While women who are seriously interested in bodybuilding are not as common as men, the number of such women is steadily increasing with time.  Society hasn’t caught up to this trend yet and still tends to believe that men work out to get bigger and women workout to get smaller.

In general, it doesn’t really matter what society thinks, but this belief does tend to result in less information being readily available that is directed specifically at the female bodybuilder.

To be realistic, there are generally two questions that most women with a burgeoning interest in bodybuilding want answered: Are they genetically predisposed to building muscles in the same way that men are and should their work out regiment be different from men’s?

The genetic question is the easiest to answer, so we’ll start there.  The actual process of building muscles is exactly the same in men and women: through exercise, tiny tears are made in existing muscle and during the recuperation period, the body repairs these tears with larger and stronger muscles.  Basically, you build muscle by tearing it down a little bit and then letting your body repair it.

However, women are not going to naturally gain muscle in the same bulky way that men do.  The reason for this is found in testosterone which, as most of us know, men have in greater quantities than women.  Testosterone plays a key role in muscle building and the hormonal difference between men and women accounts for the difference in size. This isn’t implying anything about strength because size doesn’t equal strength.

Because of this testosterone difference, experts tend to state that women should not work out at the same intensity as their male counterparts.  A man and woman working out at exactly the same intensity are going to do the same amount of damage to their muscles but, due to the lack of testosterone, women simply aren’t going to be able to repair it as quickly.

Genetically speaking, however, men and women are equally adept at burning fat.  The only thing that women may want to keep in mind about fat burning is that, if your body dips below around 12% body fat, you are likely to see a reduction in the size of your breasts.  The importance of this will obviously vary from woman to woman and is a personal decision.

With genetics out of the way, let’s talk about exercise regimens.  Typically speaking, men and women will do different exercises.  The reasons for this are actually sociological and psychological.  Most bodybuilders want to burn fat, pack on muscles…but still be attractive to the opposite sex.  For this reason, their overall goals in bodybuilding are going to be dependant on the socially accepted stereotypes of a “sexy” figure.

Overall, the “sexy” body for a man is different than the “sexy” body for a woman.  I’m not saying that I agree or disagree with any of this, I’m simply putting it out there for your consideration.

Obviously, you need to be comfortable and satisfied with the way your body looks.  If you’re not, then you have wasted a tremendous amount of energy, time and effort.  Your personal image of what you want to look like is entirely up to you and that image is going to guide your exercise decisions.

Distance runners who incorporate weight training into their fitness regime enjoy many benefits.

Total body conditioning provides an all around toning of the whole body beyond the sport.  By adding free weights or resistance machines (Nautilus and Cybex are two popular ones), or both, to their program, runners enjoy strengthening of not only their legs, but their cardiovascular system as well.

Additionally, they increase their strength all over and are less likely to be injured.  When they are also spending adequate time practicing their chosen sport, distance running or whatever, their endurance for their sport will be improved with strength training.

Benefits to the Whole Body
The body is broken down into three specific regions, the upper body, abdominals or core and the lower body.  Each region has a purpose and supports the total body function.  Therefore, each region needs to be conditioned.

Upper Body
When a runner runs, his or her arms swing.  This is a natural movement in running and
runners adapt this motion and use it to their advantage as a method of propulsion.
Therefore, a runner with a strong upper body is more likely to run faster and more
efficiently than one who is lacking in upper body strength.

Abdominals or Core
The abdominal area is the core of the body.  Strength in this region aids in protecting the
back while it helps the runner maintain his or her proper form.  This helps them to
perform more efficiently.  This protects the core from injury.

Lower Body
The lower body region is the part that propels the runner.  It is also the part of the body
that the runner uses most, but there is some imbalance in the muscle groups that develop.
The runner’s hamstrings and calf muscles develop faster than their quadriceps and shins.
A good weight training program helps to counter this imbalance.  As an added bonus,
strong quads and hips help to protect the lower body from injury.

Benefits Beyond Running

By employing total body conditioning, the runner will experience other benefits.  A leaner body due to increased fat burning capabilities occurs.  The benefits extend beyond improving the runner’s abilities.

More Efficient Fat Burning
The more muscle that a person has, the more efficient the body is at metabolizing
glucose.  In short, more muscle means less fat.  The body becomes a fat burning machine.

