If you want to increase muscles size, reduce the amount of rest you take between sets. If you’re aiming for greater strength, take a little extra rest time between sets. If you choose a heavier weight and do fewer repetitions (e.g., 3 to 6), you’re more likely to gain muscle strength, while lighter weights and higher repetitions lead to gains in muscle endurance. The typical recommendation for building muscle is to complete three to four sets of eight to 12 reps of an exercise. Be sure to have a spotter when performing exercises such as a back squat, bench presses and overhead presses, especially when going up in weight. The goal here is to lift heavy and well, not lift heavy and get hurt. As soon as you notice your form starting to fail, drop the amount of weight being lifted or take a rest. It is important to maintain good form when performing your exercises. Instead, choose a weight that can be lifted 10 times, with the last two reps posing a significant challenge. Women often underestimate their strength and, by default, grab the lighter weights. Once you can make this paradigm shift in your mind, you will be able to make substantial progress in both your strength and muscle gains.

You need to get out of your comfort zone and put greater physiological demands on your muscles. However, a greater stimulus must be placed on the muscles to see any real changes. As mentioned previously, women tend to typically stick with weights that they are comfortable using for a full three sets.

To stimulate muscle growth, or hypertrophy, a stimulus must be placed on the muscle. This could be for a number of reasons, but for the sake of this article, we will be discussing the impact of weight training.īefore we get into the “how” of weight training, let’s look at some proven principles and clear up some misconceptions. On the other hand, many women who “lift” weights constantly pick up the same 5-pound dumbbells week after week and wonder why they don’t see any aesthetic changes in their physique. One of the biggest misconceptions about weight lifting is this myth that it will cause women to “get big.” This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Girls with muscles