As personal trainers we always hear women say one key thing, ‘I don’t want to build too much muscle while working out.’ This is a common concern of many clients who are interested in hiring a personal trainer and you can almost see it in their faces as they walk into the gym and they see weight equipment…. All of sudden their eyes open and they start to have visions of them walking on a stage in a string bikini looking like a professional bodybuilder. ‘I don’t want to build too much muscle… I don’t want to look like a man… I don’t want my arms to get bigger…’ starts racing through these women’s minds.
If you are a person who is thinking about hiring a personal trainer don’t be concerned about building muscle. Many people have no idea how hard it truly is to build muscle. Now there is some truth that some of us have more of a genetic disposition to build muscle. However, it’s still a tough for a woman, or anyone for that matter, to build a substantial amount of muscle tissue. You see the issue is that our society has been jaded by the use of steroids. Steroids have actually changed our perception of what the human body is really capable of achieving either through muscle growth or human performance. Many women and men have seen photographs of bodybuilders and athletes who have changed their body’s chemistry to obtain muscle mass and they are convinced that they could look like that by training with a personal trainer twice a week.
The honest truth is to build a substantial amount of muscle you need to make sure you are eating enough calories and the right sort of calories to gain muscle. To lose weight you obviously need to eat less calories than you consume on a daily basis and to build muscle you have to eat more calories than you are burning. That being said a ‘bodybuilder’ must make sure that he/she is getting enough calories from fat, carbohydrates, and of course protein. Then it just takes a lot of hard work and some help with some genetics. Some people struggle for years just to gain 5 pounds of muscle.
The other side of this argument is what the heck is so bad about gaining muscle? Did you know that muscle burns 10 calories a day by just living in your body? That’s right. You see fat is not a living tissue, it’s merely storage, but muscle on the other hand is a living tissue that burns calories every day. So in my mind gaining muscle is actually a good thing because the more you have the more efficient and thermogenic your body becomes. And don’t worry about gaining bulky muscles ladies. It’s really hard to do. Thanks so much for reading and have a healthy day!
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Tags: bodybuilder, bodybuilding, calorie, calories, diet, eating, fat, Fitness, gym, gyms, health, healthy, muscle, muscles, personal trainer, personal trainers, personal training, steroids, work out, workout
I am a female and my main intent is to build muscle and let me tell you it is hard. I lift heavy but I still do not build the muscle that I really really want. I like the muscle look, but like the article states, I must make sure I feed my muscle with protein and/or supplements to build the muscle that I am desiring. It is not easy as lifting weights and then boom I look like a pro bodybuilder.
There is nothing wrong with muscle in my opinion, some people do not even like the appearance of 6 pack abs or toned arms. To each his/her own, but I like the look and I appreciate their hard work and committment to shape their bodies.
Mrzhutch I couldn’t agree more with you about the appearance of muscle on a woman. However, many women equate muscle with being masculin which I think is completely untrue. A woman who looks fit and strong is attractive in my book. I was merely speaking to the questions we get asked all the time at Illuminate Gym as it pertains to women and building muscle.
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Your body also uses protein for energy but protein is what your body uses to repair and build your muscles.
Props that is true that protein can be used for energy as well. In fact, anything with calories can be used for energy. My point was merely to show that protein is a vital component of building muscle.