Change in Body Composition
As the body ages, its composition changes.  Lean muscle decreases while fat deposits
increase.  Weight training and strength training slows this process.

Bone Protection
This benefit is particularly vital to women.  Weight training helps to protect bones.
When the muscles tug on the person’s bone structure during weight training, the result is
a facilitation of bone regeneration.

Reduction in Other Health Risks
Weight training is believed to reduce the risk factors for health conditions such as adult
onset diabetes and heart disease.

Weight Training Guidelines

There are a few standard rules that should be followed when establishing a weight training program.  For instance, when working out it is best to work the upper body one day and the lower body the next, allowing a full 24 hours for one muscle group to rest before training it again.  The abdominals can be trained every day, without any breaks.  It is best to use lighter weights with more repetitions as opposed to heavy weights and fewer repetitions.

When using the weights or resistance machines, use slow, controlled movement when executing the motion from the starting and when returning to the starting point.  Use light weights with many reps.  Doing greater weight with fewer reps adds bulk and strength.  While the strength may be good, bulk will slow down a runner.  In distance running, this can be a great disadvantage.  Running is one sport where extra muscle bulk is not desirable.

Working the major muscle groups and achieving full body conditioning helps the body avoid late race fatigue.  It also allows the runner to run faster during the first ninety-eight percent of a distance race.  By getting stronger, the runner is better protected from injury and better equipped to handle the stress that a runner puts on his or her body.

Upper Body
•    Bench Press
•    Push Ups
•    Barbell Row
•    Back Extension
•    Dumbell Military Press
•    Front Raises
•    Concentration Curls
•    Kickbacks
•    Dips

Abdominals/Core
•    Basic Crunch
•    Crunch on Exercise Ball
•    Half Curl
•    Reverse Crunch
•    Crossover Crunch
•    Plank
•    Side Bends
•    Weighted Curls with Medicine Ball
•    Cable Crunches

Lower Body
•    Barbell Deadlift
•    Barbell Squat
•    Plie Squat
•    Lunge
•    Straight Leg Raises
•    Straight Leg Hip Flexion
•    Hamstring Rolls

Fat vs. Muscle

Fat does not turn into muscle.  This is a physical impossibility yet many people erroneously believe it can be done.  A fat cell is always a fat cell, no matter what is done.  Fat cells do not go away, but they do decrease in size when the body’s energy it expends exceeds its caloric intake.

While a runner may take in more calories, he or she will increase muscle mass, especially is weight training.  This increased muscle mass does result in a lower body fat percentage.  However, the scales may not reflect a reduction in numbers.  This is because the lost body fat is replaced with muscle and muscle weighs more than fat.

Don’t Forget to Stretch!

The final element to a successful total body conditioning program is to round out each weight training session with some good stretches for the muscle group that is being worked.   Each workout session should be started with some stretching exercises, but after the workout the muscles should be stretched again.

Some simple stretches can accomplish this, but for a more rounded program it may be a good idea to incorporate yoga, pilates or ballet into the overall program.  This will offer the distance runner a true total body workout with stretching, cardio, sport training and weight training.

Sprinting is a sport that requires strong technique, top-notch efficiency, and a combination of aggression and relaxation.  While some sprinters do not lift weights, many do lift weights to “beef up” their game.  However, too much mass can be a hindrance which makes sprinting somewhat unique in the sports realm.

In fact, world-class sprinters are not very large, ranging in size from 155 pounds to 180 pounds.  In developing a training program for sprinting, there are several components that are desirable to achieve.  Speed, of course, is crucial, but a good sprinter also wants to develop strength, power and flexibility.

The desired end results are lean body mass and a great strength to weight ratio.  Another goal that weight lifting can help sprinters achieve is a well developed central nervous system (CNS) which gives the runner a lightening fast reaction time so that they can break out of the gate on command.
The flip side of this is that too much bulk can decrease the sprinter’s ability to relax his or her body and control it at higher speeds.  There is a delicate balance between the strength and power that can help propel a sprinter and the excessive bulk that can slow the runner down significantly.

