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tofugains · 1 month ago

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if you're thinking of going to the gym to build a broader, muscular physique, here is a long post of random tips from a cis gym girlie!!!

disclaimer: these tips are from the experience of a cis femme queer woman who has been going to the gym for the past 5 years, and hyperfixates on weight training. i am in no way a certified personal trainer or dietician, and i do not have the knowledge to train with chronic pain or disabilities. i personally deal with some chronic pain and impinged joints that i have tips for, but that is not the purpose of this post! these tips are also more applicable for able-bodied cis women, and non-binary/genderfluid/bigender/gnc/trans folks with naturally lower levels of testosterone, who are beginners in weight training (0-12 months of going to the gym)

table of content:

know your goals

eat more protein

lift weights and progressively overload to build muscle

compound exercises is your bestie. isolation and isometric exercises are good company to keep

your diet determines 90% of your physique or wtv they say

you belong in the gym and don't let anyone tell you otherwise

it's common to have body dysmorphia, even at a level where you're jacked af. feel it, understand it, and be curious about where it is coming from

extra stuff

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1. know your goals!

for the purpose of this post we are going to assume the goal is to gain serious muscle!

this means your workout will focus on either strength or mass

strength: heavy weight x low reps, means being able to carry the heaviest weight possible, at lower repetitions. think 60kg bench press at 4 reps

this builds immense strength, leaner size, and is the way strongmen/women and powerlifters train

that also means denser, stronger muscles, which will take a longer time to regress

mass: mid weights x mid reps, means carrying a challenging enough weight to go at higher repetitions. think 30kg bench press at 12 reps

this builds muscle mass and good strength, and is the way bodybuilders train

this is more time consuming than the first option, but goes hard on that beefy aesthetic

to build dense strong muscles, go for 3 sets, 3-5 reps per exercise

to build bigger muscles, go for 4-5 sets, 8-15 reps per exercise

please understand that muscles are heavier than fat. if you start weight training and notice your weight increase, but your physique stays the same/gets leaner, you're likely gaining a lot of muscle weight, which is a very good thing!

if you want a capped delts, fat biceps and wing lats, focus on upper body and core workouts

if you wanna get that peach booty, tree trunk thighs, and sculpted calves, focus on lower body and core workouts

if you want an 'X' taper, go for a full body workout

you can split your workouts by body parts (upper, core, back, legs), or by push and pull, to begin with

2. eat more protein!

depending on where you live and your available food options, you're likely not getting enough daily protein intake

when you lift weights, you tear your muscles (in a good way) so it can rebuild stronger for the next time you stress them out. protein helps you rebuild those 'damaged' muscles

it also keeps you satiated for longer - protein takes a longer time to digest

if you're vegan/vegetarian, opt for protein rich food like tofu, tempeh, soy products, legumes, chickpeas, etc.

if you struggle to eat enough protein, get protein powders to reach that daily intake

whey protein contains dairy. pea protein for vegans and lactose intolerant girlies

you can take protein powder with many types of food/liquids. i personally eat proats (mixing protein powder into cooked rolled oats) for breakfast.

aim for 0.8g - 1g per pound or 1.6g - 2.2g per kilo i.e. if you weigh 50kgs, aim for 110g daily protein intake for muscle growth

you don't need to eat your protein at like 30 mins before or after a session etc. as long as you have a consistent daily intake you're good

but! don't overload with protein in one sitting. space out your protein consumption throughout the day otherwise your body can't effectively absorb it all and it'll just go to waste

3. lift weights and progressively overload to build muscle

body weight exercises are good to start off, but if you want to build muscle, you need to start adding resistance to your training

that means periodically increasing the amount of weights you lift, to increase the challenge your muscle takes

being able to perform movements with heavier weights than before is also a good indicator that you're getting stronger!

if you're squatting body weight this week, try with 2kg dumbbells next week. then 5kg the next, 7kg the next, 10kg the next, and so on.

at a certain point it'll take longer to increase your weights. think taking 4 weeks to go from 100kg squats to 110kg

some bodies aren't able to tolerate higher weights (injury, chronic pain, genetic), so instead, add variations - instead of increasing to 20 push ups, try 10 push ups with your feet elevated

