How can women gain weight by gaining muscle?
I have recently been trying to gain muscle in my arms and legs. I have always had a lifting regimen, but lately I have been lifting more weight and more reps as well as eating more protein. There isn’t really any affect – no weight gain of any kind or change in body shape. I am very tone and slim (4’11, 95 lbs, no noticable fatty deposits), but my arms and legs still look like sticks. The strange thing is, I am actually strong – can bench 140lbs, black belt in wushu (chinese martial art form), can do 160 lb leg press. What is going on with me?
I guess I should indicate, I am a 25 y/o, married, one child, hispanid/caucasian mix.
November 18th, 2010 at 8:58 am
For a woman you are already fairly strong and yes you can gain weight by adding muscle for a person your size benching 140 is very good. 160 leg press is fairly good to. considering how big you are you are doing very good but you can still do better if you want.
Also you may want to try putting some space between your workouts so your body can recuperate since muscle comes from the body repairing damaged cells which is spurred on by exercise thats why protein is needed to build muscle.
November 18th, 2010 at 9:01 am
try doing one arm andor two arm curls. bench press is more for you chest than it is for your biceps.
November 18th, 2010 at 9:58 am
Not sure what your lifting regimen consists of but 3 sets of 8-12 reps with 1 minute between sets should be good. I’m not sure how you are feeling after your last set but you should just barely be finishing it. If you are trying to pack on muscle make sure you are getting 1 gram of protein for every pound you weigh. Hopefully you are doing at least two exercises from each muscle group Arms, Legs, Back, Chest & Ab with a day of rest in between exercise bouts.
If you are surprised you aren’t turning into a hulk it is because women lack the amount testosterone men have. Are you trying for size or definition or both? Also how much cardio are you doing? If you do too much you burn off muscle.