This article was inspired by one wonderful girl who decided to gain muscle mass. I have covered many pressing problems with weight gain in girls in this review. And I hope you will be able to find answers to your questions in it.
I understand perfectly well that many women do not at all strive to become professional bodybuilders, but simply want to be beautiful, desirable, with an attractive, sculpted body. Like chic models on the covers of fashionable fitness magazines. It is very rare to find ladies who want to pump up their body, like those jocks who drink anabolic androgenic steroids. Yes, this is not necessary. In everything you need to know when to stop, and bodybuilding is no exception, so we will figure out how to gain muscle mass for a girl correctly.
But regardless of your preferences, there is no categorical disagreement between the methods and operating principles. The most important thing here is to take your time and follow the recommendations. Building muscle mass, especially for women, takes a long time. Here you will need endurance and patience. The result will not appear immediately; it will take a lot of training until you notice some changes in your body. It doesn’t matter whether you take doping or not, you will have to make a lot of effort, follow the right diet and set realistic goals for yourself.
Let's take a look at a few recommendations and useful tips that will be useful to you in this difficult task - bodybuilding.
Training
When answering the question of how to build muscle mass for a girl, thoughts about weight training come to mind. They are really needed, but this does not mean that you need to train like men and disappear all day in the gym.
- Focus on strength training - gradually increasing the weight of the weights leads to the growth of muscle tissue (both men and women). I have never met such a lucky person who could lift something not heavy and become a super athlete. Only an increase in strength coupled with a reasonable increase in your own weight will give the desired result.
Strength training brings many benefits: it strengthens the bone skeleton, increases the strength of joints, and also raises self-esteem and gives confidence in oneself and in one’s appearance. I also became convinced that it is necessary to set specific goals and strive to achieve them. This makes it much easier to control the results.
- Women can build muscle with simple, safe exercises —there's no hard and fast rule that forces you to do exercises like bench presses, squats, and deadlifts. I am of the opinion that you have the right to choose exercises that are comfortable for yourself. Let's take for example a person who is developing shoulder muscles. The safest bench press alternative is the machine barbell press or HAMMER weight machines with free weights. Anyone who finds it difficult to do full squats can always use a leg machine. There is no need to do exercises on your last breath, there will be no benefit from it. First, rest, restore your breathing and strength, then continue.
The most important factor in the impact of isolated exercises is their somewhat delayed effect. That is, the result is not noticeable immediately, but after a certain period of time. Complex exercises, unlike isolated ones, have a prolonged effect. In addition, they involve much more muscles, which means the result will be larger and time will be saved. Who doesn't want maximum effect at minimum cost?
- Automate your workouts – By automation I mean approving a training plan and sticking to it. There should be no deviations, the schedule should be stable. Your job is to monitor your progress, and if your workouts change all the time, it won't work. I want to convey to you that I do not agree with the statement that once every two weeks it is necessary to shake up the body by changing exercises. This opinion has no proven basis. Believing it or not is a purely personal matter.
If the program has to be changed due to health reasons, for example, or for some other important reason, then make sure that you maintain the basic elements of the exercises.
- You don't have to train like a professional bodybuilder - at least I'm talking about the fact that you shouldn't take various hormonal supplements. Especially if you are not involved in bodybuilding professionally. Research, along with the personal experience of athletes, has shown that the more often you train (you use all muscle groups at least 2-3 times a week), the more productive the training is, and the result is achieved much faster than when training once a week. Pay attention to time-tested comprehensive programs. They meet all the requirements and are perfect for the fair half of humanity in their quest to improve their body.
Therefore, I recommend that women start with a training program targeting all the muscles of the body to increase muscle strength, strengthen ligaments and joints, this is very important for beginners. After several months, having assessed the results, you can move on to split training.
Mass gain program for mesomorph girls
If you are a mesomorph, then you are unlikely to have problems with mass gain. Your muscles respond well to any type of training and grow even from a not very balanced diet.
In general, one can only envy you. But, nevertheless, by systematizing your training and nutrition, you can achieve much greater results.
- Your body absorbs macronutrients like a sponge. Therefore, the more you eat, the better you grow. But don’t overuse it, because the goal is to gain lean muscle mass.
- You don't have to do a full body workout; you can switch to split workouts. Distribute muscle groups by day. For example, on Monday, train your legs and shoulders, on Wednesday – your back and chest, and on Friday – again your legs and arms. The number of repetitions is from 8 to 12.
Nutrition for muscle growth
The main condition for increasing weight and muscle is that the number of calories consumed exceeds the amount consumed per day. In other words, we need to eat more calories than our body burns in a day. Food should be varied and rich in various micro and macroelements. Proper nutrition for gaining muscle mass for girls should always start with a protein-carbohydrate breakfast. You need to eat at least 4 times a day in order to eat a large amount of calories and they are well absorbed and do not burden the body.
