The Art of Muscle Heavy
For Women
By Lanny Donnell
Copyright 2011, Smashwords edition
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notes: All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
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Table of Contents
The
Art of Muscle Heavy For Women
By Lanny Donnell
To begin writing
this book, I must first give thanks to all the females who over the
years I’ve had the opportunity to train. Working with many
different shapes and sizes has truly been the experience of a
lifetime. This Experience comes from many different viewpoints,
commencing training the 9 to 5 working women, female military women,
models, and also Miss America contestants. There’s one thing I can
say for sure, when it comes to females need for help with their
bodies, they will seek out the required knowledge to obtain there
goals.
To begin, we
must first identify which of the four different body types you are.
Trust me, there’s not a one exercise plan that fits all when it
comes to female. Activity level play a major factor, eating habits,
age brackets, height, and genetics are all contributing factors.
Body types
The
Cone. This is the body type that resembles a triangle body shape,
your chest and waist are relatively close in size, but your hips are
significantly smaller. Your upper body is larger and stronger than
your lower body, your waist is short, and you have long legs.
The Spoon.
This is the body type where your hips are at least 2 inches larger
than you bust. You tend to look heavier than you weight and your
lower body is generally bigger than your upper body.
The Ruler.
This body type resembles a rectangle body shape, your bust; hips and
waist are about the same circumference. You are naturally thin and
have a pretty straight build. You are also known to have small or
medium frame, usually small breast, and not much muscle strength or
muscle mass.
The
Hourglass. If you have this body type, your bust and hips are
about the same circumference, and your waist is 6-9 inches smaller
than your other two measurements. You have strong bones, a lot of
muscle mass and great flexibility throughout your entire body.
The female body
can be placed in a range of body measurements and shapes, as we all
can see. It is hard to standardize a perfect female body according to
a particular shape and measurement. The hourglass shape with
measurements of 36”-26”-36” has been proclaimed the ideal body
measurements for women.
Mankind has an
inherent attitude to see symmetry in all objects. This outlook is
also applied when interpreting the female body as well. A female body
signifies aesthetic pleasure, sexual attraction, fertility and
reproduction. Because of this the female body has attracted attention
and focus in almost all cultures and civilizations of the world.
Women naturally
carry less muscle tissue on their bodies than men. Women bodies also
contain significant amounts of the hormone estrogen, which limits the
potential size of muscles. For this reason, participation in
muscle-building activities doesn’t usually result in dramatic
muscle-size in female exercisers.
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.
The majority of
women are seeking to tone or build their muscles are advised to use
very light amounts to avoid bulking up or appearing masculine, but
women don’t normally bulk up in this way. Be certain to use enough
weight during your exercise routine, it will not influence the
muscles to tone or build in size if the weight is too light. You have
to use enough weight to temporarily fatigue the muscles. Keeping your
reps high, between 12-15 reps will definitely encourage development.
.
Here is some
recommended cardio advice for the different body types.
The triangle,
Pear, or Spoon, a women with the A frame torso. Shaped like the
letter A, with shoulders narrow than hips. If you are bottom heavy
–your weight is mainly in the buttocks, low hips and thighs and you
have a small bust. I recommend lower body cardio, such as walking,
cycling, or elliptical machine.
If your top
and bottom is narrow, and your body fat weight concentrates on your
chest and belly, you have an apple shape or the oval shape. Avoid
the elliptical machine as it leans out the legs to much, and focus on
the treadmill, the stepper, and weight training on your legs.
If the
heaviest part of your body is the top and your shoulders are wider
than your hips, you have a cone shape. I recommend the stepper.
For the women
with the Hourglass figure, who’s equally broad on the top and
hips. All cardio exercises are appropriate.
The maximum
amount of cardio time per session is 45 minutes, after this time
period the body converts from burning body fat to burning stores
muscle mass. I recommend splitting this cardio time in half, 22
minutes before weight training, and the other half when you finish
training.
Chapter
1
Finding
the perfect gym that fits your liking can be a trying
experience.-However simply selecting a gym “out of the many” can
become a major nightmare to your fitness goals. Why invest money go
someplace that makes you feel uncomfortable or is not to your liking?