A chest and shoulders that are too muscular are a sprinters greatest hindrances.  A sprinter must be able to relax in order to maintain top speeds and extra bulk does not facilitate relaxation.  It is more advantageous for the sprinter to have less chest and more leg.
Many serious sprinters implement a full scale workout and training program that includes working out several times a day.  These training programs often broken up into training seasons.   Training seasons are mainly contingent upon the event as well as the athlete.  A training season can last as long as 8 or even 11 months.  This depends upon the indoor as well as outdoor goals.  Each of the three seasons depends upon the athlete’s needs as well as the climate in the area because of the indoor and outdoor elements of the competing and training.
•        Fall/Pre-Season – This season usually begins late September to early October until sometime in early January.
•       Indoor Competition – This season ranges from January through March.
•        Outdoor Competition – This season can range anywhere from March until September.

Three Times a Day Training Program
When using this program, the athlete trains three times a day.  The first workout consists of bounds, sprint drills and plyometric drills.  The drills, though simple in appearance, must be done with precision and aggression.  The focus here is on body posture and execution and they must be correctly done.

A fast ground to ground time is also an essential objective.  A typical workout may consist of several drills, each done for 30 meters and 2 to 4 times on each leg.  There should also be about a minute to a minute and a half rest in between drills.  It is best to do bounds on opposite days of sprint drills, although it is OK to sometimes do them all together.  Plyometrics and bounds get the body accustomed to reacting quickly and getting it very powerful, particularly at the point where the foot contacts the ground.  The plyometrics and bounds are very beneficial, but care should be taken for stress injury such as shin splints or ankle injury.

Each exercise should be done three times.  A good cool down session is vital for the end of each training session.  A good 10 to 15 minutes of stretching, as well as cool down exercising should be done.  Exercises done during this time can even be adopted from the warm up routine.  Follow each workout with some protein within the “golden hour.”

The second session focuses on general conditioning.  Begin with a good warm up and finish with a good cool down, combined with a lot of stretching after.  Different exercises can be done on different days.  This is beneficial in keeping the workout fresh, encouraging all over toning and conditioning and in preventing a fitness plateau.  These exercises can be done outside, barefoot, in sand or in grass to achieve optimal results.

Do exercises such as flying 30’s, power hills, standing in place running arm swing (with weights) and Bulgarian Dips with weights.  Make the workouts challenging by adding as much weight as can be tolerated and increase the weight as needed.  A good cardio routine is essential to the program as a whole as well.  At some point in the weekly routine, the body needs to actively rest.  Light jogging, walking, swimming and cycling are all excellent ways to accomplish this.
The weight room is where the final session of the day is performed.  This workout is specifically targeted for core/base strength training.  Proper technique is essential in order to gain maximum benefits, as are power and quickness.  Periodically increase the weight that is used as well as sets and reps.

Keep the workout on a constantly evolving status in order to encourage the body into peak competition status.  Work out different body groups, such as lower body and upper body on alternate days.  For instance, Monday and Thursday may focus on upper body while Tuesday and Friday may focus on lower body.  Ab work can be incorporated into the end of each lifting workout and can be done every day.  Good ab basics are crunches, weighted decline board sit ups and hanging knee-ups/leg raises, although there is an endless offering of ab exercises from which to choose.
Lower Body Weight Exercises
•        Snatch – 3 sets of 6 reps
•        Squat – 5 sets of 5 reps
•        Straight legged dead lift – 3 sets of 5 reps
•        1 leg alternating curls – 3 sets of 8 reps
•        Seated calf raises – 3 sets of 8 reps
•        Power clean “pulls” – 3 sets of 6 reps
•        Squats – 3 sets of 8 reps
•        Power Shrugs – 2 sets of 6 reps
•        Good mornings – 3 sets of 8 reps
•        Seated calf raises – 3 sets of 8 reps

Upper Body Weight Exercises
•        Dumbbell bench press – 3 sets of 10 reps
•        Dumbbell military press – 3 sets of 8 reps
•        Pull downs – 3 sets of 8 reps
•        Bicep curls – 3 sets of 8 reps
•        Triceps extensions – 3 sets of 8 reps
•        Forearm curls – 3 sets of 8 reps
•        Bench pull – 5 sets of 5 reps
•        Dumbbell push press – 3 sets of 8 reps
•        Dumbbell bench press – 3 sets of 8 reps
•        Bicep curls – 3 sets of 8 reps
•        Forearm curls – 3 sets of 8 reps
Other exercises that can also be incorporated into the workout are weighted lunges, power cleans and step ups.  For the arms, other exercises can include swings, dumbbell arm and crossovers.

