No. Weight training for men is no different than weight training for women. How does your body differ from mine, physiologically speaking?

Hint: It doesn't, besides the obvious differences that exist from man to woman.

The adaptations brought on from weight training are identical for man and woman.

This is a workout for the dieting individual that is geared towards muscle maintenance. It is a basic strength routine.

I see. I just didn't want to 'sprout' too many muscles as I see a lot of ardent female gym-goers who have such, and I don't necessarily want that look. Thanks for clearing things up.

Steve: great post!

Ladies:You may want to read this...

» Bulky Muscles and Women :The Truth

No, the ONLY way to add muscle is if you are in a caloric surplus. If you are dieting, forget about it!

And even if you were in a caloric surplus, women are not hormonally dispositioned to pack on loads of muscle. It is hard enough for a man, let alone a woman.

Hmmnn, you certainly give me food for thought Steve... I'm learning so much about diets and muscles and training - really exciting. Thanks for your thoughts.

Ok, im still a little confused, Ive got my head around the idea that I cant 'spot reduce' the bits I dont like (*sigh* all that time spent doing sit ups in my bedroom as a teenager to get a flatter stomach...) But thats pretty much ok as its my whole body I have a problem with.

Ive managed to lose some weight and I am a healthy weight but im still pretty, well, flabby. So I guess I need to do some exercise to get everything looking better so im going to start going to the gym. But do I have to be eating more calories to make that happen? I dont want to build huge muscles, just look less flabby

At the moment I eat between 1200 and 1400 calories a day and am 5ft 6" or 7" tall.

Halo, there really isn't a right or wrong answer to your question.

First, yes, to make any significant impact on muscle mass, you have to be in a caloric surplus. Which means you would certainly need to eat more. On that same note, newbs in the weight room can actually gain some muscle while not actually being in a surplus. However, this effect is short term, and not something I would bank on.

So is this what you should do?

That is up to you.

You see, going into a caloric surplus will add some fat as well as muscle. You are forced to take the good with the bad. That is why this is a never-ending lifestyle/endeavor.

Look at me, I am constantly bulking up and cutting down by manipulating my calories in order to bring out a better physique over time through multiple cycles.

If you don't take this route, you could continue dieting. We all have muscle under our flab. So if you continue dieting, you could get lean. Regardless though, you should be working out with weights in order to preserve muscle mass. Just as when you are in a caloric surplus and you gain fat with the muscle.... in a caloric deficit you will lose muscle with the fat, which is obviously not ideal for numerous reasons.

More importantly than all of this: You will not get huge muscles. It just doesn't work like that. If lifting weights led to big muscles so easily, there would be a lot more naturally lean, muscular people walking around.

Do your own test. Go into any gym. I bet that a majority of the people do NOT look like they workout. At the very least, they are not big and muscular. It just doesn't work like that. Especially with women!!!!

Thank you for that advice Steve, good to know im not going to suddenly look all muscle bound

I think I will do as you say and try to be leaner but work out to try and keep a bit of muscle. Il start going to the gym and just wait and see how my body reacts.

Thanks for the info. A lot to think about about, to go over, but bery useful.

Thanks

Appreciate the topic Steve. With the labeling of 1-3 Days, do you mean one should only lift three days out of the week?

No worries. Most ( if not all ) women bodybuilders you see use steroids to get those " huge muscles " you mentioned.

Fact is, women can't produce anywhere near the amount of testosterone as men do. And, since testosterone is one of the main hormones responsible for building muscle mass, it's impossible for a woman to bulk up significantly just by doing some simple weight training.

So, women who weight train won't turn into huge muscular hulks, but weight training WILL give them a " toned " and well shaped body.

Correct, with this specific training split, you are only lifting weights 3 days per week. However, you are hitting each muscle group multiple times.

Hence my above posts.

Cool thanks STEVE.
I have been going about things wrong............hopefully i will see an improvement now!!! Thanks for the info!!!
STAR

No problem Star. If you run into some hurdles, or have questions, don't hesitate to ask.