calories lost from workout. Lots of carbs and protein. Drink lots of water. Consider adding creatine, beta-alanine, BCAAs and fish oil to your supplement regimen. Lift as heavy as possible without hurting yourself. Work all the major muscle groups. And be very, very patient as it will take a good while for your body to catch up with your ambitions.
  • bmanlatour
    bmanlatour Posts: 48 Member
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    Everything that you see for men will completely work for women. You will not become Arnold Schwarzenegger. Men tend to grow more easily but women have the same muscles as men and they respond to the stimulus.

    Start with push ups and bodyweight squats, bodyweight rows on a bar. Add weight to your squats. Move on to seated rows or pull downs. Start doing Romanian deadlifts and farmer walks. Please don't focus on Swiss ball crunches and 5 lb weights. That will get you nowhere.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Start full-body compound moves 3 x weekly. Don't waste time on some split routine while still a beginner for first year.

    Get the form down completely, and get the weight up on the bar.

    You can do that part while in a slight deficit to lose weight/fat. Only 10 lbs to go, you should wisely choose 1/2 lb weekly loss, or 250 cal deficit.

    Log your lifting workouts as Strength training in the cardio section of MFP so you get the extra calorie burn to eat back.
    Now's not the time to make the deficit bigger.

    By the time the weight is gone, your current muscles may be tapped out for strength gains before your body feels the need to even make more muscle.

    Then it's time to eat at maintenance and go for as long as you can before you can't make any more improvements.

    Then it's time to eat over maintenance.
  • MammaMoon
    MammaMoon Posts: 2 Member
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    I would recommend reading and following Thinner Leaner Stronger by Mike Matthews. I was a newbie to lifting last year and followed his programme. It is possible to remain lean and build muscle with the right diet and I still did cardio but only HIIT a couple of times a week (2x 18 min sessions). He is very supportive. Has a website called www.muscle4life.com. Any questions I had he has always answered them personally.
    I agree with the comments above. Lift heavy with low reps using compound exercises: those which use various muscles at the same time. The book details the routines and cites www.bodybuilding.com for videos demonstrating each exercise with good form. Your diet is incredibly important... check out that book on Amazon...He teaches you how to calculate your macros to support muscle gain and fat loss. Good luck!
  • ruqayyahsmum
    ruqayyahsmum Posts: 1,514 Member
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    take a trip into the gaining weight forum on here. lots of info on there and its frequented by several women

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