Ab machines can also be used to strengthen the core/abdominal region.  As stated earlier, sets and reps will increase as proficiency is gained and the runner develops more strength.
The final element in a good training program for any athlete is adequate rest, hydration and nutrition.  The body needs rest to rebuild and actually profit from the workouts and conditioning.

Good sleep, healthy eating and adequate water intake are all essential for proper conditioning of the body and benefiting from the training program, but they are often ignored or neglected.  However, keeping rest, nutrition and hydration as the core of the program will allow the athlete to obtain the greatest benefit possible from the workout.

Surprisingly, being a vegan bodybuilder isn’t really as difficult as many folks instantly assume it is. In some ways it could be less complicated because adhering to a genuine meat-free diet takes a lot of focus and discipline, two things that will greatly help you in the gymnasium.

First, we should outline our terms because there are three basic groups of people that consider themselves ‘vegetarians.’  I refer to these three groups as pseudo-vegetarians, meat vegetarians and salad munchers. The pseudo vegetarian avoids beef, chicken and chickens but will sometimes eat fish and has no difficulty with other animal products. A beef vegetarian avoids all meat. A vegetarian avoids any foods ( or products generally ) that contain any amount of animal product.

This article is directed without delay at the true vegetarians, who avoid all animal products. The meat-vegetarians and pseudo-vegetarians will gain useful information too but true vegetarians have extraordinarily specialized needs during iron pumping.

Since there is no difference in biological manner in which a vegetarian and a carnivore really build muscles, we don’t need to go into any express exercise differences. Instead, we’ll be focusing on dietary issues.

the first challenge goes back to the way muscles build in our bodies. We exercise our muscles, which does minute damage to the tissue and then our bodies fix the damage with bigger and stronger tissue while we recuperate. To effectively do this, our bodies need to use protein in giant amounts, which is why bodybuilders increase their protein intake.

Vegetarians face a challenge here because the most common source of protein is meat. Okay, so it is not actually that much of a challenge. According to the Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score, soy equals whey and superior to meat in protein content. Soy provides all 8 essential amino acids required by your body for growing and fixing muscles. Vegetarians would be well-advised to think about soy as a first protein source.

the really good news is that soy is also a wonderful source of glutamine which many iron pumpers already take in supplemental form. Soy is available in many different forms like tofu, miso, soy powder and soy milk. Soy milk is unquestionably something to have available as it can be used to replace cow’s milk in recipes, which will help expand your basic food options.

Almonds, sunflower seeds, walnuts, and pistachio nuts are all glorious sources of both protein and fat ; the vegetarian desires to work on getting sufficient good fats too so with the above examples you can go nutswas that a pun?

you can also add a large spoon or so of flaxseed oil, as flax seed is one of the best sources for the essential greasy acid alpha linolenic acid.

finally, veggies need to ensure that they get sufficient minerals and vitamins. This is often done in multivitamin form though almost all of the meal-replacement shakes which are so popular among bodybuilders already contain minerals and vitamins galore. The sole extra vitamin to have a look for is B12, which is usually an animal product based vitamin.

Like I claimed at the start, it’s not virtually as tough to be a vegetarian iron pumper as many people would think. You have the discipline part down and, by following the rules noted above, you will be set up nutritionally to build massive amounts of muscle!

Our society is increasingly obsessed with popping pills.  Commercials and advertisements for supplements, vitamins, and diet pills abound on television, radio, in magazines, and certainly run rampant on the Internet.

While most of the supplements taken by weight trainers and body builders aren’t pills (they’re usually powder) the concept is the same.  Far too many people seem to believe there is a magic formula out there that will provide them with the results they want…they just have to find it.

I’m not saying that supplements don’t have their place, because they do and we’ll discuss a few of them.  But, let’s face it, the people experiencing the biggest benefit from the sale of supplements are the people peddling the product.  These companies are spending hundred of millions of dollars a year on advertising and it’s definitely paying off.

The process of building muscles is, at its core, very simple.  Take in more calories than you burn and consistently exercise your muscles to develop them.  This process is also excruciatingly slow for most people.  It takes an ongoing commitment and a lot of hard work.  No supplement is going to make this process radically easier or radically faster.

