Beginners Guide to the Gym- What to do- Part III Building Muscle

Building muscle is a great goal to have with any fitness plan. With more muscle you will be stronger and able to better handle your dailiy activities, you will have more control and balance when performing simple tasks such as walking and running and you will also burn more calories everyday. It takes more energy to keep the muscle you have because your body must provide it with nutrients to sustain it. So if you put on muscle and keep your nutritional habits the same your body will have to use more stored energy(Fat) to keep it. There are so many benefits to increasing your muscle that it is poposterous that people dont try to do it in the fight to lose weight.

Im sure that many women will see this and think that I dont want to get huge and I'm afraid of putting on too much muscle. STOP IT! Putting on muscle is going to happen no matter what type of training you do. Whether its the smaller Type 1 fibers or the larger Type 2 fibers your goign to build muscle. But you arent going to be able to build the type of muscle that men can build because of your low amounts of testosterone. So stop worrying and start building.

Ways to Build Muscle

1. Multi Joint Exercises- Ive talked about these in a previous post but these are exercises that require more than one joint to perform(i.e., bench press, squat, row, lat pull down, deadlift). These types of exercises use and incorporate more muscle than single joint exercises(i.e., bicep curls, tricep extentions) which means that you will be building more because your using more.  
2. Proper weight- The key to building muscle is using the right weight. With the information you learned from the post on weight selection you need to find a weight for each exercise that allows you to perform between 8-15 reps. This range keeps you in the hypertrophy/endurance range which gives you the ability to build muscle size or with the higher rep range build muscle without as much size. Most women will choose to stay between 12-15 reps because you will still build the muscle just without the same effort put towards the larger muscles fibers.
3. If you workout 3 days a week continue to work your whole body with weight training each day. Pick 1-2 exercises to perform for each part of your body(chest, shoulders, back, legs, arms). Try to use free weights as much as you can because they strain your body more than the machine because you have to keep the weight steady throughout unlike the machine that keeps the weight steady. If your lifting 4 days a week your going to want to back away from full body training because you wont give yourself enough rest in between. Try to break your workouts down into body motions and not body parts when going 4 days a week. Breaking down into body parts tends to lead to more single joint exercises but if your doing exercises with the same motion it leads to more multi joint. Try this:
1. Monday-Upper body pushing: Chest presses, shoulder presses, dips and all variations of these exercises
2. Tuesday- Lower body pulling: Leg Curl, Deadlifts, Glute/Ham Raise and all variations of these exercises
3. Thursday- Upper body pulling: Bent row, Lat Pulldown, Shoulder Raise, Upright Row and all variations of these exercises
4. Friday-  Lower body pushing: Leg Press, squat, lunge and all variations of these exercises
4. Proper Nutrition- Building muscle isnt about just lifting properly, nutrition is a huge part of any fitness goal and without proper nutrition you will never reach your goals of building muscle. Read my post on Pre- and Post- Workout Nutrition to learn the best way to fuel your body for workouts and the best way to start the repair process after your workouts.
5. Multiple Sets- The more you overload your muscles the better gains you get in muscle size and strength. So complete at the very least 2 but 3-4 is preferable.

Summing it Up
Building muscle is a great way to help increase weight loss, gain strength and making all of your daily activities easier. When trying to build muscle use exercises that require more muscles and joints(Multi-Joint Exercises). Make sure to pick a weight that challenges you but doesnt make you fail on the first set. Complete multiple sets to increase your gains. If your working out more than 3 days a week break your workouts down into muscle actions and not body parts. Get the proper nutrition you need to fuel your workouts and help repair them afterward. Building muscle has more benefits than it does cons so never be afraid of building muscle and women dont be afraid of getting big and bulky like man, unless your taking steroids and lifting like a body builder, your going to be fine. Now stop worrying and start building!