Womens Bodybuilding

A very common problem that all of us run into from time to time is getting sick. This will usually interfere with our training schedule and a lot of people don’t want to lose any of their results. Workout when sick? Well, I have a few opinions on this and the answer really depends on the type of person you are. I guess the question you should be asking yourself is what you do while you’re sick outside the gym.

I learned from my dad how to deal with colds - stay in bed. A lot of people can’t do that. They just need to be doing things or they’ll go nuts. I understand it. For me, I’m in bed for one day and I’m completely cured. I do nothing, but I get a good rest and my body is cured.

For the rest of you, it depends on what you do with your time. If you’re going to go to your stressed out job, doing a lot of stuff - regardless of the fact that you’re sick, the cold will drag on.

Here’s the deal…

If you’re going to sleep in bed all day, than definitely skip the gym. It’ll be a day (or two at the most) and you’ll be back at the gym.

Working out at the gym whenever you’re sick prolongs it. You’re basically diverting resources that fight the cold to the workout. If you’re going to have an active lifestyle regardless of the cold, than you might as well workout because you’re likely to be sick for a week.

You should know which path to take.

I want to give you a little insight into my weight lifting routines for women. These are great workouts designed specifically for women. These routines are independent of your goals, if it be cutting the fat off your body or putting on muscle.

Start with a slight inclined dumbbell press. I usually start the incline at the lowest one I can get(above horizontal). I sit down on the bench and rest each dumbbell on each knee. I’m sitting straight up at this point. When I’m reading to start, as I’m leaning back, I kick each knee (one at a time), so the waits come up. This makes it much easier to start the routine, especially with heavy weights. Keep your shoulders cocked out and do it for 8-10 reps. Do a total of 3 reps and take a short 60 second rest in between.

The next thing you’re going to do is called a bent over row. You can use the same bench you’re on now, but drop the incline, so the bench is completely flat. You’re going to put one knee on the end of the bench, bend over and support yourself with your arm (should be the same side as your knee). Your back should be parallel to the bench. Reach down with your free arm and grab a dumbbell. Lift it up and down, keeping your shoulder tucked in. You should do this 8-10 times, resting 60 seconds between sets.

Lastly, what we’re going to try is called a dumbbell squat. You can leave your bench and stand up straight, holding a dumbbell in each hand. Squat up and down. Do this for 8-10 reps, resting for sixty seconds in between.

There are my favorite weight lifting routines for women. Use them wisely and they shall serve you well.

I’m going to share with you my advice for extreme muscle hypertrophy for women. Men are more known for being able to achieve this amazing muscle hypertrophy, but I’m confident as women, we can have great results too.

You should of probably noticed that most people at the gym that bodybuild (men) are using a theory of strength training. The idea is the heavier you lift the more muscles you get. It sounds like a good philosophy, but unfortunately building muscle isn’t quite that simple.

I don’t train for strength, all the time. I recognize the fact that there is more I can do in the gym to stimulate muscle growth than lifting as heavy as I can. I eventually search and found a great routine called Dual Factor Hypertrophy Training (DFHT). It’s a lot more complicated of a philosophy, but I’ve noticed I’ve had better results over the long term following this. The following elements can stimulate muscle growth:

• Cycling Your Lifting Volume
• The Rest Periods Between Sets
• The Amount of Reps You Do
• The Speed in Which You Do These Reps
• Strength
• Maximum One Rep

You’ll notice that strength is in there. Strength builds muscles, but it’s not everything. You end up plateauing if you just do the same thing. Look at all the different ways you can stimulate growth. All these ways build different types of muscle fiber, yet most workouts don’t incorporate them.

Cycling volume is simple. Volume is the amount of weight you lift multiplied by the number of reps. You should get a number over the week. Change up your volume from week to week. One week, do regular workouts. Next week, goto the gym 6 times and increase your volume. The next week, do a low volume and only goto the gym twice. Switch it up.

The rest periods and the amount of reps are pretty obvious.  Just decide every few weeks that one of your workout days, you’re only going to take a 30 second rest period, instead of the regular 1-2 minutes. Different rep ranges have different effects. 6 or less is strength, 8-10 is bodybuilding, 10-15 stimulates another muscle fiber (the name escapes me). The point is that each rep range is stimulating a different type of muscle fiber to grow. Why grow one, when you can grow all three?

Speed is simple to understand. When I do my reps, I do them explosively when I’m contracting the muscle and slowly as I uncontract them. Decide on a specific workout each week where you’re going to pump out the reps at a much faster rate.

Lastly, is the one rep max.  You don’t have to do this one quite as often. You should do this once every 6 weeks, only to one exercise in a workout. All you’re trying to do is lift as much as you can, for just one rep. That’s all it is.

This should help you get an extreme muscle hypertrophy for women. Just keep at it and try to apply all elements to your long term workout plans.

Weightlifting for women is a growing community of women that are just opening up to the benefits of a weightlifting routine. It is still pretty taboo for a woman to hit the weights as regularly as guys do, but the benefits are there, so I’m here to share some great exercises to try.

Squats: This is pretty simple. Find a rack, put a barbell on it, get under the bar and pick it up while supporting the weight on the back shoulders. Squat up and down. This will give you a great butt.

Skull Crushers: Grab a dumbbell, and hold it directly over your head. Make sure you get a good grip. Slowly lower the dumbbell behind your head, than push it back up above your head. This will work the back of your upper arm and help tone it up.

Dumbbell Bench Press on a Ball: Find one of the big balls in the gym, and take it over to the dumbbell area. Grab two dumbbells, and lie back on the ball. Make sure your upper back is supported by the ball, cock your elbows out and push the weight up and down. This will work your chest and burn a lot of calories.

Barbell Bent Over Rows: All you need is a barbell, bend over slightly; roughly 30 degree angle. Keep your back straight, elbows tucked in and pull the weight up to your chest. This will work your back and burn a lot of calories.

These four exercises are enough weightlifting for women. Don’t over do it at the gym and take your time. Use lightweights first, just to get a feel for it. If you do these exercises on a regular basis, you’ll lose fat, get toned and be in progress for the body you want.

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