4. compound exercises is your bestie. isolation and isometric exercises are good company to keep

compound exercises work more than just one muscle group/one group of joints - these require multiple parts of your body to move in sync, to perform it correctly

compound movements are also functional movements. think being able to safely pick up a heavy box off the floor, storing your luggage in the overhead compartment, carrying your groceries in one go, carrying your wife to bed

deadlifts, squats, bench press, pull ups, overhead press, rows, push ups, lunges, and farmers carry are good basic compound movements to start with

once you're familiar with those, you can try variations like romanian deadlifts, sumo squats, chest press, chin ups, cable rows, push up plus, split squats to make it more challenging

isolation movements, such as bicep curls, knee extensions, crunches, etc. works mainly one muscle group/requires movement from one group of joints

for example, squats (compound) require you to move your hip joints and knee joints. knee extension (isolation) moves only knee joints. squats mainly work your glutes, quads, and core, while knee extensions mainly target your quads.

isolation movements are good for strengthening a specific muscle group, especially after an injury or specific weakness (isolation calf exercises to strengthen ankles), or for aesthetic purposes (fat biceps)

isometric exercises require you to contract your muscles without much movement. these are good for endurance and bracing.

planking is an isometric exercise. it's a very good exercise to stabilise your core, which is very good for injury prevention, and protects your spine from overextending

a strong, stable core is crucial to performing compound exercises and many daily movements safely

honestly muscle building is basically injury prevention if you do it right. you also get a strong physique, as a treat

keep your movements slow and controlled - focus on activating the muscle group that the exercise is intended for

quality movements = better muscle activation = efficient muscle growth

rushing through an exercise could result in injury, or compensating using the wrong muscle group or joints (ie. using your knees instead of your quads and glutes for squats)

5. your diet determines 90% of your physique or wtv they say

your muscles need protein to grow, and your body needs fuel to move. body fuel: carbs, fat, and protein

carbs are not your enemy!! fat is not your enemy!! not in excess!!

no food is bad or junk food. some foods are more nutritionally dense than others but at the end of the day, eating something diet culture deems 'unhealthy' is better than starving yourself

you can eat anything you want - the key is moderation

if you love sugary drinks, instead of drinking 5 cans of soda a day, drink only one (moderation)

if you love bread (like i do), have something else with that bread like tuna, peanut butter, lettuce, an egg, etc. (variety of nutrients)

if you love chips, have one serving a day, instead of the whole bag in one sitting

if you want to have visible muscles (read: abs) you need to go on a calorie deficit (cutting) - that means eating 200-500 less calories than your daily calorie need. you will likely loose strength and muscle mass

if you want to have strength and mass, and don't mind a bit of body fat, you can go for calorie surplus (bulking) - that means eating 200 - 500 more calories than your daily need

you can gain muscle and lose fat the same time

use this calculator to determine your calorie intake needs for cutting, maintaining, and bulking

you can also use the app 'calorie counter by fatsecret' (ios / android) to track your calories (but not too strictly! don't go down that slippery slope of obsessing over your every macro/micronutrient intake please!!!)

please remember that everyone's fat distribution is different - some people might not store much fat in their abdominal area, some might store more in their underarm area, etc. your genetics will determine where your body fat is distributed, which will affect your physique

emotional eating happens. cravings happen. binge eating happens. forgetting to eat happens. not feeling like eating happens. it's important not to associate guilt when it does - it's okay if you deviate from your usual eating routine. you can try again tomorrow

i've had a decent relationship with food my whole life, so i can't talk much about eating disorders or recovering from it, although you can watch leanbeefpatty's take on how to stop emotional eating, and her eating mentality (mostly intuitive eating) - she overcame ED in her youth

your body doesn't change much because you ate more/less than your target calorie intake for the day. changes in the body is gradual when it comes to body composition (fat distribution, muscle growth)

staying consistent is good. allowing yourself to deviate is also good. many of us aren't built to stick to something 100% all the time

most days can be 95%, some days 68%, some even at 23%. allow yourself those less than ideal days, so that you can go back to 95% most days. the key is going for as many 95% days possible, not a handful of 100%

6. you belong in the gym and don't let anyone tell you otherwise

you paid for the gym membership, just like everyone else. you have every right to be there, and use any and every equipment the gym provides

so what if you're starting with light weights? your starting weight is not your final weight

that means you also belong in the free weight/dumbbell section. take up space (respectfully) and don't be apologetic about it

don't be afraid to use the machines! they usually have instructions on the side. start off with the lowest weight, and go through the motion to familiarise yourself with it

it's okay if you don't know what you're doing at first - the gym is the place for you to figure it out

