When you build muscle mass, you increase your body's supply of muscle tissue. Increasing your muscle size provides you with a number of health benefits, including an improved ability to reduce or control body-fat levels and lowered risks for developing osteoporosis. Some women avoid building their muscles for fear of appearing less feminine. However, women who build muscle mass don't typically bulk up or develop masculine body characteristics. Consult your doctor before beginning any new exercise program.
Basics
Women naturally carry less muscle tissue on their bodies than men. Women's bodies also contain significant amounts of the hormone estrogen, which limits the potential size of developing muscles. For these reasons, participation in muscle-building activities doesn't usually result in dramatic muscle-size increases in female exercisers. Instead, women who lift weights, perform calisthenics or use resistance bands tend to tone their muscles and improve their levels of strength and muscular endurance. Since muscle tissue requires a lot of energy to function, women who build or tone their muscle mass also increase their bodies' ability to efficiently burn off calories.
Using Enough Weight
In many cases, women seeking to tone or build their muscles are advised to use very light amounts of weight to avoid "bulking up" or appearing masculine --- but women simply don't tend to bulk up in this way. Furthermore, if you don't use enough weight during your exercise routine, you won't tax your muscles enough to tone them or build their size. To tax your muscles sufficiently, you must use enough weight to temporarily fatigue them after eight to 15 repetitions of any given exercise, personal trainer Kathleen Ekdahl writes for the New England Wellness Web website.
Body Types
Like men, women have a variety of body types, as well as varying proportions of lean tissue and body fat. Ectomorphic women, who have thin and/or frail bodies, typically have great difficulty in building their muscle mass. However, Ekdahl explains, most women are endomorphic and carry considerable amounts of fat in their lower bodies. While endomorphic women have an easier time building or toning muscles in their upper bodies, higher levels of fat in their lower bodies can make it difficult for them to develop muscle tone in their hips or legs. When you develop a muscle-building program, take your body type into account and ask a certified fitness instructor to help you build a program that features appropriate exercises.
Creating Your Routine
To avoid any potential for body imbalances and problems with your posture, you need to perform a combination of exercises that work all of your major muscle groups. To gain the benefits of your activity, you will also need to work out for about half an hour two or three days every week. Depending on your experience and exercise goals, you can perform anywhere from one to three sets of each exercise in your muscle-building routine. Always review your plans with your doctor before you begin exercising.
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