Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 4: Building Muscle Mass in Adult Women
• Method 2 of 4: Building Muscle Mass in Children and Adolescents
• Method 3 of 4: Training Specific Muscle Groups
• Method 4 of 4: Build Muscle Through Diet
• Tips
• Warnings

Gaining muscle mass is not easy, especially for a girl. This is partly due to the lower testosterone levels in girls and women compared to men. However, with some simple lifestyle changes and proper strength training, women can also increase their muscle mass and strength.

Steps

Method 1 of 4: Building Muscle Mass in Adult Women

1. 1 Consult a fitness instructor and / or doctor. Talk to your doctor before starting strength training. Exercising to build muscle is demanding, and some chronic conditions (such as heart disease, high blood pressure, or stroke) preclude intense strength training.
   • If you have high blood pressure (hypertension), you should consult your doctor before starting strength training. If your blood pressure exceeds 180/110 millimeters of mercury, not Do strength exercises until your blood pressure is normalized with medication.
   SPECIALIST'S ADVICE

   

   Claudia Carberry, RD, MS

   
   
   M.Sc. in Nutrition, University of Tennessee at Knoxville Claudia Carberry is a Registered Dietitian specializing in kidney transplant patient care and weight loss counseling at the University of Arkansas Medical. He is a member of the Arkansas Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She received her MA in Nutritional Science from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2010.

   Claudia Carberry, RD, MS
   Master of Science in Nutrition, University of Tennessee at Knoxville

   Professional nutritionist Claudia Carberry advises: "For women, the best way to build muscle is through strength training."

2. 2 Make a strength training plan. Strength training uses the muscles in your body, which have to overcome a certain amount of resistance. When muscles work in conditions of resistance, additional tension is created in the muscle fibers, which leads to an increase in the size of the muscles and their relief. To build muscle mass, you need to incorporate strength training into your regular exercise routine.
   • As a rule, during strength training, free weights (dumbbells, barbells), exercise equipment, resistance bands, or just their own body weight (push-ups, pull-ups, crunches) are used.
   • Create a balanced training program for all muscle groups to build muscle (see section three).
3. 3 Don't do too much cardio. Building muscle is not about burning fat. The best way to build muscle is through strength training, while intense cardio training will decrease muscle mass (for example, marathon runners cannot boast of large muscles).
   • Nevertheless, one should not completely forget about cardio exercises, as they are beneficial for the cardiovascular system and respiratory system, as well as strengthen bones, lower blood pressure, and reduce the risk of chronic diseases (diabetes, cancer, diseases of the cardiovascular system) , improve mood.
   • Also keep in mind that cardio exercise reduces body fat, making your muscles appear leaner and your body leaner.
   • In the process of building muscle, short, not long, cardio workouts are needed. Engage in 20 minutes of vigorous, 30-60 second sprint workout followed by 1 minute rest.
   • Do cardio workouts separate from strength training. Never do cardio after strength training - set aside a separate day for it.
   • Set aside for cardio training no more than 20 minutes 3-5 times a week.
4. 4 Rest, rest, and rest again. Strength training actually forces the muscles into a catabolic state, which breaks down the proteins they contain. As a result, the body has to repair muscle tissue, which leads to a "build-up" of muscle mass. Therefore, intense strength training must be combined with adequate rest.
   • Limit strength training to 3-4 days a week and do not work on the same muscle groups for two days in a row.
   • Get adequate sleep at night: Adults are advised to get at least 7-9 hours of sleep.
5. 5 Learn to exercise properly and be mindful of the risks. Strength training tense not only muscles, but also joints and bones. If you do the exercises incorrectly, you can get injured.
   • Be sure to consult with a trainer and learn how to do each exercise correctly before increasing the load.