- Protein – protein, as you know, is the main “building material” for muscle tissue. There are no such diets and nutrition programs for athletes that do not contain protein. If you believe the research of the famous American nutritionist Lyle McDonald, then for rational muscle growth a person needs to consume 1-1.5 grams of protein per 1 kg of body weight. That is, if you weigh 50 kg, you need to consume from 50 to 75 grams of protein. Just keep in mind that, for example, if you consume meat, then you need not 50-75 grams of meat, but protein, that is, you will need to eat more of the product.
- Calories – To build muscle, you need to consume an increased amount of calories. About
What foods to avoid?
The right diet is the key to success in building the body of your dreams.
The list of prohibited foods for all athletes is as follows:
- products of the sausage industry (sausages, slices);
- chips, crackers, semi-finished products;
- products of non-natural origin (black ice cream, watermelon-flavored water, etc.).
These foods should be excluded from the diet. If they are your constant companions, start gradually giving them up. This will slow down your training progress, but will make it easier to give up bad habits.
Frankly about female relief
According to the article by the famous American nutritionist Lyle MacDonald, “What is my genetic muscle potential?”, the maximum growth rate of muscle tissue in men is 16-23 kg, from birth to beginner – advanced levels, respectively.
This is no secret, although the bodies of men and women have a similar structure (bones, muscles), but their hormonal structure differs enormously (testosterone in men, and estrogen in women). Based on these differences, we see that women's muscle potential is half that of men's.
Let's take for example a woman without sports training, weighing 50 kg. Theoretically, she could gain 8-11 kg of muscle tissue gain over her lifetime. But subject to proper nutrition, reasonable organization of work and rest, and a minimum amount of stress.
So, by the end of her life, this same woman will weigh 58-61 kg. This may seem like a huge number to some, but believe me, there is a huge difference between 20 kg of muscle weight and 20 kg of fat.
There is one more important detail. Women, remember! Due to the lack of testosterone, you will not be able to build the same muscles as a man. Therefore, there is no need to limit yourself to “higher reps, lighter weight” workouts. This is all a waste of time. Women who want to have developed muscles need to exercise regularly and with a fairly high load.
Diet for a girl to gain weight - example menu for a week
It is difficult for novice athletes to build the right daily diet. Number of meals – at least 4. Eat at the same time.
An example option is presented in the table:
| Day | First breakfast | Lunch | Dinner | Dinner |
| Monday | Salad, eggs, coffee | Juice, nuts, pancakes, sour cream | Pea soup, boiled pork, bread, compote | Stewed asparagus, tomato and turkey, bread, butter, juice |
| Tuesday | Millet milk porridge with dried apricots, peanuts, cashews, yogurt, tea | Boiled egg, bread with cheese, juice | Meat cabbage soup, cones with cheese, chicken chop, salad, tea | Eggs with tomatoes, bread, milk |
| Wednesday | Oatmeal with raisins, bread (with cheese, butter), apple, tea | Dried fruits, bread with honey, kefir | Chicken broth soup, boiled potatoes, greens, steamed cutlets, vegetables, tea | Chicken fillet baked in breadcrumbs, carrot and pumpkin juice, bread |
| Thursday | Cottage cheese casserole with dried fruits, bread, cheese, compote | Banana 2 pcs., Lenten cookies, coffee | Solyanka with meat, pork with stewed vegetables, salad, tea | Cucumbers and tomatoes, boiled chicken, bread with yogurt, tomato juice |
| Friday | Salad, cheese horns, fruit, tea | Dried fruits, peanuts, cashews, yogurt | Noodle soup, pasta with steamed meatballs, bread, tea | Fried chicken, boiled cauliflower, cheese, herbs, sour cream, juice |
| Saturday | Beef stewed with vegetables, coffee | Cottage cheese, berries, juice | Fish soup, porridge with fried fish, salad, tea | Potatoes with steamed fish cutlet, cheese, bread, vegetable juice |
| Sunday | Omelette, sandwich with cucumber and meat, nuts, tea | Lenten cookies, kefir | Soup with croutons, salad, baked beef, compote | Buckwheat with chicken cutlets, salad, tea |
Be sure to read: How to quickly gain muscle mass: nutrition and exercise for muscle growth
The basic rule of eating is small portions strictly at a certain time. For salads, you should take fresh vegetables. The menu should be varied and contain healthy foods. Salt and snacks should be limited.
Underweight
Why does the body of some people react sensitively to every extra calorie, storing it in the form of fat deposits, while the body of others does not seem to notice them? It turns out that it's all about metabolism and genetics. Ectomorphs are people who, due to their constitution, are faced with the problem of increasing their body weight. They are thin, and no matter how hard they try, they cannot gain extra pounds. They say about such people: “not good food for a horse.” They are characterized by an asthenic body type - thin bones, thin elongated limbs, a long neck, below average fat mass, and a poorly developed muscular system. But they have excellent digestion and endurance. If you are the owner of most of these signs, then you can be sure that you are a person with an ectomorphic body type and the problem of excess weight does not threaten you. The difficulty of gaining both muscle and fat mass is not a disease of the body, it is a feature of it. Moreover, this is a rather valuable feature - you don’t have to panic about what you eat and how much, and many girls would give everything just to not constantly go on diets and eat whatever their heart desires.
