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Female Bodybuilding Diet, Workouts and Supplements

In general, a female bodybuilding program uses the same principles as any other program...high protein diet, supplements as necessary for amino acids, nitrogen synthesis etc, and a solid workout routine.

Many women worry that lifting weights and taking supplements will lead to them "bulking up" and growing muscle, leading to them looking like a female bodybuilding model or a man. The truth is, women lack the testosterone necessary to get really big muscles (women have between 1/10 and 1/40 of a man's level of testosterone). The women you see with huge muscles are taking anabolic steroids and other banned substances that effect their natural hormones. I do not recommend using any substance that changes your natural hormones, as it can have permanent side affects, especially for women.

The truth is, lifting weights and eating right will make you leaner and harder. You will not only retain your feminine look, you will look even sexier. The treadmill alone is not enough for you to look good in a bikini, resistance training and weights will get you there.

While following any normal weight lifting routine will have positive effects, I recommend a few specific exercises that are aimed at enhancing feminine features, specifically the posterior (butt, back of legs, and back) and abs.

See some motivational female bodybuilding photos.

Posterior (Butt, Legs, and Back)

There is one exercise that I recommend above all for almost all applications, and that is the kettlebell swing . It is a compound exercise, meaning it works multiple muscle groups at the same time. It is the number one best exercise for firming and toning your butt, legs, and back. Click here to learn how to do them. It will be worth your time.

I recommend working out three times per week, with at least one rest day between each workout (for example monday, wednesday, and friday). Find a weight that you can do 40-50 reps in a row and start with that. Do one set of as many as you can do each workout. Really push yourself and keep going until you can't do any more. Your goal is to build up to sets of 75. Once you get to 75, move up to a higher weight.

That's it. You will see improvements within a couple of weeks. If you already have a normal workout routine, add kettlebell swings to the end of your workout. I use this exercise in all of my programs, male and female bodybuilding, weight loss, muscle building, etc. It works wonders (can you tell it's my favorite exercise?)

Butt Specific - The Glute Activation Raise
The glute raise is another good, simple female bodybuilding exercise that targets the glutes specifically. Do 20 of them before your kettlebell swings.

glute raise

Female Bodybuilding - Abs

Women should work out their abs the same way guys do, with a couple small additions ( click here to see my normal ab program ). The normal program consists of two (three at most) solid ab exercises, which work out the entire range of abdominal muscles.

For females, I recommend the following additions:

Stretch Your Hip Flexors. A lot of women, even after they have developed a nice six pack, have a small potbelly look. This has to do with the tilt of your pelvis, not with excess body fat. Do this simple hip flexor stretch for 20-30 seconds (on each side) every day to help fix this problem.

The hip flexor stretch

Planks Planks and side planks are a great ab exercise for female bodybuilding and women and general. Not only do they tone your abs, but they won't build muscley obliques, which can happen with some common exercises. This way you keep your feminine hourglass shape. Do one set, 30 seconds each pose. When that becomes easy, switch to one minute of each.

plank

side plank

Diet

My recommended diet for females is the same as for males. Protein rich, more meals (4-5 small-mid sized meals per day), no white carbs. See my detailed diet plans . If you really want to take bodybuilding seriously and work on your muscles, see the "Program 1" diet. If weight loss and toning is your goal, look at "Program 2".

Supplements

Multi Vitamin
I recommend everyone take a daily multi-vitamin no matter what their goals are. Hardly anyone gets enough vitamin D, which has been shown to improve everything from injury recovery time to protein syntheses. Vitamins A and K are other examples where most westerners are deficient, and getting enough calcium and other minerals is important for everyone.

Protein
Protein actually causes your body to burn calories to break down the protein, so adding more to your diet has a lot of positive effects. Replace your morning bagel or toast with a protein bar or shake, reduce carbs and get a protein boost at the same time. Powders and bars make it easy to add protein to your diet.

Creatine
If you really want to add muscle mass, as a woman you will have to take supplements. Creatine has been shown time and time again to have great muscle-building effects. Use it in two-week on, two-week off cycles. Many people will tell you creatine has side effects, it "only adds water" to your muscles, and other nonsense. I have never seen any side effects from creatine or seen any scientific research to indicate any risk. It is widely used with great success in male and female bodybuilding worldwide.

Glutamine
Glutamine is widely accepted in the sports nutrition world as an immune system booster. It's an essential amino acid that your body uses to synthesize protein. Many experts believe it has positive effects on the metabolism and muscle recovery, as well as the immune system. It can be combined with any other supplement. L-Glutamine combined with Creatine Monohydrate is a common supplement combo, used to emulate the effects of anabolic steroids, without the risk.

One Last Note on Female Bodybuilding...

I talk with many women who want help losing weight, getting a six pack or nice butt, etc. Over the course of many conversations with women about fitness and weight loss, I realized something that, as a guy, I had never really understood before. That is the immense psychological and cultural pressure that women are under to be really fit and skinny.

Women are bombarded constantly with marketing and other pressure to look like fitness models, and this has a lot of negative impacts on some women. Before you dedicate your life to any kind of fitness program, take some time to decide what is really important to you. Is looking like a fitness model really going to make your life perfect? Remember, the huge majority of the people you see in ads and fitness mags use steroids and other banned and dangerous supplements to look the way they do. The truth is, that is a look that is unattainable for most people.

I certainly recommend that every person should dedicate some of their week to staying fit and strong, losing weight if necessary, and meeting their fitness goals. Being in shape will improve your health, self confidence, and many other areas of your life. Just remember, you are not your weight or your body fat percentage or your waistline. Don't get obsessed or tie your self worth to your body. Always keep improving, but love yourself first or you will never be happy.

Bottom line: don't get caught up in media or marketing nonsense, love yourself, make realistic goals and work hard. You will be amazed at your progress.

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