Method 2 of 4: Building Muscle Mass in Children and Adolescents

1. 1 Check with your pediatrician. A doctor should be consulted before a child or teenager begins any strength training. The process of building muscle is slightly different for children and adolescents, as their bodies are still developing and growing. Exercising too often and too intensely can lead to injury that will have lasting consequences for a young body. A preliminary medical consultation will help you determine the following:
   • purpose of training;
   • suitable training methods;
   • risk factors such as possible injury, the use of steroids and other dietary supplements;
   • Since the ultimate goal of strength training is to increase muscle size, you should talk to your pediatrician about steroid use, especially if your child is competing.
2. 2 Do strength training. Strength training mainly involves lifting weights, although bodyweight exercises (such as squats and push-ups), endurance and agility exercises are also suitable for increasing muscle strength and volume.
   • Weighted exercises are one of the most common types of strength training and are used in sports and amateur practice.
   • To get started, consult a fitness trainer - he will familiarize you or your child with the appropriate exercises and teach you how to perform them correctly.
   • Always warm up before exercising and do cardio for 5-10 minutes to prevent injury.
   • Stretch lightly before each exercise and after exercise to increase muscle flexibility.
3. 3 Start with light weights and work your way up as your strength increases. Working with too large weights can cause injury. You also need to learn how to do each exercise correctly before increasing the load.
   • Make sure you do each exercise correctly: move slowly, breathe measuredly, and maintain a range of motion. If you rush or break your range of motion, you run the risk of injury.
   • Listen to your body. The intensity of training depends on the number of repetitions, weight, and the length of rest between sets. Do not overexert yourself.
   • However, you need to make an effort. If you do not strain and do not gradually move on to more stress, your muscles will not develop and grow.
4. 4 Do not powerlifting or compete in weightlifting. Children and teenagers must not participate in weightlifting, powerlifting or bodybuilding competitions. These sports are very hard to build muscle mass, they have a very high risk of injury, so they are not suitable for children.
   • If you are unsure about what types of strength training you or your child should do, talk to your doctor.
   • Children and adolescents are still developing and growing, which increases the risk of injury.
5. 5 Add aerobic exercise to your weekly workouts. Aerobic (cardio) exercise increases your heart rate and breathing. Regular aerobic exercise brings many health benefits: it helps maintain optimal body weight, reduces stress, strengthens the cardiovascular system and respiratory system, reduces the risk of chronic diseases (diabetes, cancer), and promotes the release of endorphins to improve mood.
   • Bodyweight aerobic exercise such as walking, dancing, tennis, and running can also help strengthen bones.
   • Weekly aerobic exercise can help balance your strength training and improve your health.
6. 6 Consider the possible risks. Any kind of physical activity comes with certain risks, and this is especially true for strength training. For example, according to the National Electronic Trauma Surveillance System (USA), between 20,000 and 26,000 strength-training injuries occurred before the age of 21. Between 40 and 70 percent of these injuries were caused by muscle tension (mainly in the lumbar region).
   • Strength training must be carefully planned and performed to prevent injury. The following measures will help in this:
     • asking someone to watch or monitor you when you are lifting weights;
     • carefully study the rules of conduct during training so as not to get injured;
     • learn about how to work with simulators;
     • clear the training area so that it is free of dangerous objects;
     • warm up properly before and after exercise.
7. 7 Don't exercise too much. Excessive exercise can harm the body and cause catabolism (breakdown of muscle protein). During adolescence, the body continues to develop, and excessive strength training or burning too many calories can cause the developing body to malfunction.
   • Your workout should be no longer than one hour, and you should rest for 1 or 2 days between workouts so that your muscles have time to recover.
   • Excessive exercise is indicated by signs such as a rapid heartbeat at rest, trouble sleeping, and exhaustion.
   • If you or your child experience any of these symptoms, reduce the duration or intensity of exercise and consult a doctor.
   • Note to Parents: Excessive exercise can also be a sign of an eating disorder. If you think your child is exercising too much, pay attention to the following symptoms: he gets upset if he skips a workout, and plays sports even in bad weather. You should also be alert if your child gets annoyed when not exercising because they are not burning calories, and thinks they will gain weight if they spend at least one day without physical activity.