You could easily go broke trying all of the different supplements and end up with nothing to show for all of your spending.  It seems that there is a new supplement released every week to entice you and advertisements are filled with testimonials advocating how amazing this new mixture is.

And yet, too often, you will end up looking no better than someone who takes no supplements but works a bit harder than you do.  If your main goal is to make the process easier, perhaps you need to reconsider your overall commitment?

The sad fact is that taking some type of supplement has become necessary for our overall health, according to the American Medical Association.  This means, of course, that we’re not getting the optimum level of vitamins and nutrients from the food we eat.  While this is obviously horrific in general, it’s particularly damaging to people who are trying to build their muscles specifically.

So, start with overall health.  Daily vitamin and mineral supplements should be the first thing on your list.  This is simply to ensure that you’re staying healthy and are in the best possible shape to be working on building up your physique.

An additional Vitamin C supplement is also an excellent idea, as it aids in preventing free radical damage which results from high intensity weight training.  You’ll notice a difference in the amount of time you spend sore after particularly grueling workouts.

Whey protein should probably be the next product you consider.  It’s quickly absorbed into your system and is excellent just after you work out, because that’s when you’re muscles are screaming for additional nutrition.  Since protein is incredibly important to building muscles, this is an excellent source of additional protein.  The amount of protein you realistically need to take in for optimum muscle building can be overwhelming, so this can be a helpful way to reach your daily goal.

Finally, a Glutamine supplement helps round out the basic four supplements.  This is an amino acid produced in our bodies but our body will frequently use more than we can create.  It serves as an antioxidant, which will help combat the stress of working out and breakdown of muscle proteins.

Start with these four groups of supplements and, if you really feel the need, experiment with others.  Always research the supplements before you invest in them, pay very close attention to your body so you can feel any effects and remember that you still need to consistently work very hard to reach your goals.

almost all of the hazards relating to teenage bodybuilding basically have more to do with the ‘teenage’ portion of the equation. No one, apart from youths, would argue with the indisputable fact that youths can behave impulsively and can be prone to ignoring the provisions and rules they find themselves faced with. Obviously, this doesn’t apply to all kids, but it is something that needs to be taken into consideration.

there was a longstanding belief that heavy weightlifting can essentially stunt the expansion of bones. The root of the belief is that heavy weight lifting can speed up growth plate closure, prematurely stopping the bone expansion. This has been suggested, but not proved, but weight lifting at a young age actually has not stunted the growth of the many professional sportsmen who started young. However, they could be exceptions to the rule and the jury is still out with no decisive evidence in either camp.

regardless, the danger is only actually related to heavy duty lifting and only happens before a teenager reaching full developmental maturity. Though it glaringly varies from teenager to teenager, the average age of full developmental maturity is 15 and very few teenagers under that age are pumping heavy iron.

A teenager shouldn’t try and simply copy the exercise programs of the adults that he or she may see at the gym. The odds are that any adult worth emulating in the gym has been coaching for years and has massive amounts of expertise and training, which the teen is lacking.

While trainers are an excellent idea for everybody, they are especially crucial for youths. Bad habits in weight training can cause serious injuries and the U.S. End-user product Safety Commission states 12% of the yearly accidents involving weightlifting equipment concerned kids between the ages of 5 and fourteen, and 35% involved people aged 15 – 24.

A good coach will help a teenager develop the proper form, which is urgent to being able to evade injury. A trainer can also help reign in a teenager who, in excitement and immature reasoning, may try to use weights that are simply too heavy.

Another danger for teenagers is the worrying trend towards supplement overuse. Again, this can attributed to an absence of intellectual maturity and experience, but teenagers appear especially susceptible to sucking into the mythology that additions are a magic key to building muscles and looking better.

Despite what they may believe about their own thinking capacity, kids are especially receptive to advertisements and magazine hype. The incontrovertible fact that a majority of bodybuilding mags are owned and released by corporations who also produce additions isn’t generally known. Manifestly, these corporations are going to use the mags they produce to push the stuff they produce so don’t believe everything you read.

Realistically, teenagers are under no larger risk than adults while working out so long as it is done properly and cleverly. The key to ensuring that it’s done this way is adult supervision and guidance.