'what if they are looking at me' most people at the gym are busy focusing on themselves. they likely don't notice you most of the time

i would usually avoid eye contact, and look at either the floor, the ceiling, the wall, or the distance, so i don't notice if anyone is looking at me

if the gym is still intimidating, go with a friend! bring your headphones! drown out the world!

honestly i treat going to the gym as one large body double. having other people working out together helps keep me accountable to my own workouts. especially if my gym crush(es) is/are around

7. it's common to have body dysmorphia, even at a level where you're jacked af. feel it, understand it, and be curious about where it is coming from

i don't have any tips on managing body dysmorphia bc it is so personal and unique to each person

all i can talk about is what personally worked for me

which was focusing on getting stronger, instead of looking leaner

because when you get stronger, your body WILL change. the physique will come

but the physique that comes might not be what you'd expect - many times you've not seen how your body looks like when you get stronger

you might only see examples of strong bodies from media (who usually have really good genetics in the muscle building area), or other people at the gym

no two bodies are the exact same. if you dream of having xxx's physique, that isn't going to happen

but what you can dream of is having your strongest physique, which is unique to you, belongs to you, and will happen to you

remember, your ideal body type is the one you have now

you can set goals and have role models, but please please please do not make your role models your goal

i still struggle with bd, but it is much much better than before. i actually like looking at my body a large large majority of the time

for the femme girlies, if you want to get a muscular physique but are afraid of people calling you 'masc' or that you 'look like a man' fuck that noise. lift heavier, get jacked, become the muscle mommy your inner child would be proud of

8. extra stuff

if you're a cis woman or someone with naturally lower levels of testosterone, you won't get very, very muscular

you can get really strong (and with the right training, diet, and genetics, stronger than most cis men), but please don't compare your strength and size to someone who has higher levels of testosterone, naturally or through HRT or steroids

testosterone WILL help a person get very muscular and very strong, with lower levels of body fat. if you have lower levels of T, muscle size is limited, and body fat distribution is different. you likely store fat much easier too

please don't compare yourself with other folks with naturally lower levels of testosterone either - each person has different genetics, and some people are naturally stronger/bulkier than others, or have been lifting longer/more often

please don't be shy - look at the mirror when you work out and CHECK YOUR FORM. If your knees are buckling during your squats, you need to push them outwards or use lighter weights before you break your legs

if you have preexisting pain or are recovering from an injury, please get a personal trainer to help you create a custom training programme suited for your condition

if you experience acute pain while working out, stop what you're doing, ice it, see a physical therapist, and get that fixed. don't soldier on with the pain and make it worse. trust me!!

if you're just starting out, and have been experiencing common sedentary pains like lower back pain, take it easy, stretch, and get a personal trainer to build you a custom programme. im serious

always, ALWAYS warm up before a work out, and stretch after.

do dynamic warm ups before, and static stretching after

mind muscle connection is very important in weight training

focus on how your muscle is contracting and stretching, how your joints move, how everything comes together to help you balance and move something heavy around

i don't experience it personally, but i know many queer folks who are very disconnected with their bodies

i do not have any tips for that unfortunately

getting enough sleep is very important in building muscle - muscles recover and grow when you're sleeping/resting, not in the gym, not in the kitchen

again, the gym breaks down your muscles, the kitchen gives them the nutrients to rebuild, and the bedroom kick starts the actual process of recovery

remember that building muscle will take time. it doesn't happen overnight, nor does it happen in a week, a month, maybe even a year if you're inconsistent

it might take years to get to where you want to be. it's going to be a difficult journey, but it'll be worth it i think

show up, stay consistent, stay strong, and stay focused

but don't forget to rest and be kind to yourself - you don't need to push if you really can't do it

skipping one workout every once in a while, is a small blip in a lifetime of sessions.

a bad workout session doesn't determine the quality of all your workouts

truly once you start and see results, you will be amazed at what your body can achieve

a free resource that helped me kick start my fitness journey, and knowledge on weight training throughout the years, is nerdfitness. most recently leanbeefpatty for helpful tips, motivation, and entertainment

hope this helps someone in some way!

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