Method 3 of 4: Training Specific Muscle Groups

1. 1 Get the most out of the combination exercises. Combined exercises designed for the main muscle groups will allow you to build muscle faster and speed up your metabolism. For example, the bench press allows you to simultaneously engage the chest, triceps, and deltoid muscle, while a specialized exercise such as the bent-over arm extension trains only the triceps.
   • Combined exercises help you use more muscle fibers, so you end up spending less time in the gym.
   • Try to schedule your exercise to engage your upper and lower body muscles for 3-4 days to avoid the muscle fatigue that often occurs with specialized exercises.
   • Use specialized exercises to adjust the growth of individual muscles after you reach your overall goals.
2. 2 Build muscles in your legs and buttocks. To increase muscle mass in the lower body, you should do exercises for the large muscles of the thighs, calves, and pelvis. If you want to build muscle, you need high loads (or high resistance) and low reps (and vice versa if you are looking to increase endurance).
   • To build muscle in your thighs, do hamstring, quadriceps, and hip flexor exercises such as lunges, squats, and lifts.
   • To build the muscles in your calves (calf, soleus, and tibialis anterior), lift your shins while standing or sitting.
   • The muscles of the thighs and glutes (gluteus maximus, abductors, flexors, and rotator cuffs) are used in several other leg exercises (such as squats and lunges). You can also do more specialized exercises for these muscles, such as hip extensions and leg presses.
   • These exercises should be done with loads or resistances strong enough that you can do no more than 4-8 reps. If you get 8 or more reps easily, you may need to increase the load, otherwise you will be increasing endurance rather than building muscle.
   • Note for teens: be sure to check with an instructor or pediatrician before doing these exercises. Your body is still growing and developing, so you should avoid too high intensities and loads.
3. 3 Strengthen and build your back muscles. To do this, focus on the latissimus dorsi, large and small round muscles, trapezius (upper, middle and lower) muscles, levator scapula muscles, rhomboid, infraspinatus and subscapularis muscles.
   • These muscles can be built with a variety of exercises. Try different types of rows (to the waist, lying and sitting), pull-ups with an upper and lower grip, a deadlift of the upper block, and shrugs.
   • These exercises can be done with free weights, on machines, and even with resistance bands or body weights.
   • Among other things, strengthening your back muscles will help improve your posture.
4. 4 Strengthen your core muscles to build strong abs. To build abdominal muscles, train the rectus, transverse, oblique abdominal muscles, the square muscle of the lower back, and the erector spine.
   • To train your abdominal muscles, you can use your body weight and do crunches, squats, and leg raises, or use free weights, machines, and resistance bands to add extra work to those muscles.
5. 5 Build your pectoral muscles. Women often forget about the muscles of the chest, but this should not be done. Exercising these muscles will help maintain balance, especially if you are building your back muscles: focusing on only one side of your body can lead to poor posture.
   • To build these muscles, do exercises for the pectoralis major, pectoralis minor, and the serratus anterior.
   • Choose 2-3 different exercises, such as bar dips, bench press, barbell lift, chest press, and / or dumbbell raises.
6. 6 Strengthen the muscles in your arms and shoulders. Many women want lean and muscular arms and shoulders. To do this, you should train the deltoid (anterior, lateral and posterior) and supraspinatus muscles in the shoulder, as well as the brachial muscle, triceps and biceps, that is, the flexors and extensors of the arms.
   • To build muscle in your shoulders, do bench presses or overhead presses, lifting in front of you, pulling to the chin, or extending your arms. These exercises can be easily done with resistance bands, barbells, or dumbbells for extra weight.
   • When training your arms, use dumbbells or machines to do exercises such as triceps push-ups, dumbbell back raises, arm extensions, biceps curls, and wrist curls and bends.

Method 4 of 4: Build Muscle Through Diet

1. 1 Start your morning with oatmeal. Building muscle starts with eating right. When you need to choose the right carbohydrate food that has been minimally processed and has a low glycemic index, there is no better breakfast than oatmeal.
   • Oatmeal is not only high in fiber and low in calories, but also packed with micronutrients, it is great at satisfying hunger and reducing the likelihood of overeating during the day.
   • As a general rule, oatmeal is a good way to supplement your diet with healthy carbs.
   • Avoid instant oatmeal, which is high in sugar and artificial flavors. Boil natural oatmeal and add healthy foods like chopped nuts and blueberries to it.
2. 2 Eat lean meat. High-quality, protein-rich, lean meat is essential for gaining muscle mass. In the digestive system, it is broken down into amino acids, which are the building blocks of muscle tissue and are required for muscle recovery after exercise.
   • Eat lean beef (for example, outer thigh fillets, top and back of the thigh fillets) or ground beef with less than 7% fat. Lean beef is popular with many bodybuilders for its high levels of nutrients (zinc, iron and B vitamins) and high quality protein.
   • Skinless chicken and lean turkey are also excellent sources of protein.
3. 3 Eat low-fat milk and eggs. These nutrient-rich foods are also essential for building and maintaining muscle mass. In addition, dairy products help strengthen bones during childhood and adolescence.
   • Supplement your diet with low-fat cottage cheese. Cottage cheese is a healthy dessert, especially when combined with fresh berries. Plus, it contains a protein that is slow to digest and is ideal for muscle maintenance.
   • Note: If you are lactose intolerant, try soy-based foods rich in calcium and vitamin D.
   • Supplement your diet with free-range chicken eggs for an excellent source of protein and nutrients (including important amino acids, choline and vitamin D). Although eggs are believed to be high in cholesterol, several recent studies have shown that they are not harmful to health.
4. 4 Include nutrient-rich sources of carbohydrates in your diet. Muscles need the energy they get from carbohydrates to work. In the absence of healthy carbohydrates in the diet, training will not give the desired results, and you will get tired .. The first meal after training should be saturated with carbohydrates.
   • Eat fresh fruits and vegetables - they contain healthy antioxidants.
   • Among other things, fruits and vegetables contain essential vitamins and minerals, as well as dietary fiber.
   • Add whole grains (such as brown rice and whole wheat pasta) to your diet, which are rich in healthy carbs and dietary fiber.
   • Among other things, brown rice promotes the release of growth hormones, which are needed to build muscle, increase strength, and burn fat.
   • Avoid white bread and refined pasta.
5. 5 Don't forget about healthy fats. Although fats have a bad reputation, they are needed by the body for energy production, the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, and the maintenance of healthy skin and hair. However, not all fats are healthy. You should only eat foods that contain healthy fatty acids.
   • Eat foods rich in poly- and monounsaturated fats, such as nuts, avocados, seeds, vegetable oils (olive, safflower, and flaxseed).
   • These foods also contain a lot of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which are necessary for the body and are not produced in it.
   • Eat fish. Fish is not only rich in omega-3 fatty acids, but it is also a good source of protein.
   • Avoid saturated and trans fats, which are found in butter, whole milk, beef, processed foods, and fast food.
6. 6 Take whey protein supplements. These supplements are popular with athletes looking to build muscle, mainly because they are an affordable and convenient source of fast protein. In addition, scientific studies have shown that whey protein supplements are an excellent source of protein for both adults and children.
   • Take a whey protein supplement right after workout to help repair and maintain muscle growth.
   • Get high quality protein from your diet, not just whey protein supplements.
   • Adults can consume 20-30 grams of whey protein per day, but not more than 1.2 grams per kilogram of body weight. Although larger doses are possible, they should be used with caution and only for a limited time.
   • Children should consume 0.8 to 1 gram of protein per kilogram of body weight daily. Your body needs more protein when doing strength training, and if you are considering taking a whey protein supplement, consult your doctor about the correct dosage.
   • Note: Too much protein can harm and cause kidney disease, cancer, and osteoporosis. Be sure to check with your doctor if you are unsure of how much protein you need and are considering using any protein supplements.
7. 7 Take vitamin supplements as needed. The best way to get all the vitamins and minerals you need is through a healthy and balanced diet. However, if you lack any vitamins or trace elements, you can supplement your diet with dietary supplements.
   • Be sure to check with your doctor before taking any dietary supplement. In excessive amounts, fat-soluble vitamins can be toxic to the body.

Tips

• Get enough sleep. This will help you stay alert and energetic, and you won't want to sleep in the middle of a workout or sporting event.
• It takes time for you to build muscle, so don't expect immediate results. Moscow was not built in a day.
• Proper nutrition is essential for muscle building. Eat enough healthy foods.
• Remember to drink water. Exercise increases your body's need for water. To stay hydrated, drink at least 10-12 glasses (2.5-3 liters) of water daily.

Warnings

• Do not overdo it! Do strength training no more than 3-5 days a week so that your muscles have time to recover.
• Be sure to check with your doctor before embarking on a new type of training.