Make a list of
all the important qualities you want in a gym. This list should be
what’s really important to you. For example: childcare center if
needed, cleanliness, well serviced equipment, reasonable gym cost,
and location that don’t take you out of your way. Chances are, you
may not be able to find a gym with every single absolute you want,
but you will be able to narrow it down and make a better more
informed decision.
While out
shopping for a gym membership, do not be afraid to ask questions
direct to the staff member who’s showing you around. Take notes if
you want, and never assume anything. One of the most important area’s
to check while on your tour is the female locker room. Do not make
the mistake of just poking your head and thinking that it looks okay.
Take the tour around this area, examine for cleanliness and privacy.
Walk the floor
of the gym and examine the equipment. Gyms equipment should be close
in line with your fitness goals. Do not be shy about asking the staff
member conducting the tour to do a few reps on the machine to check
the machine quality and level of up keep.
Inquire about
the staff; this happens to be my personal most important issue. How
many of their staff members are certified trainers? This is
significant not only in helping you work out correctly, but for your
safety at the gym. A good portion of the gym personnel should be
trainers who are also certified in CPR/first aid, should you need
help.
What should
you wear?
Many
women overlook the importance of choosing proper undergarments for
their workout. Your workout top should be form fitting, not baggy.
Wearing clothes that are too loose or baggy fit will only get in your
way when properly executing your workout moves. The best fabric to
look for in an exercise top is one that will wick moisture. These are
typically cotton or cotton-blend shirts lined with a special
microfiber material that keeps moisture away from the skin.
Workout shorts
for women come in various styles and length, including hot shorts,
bike shorts, and capri-length shorts. The important thing to remember
when choosing shorts to exercise; is the fit. Same rules apply if
your choice is to wear pants instead of shorts.
The footwear
women wear for their workout needs to be appropriate for the exercise
they are doing. If you are going to be running, choose a supportive
instead of a shoe made for just walking. Look for shoes that will
allow air to circulate around the foot. Choose socks that are made of
breathable cotton fabric. Ankle and low-cut socks work well for
exercising and tend to be lightweight and breathable.
You may not
feel the need to buy weight lifting gloves if you plan to stick to
lifting neoprene or vinyl dumbbells, but you probably want find a
great deal of these at your accessibility after joining a actual gym.
Iron and chrome will most likely be the dumbbells of choice, and
these weights want be not as friendly to the hands. Iron and chrome
dumbbells often have ridges on their shafts to help you get a better
grip, but this can be harsh on your palms. A great pair of workout
gloves will help you protect your hands and get a better grip on any
type of weights.
Chapter
2
Stretching
is one of the most important areas of the workout. I’ve watched
endlessly as women come into the gym to do cardio, complete their
necessary time limit, get off the machine and walked out the gym.
You’re missing the most dynamic part to your exercising by not
stretching.
Muscles,
tendons, ligaments, and joint structures are flexible. They stiffen,
limiting your range of motion, or they can stretch giving you a
longer range of motion and the ability to contract additional muscle
fiber.
Flexibility will
also increase if the various exercises are done properly. A muscle
can contract, but it cannot stretch itself. It has to be stretched by
the pull of an opposing muscle. Therefore, I recommend stretching
before you train to allow you to train harder and more safely, and
stretching after you train as well to stretch out those tight and
tired muscles.
The
importance of correct breathing
Breathing
is a very important factor when it comes to working out. If
implemented correctly, your routine continues with perfect precision,
but when breathing is incorrect the results can end up extremely
dangerous. The two body parts that I’ve experienced over the years
that women have trouble with their breathing on are squats and
abdominal work.
Establish first
before beginning your exercise if you should be breathing in or out
at which point in your movement, and if for the first few times you
have to remind yourself over and over about breathing, worry not.
Your subconscious will eventually take over the job, leaving you to
concentrate on the task of the exercise
When you are
going to do squats! Take a deep breath as you stand with the weight
on your shoulders and squat down. Exhale your breath as you push
yourself back up, as you squat down don’t hold your breath.
There is a very
good reason for this. Very hard contractions of the muscle usually
involve a contraction of the diaphragm as well, especially when you
are doing any kind of leg press or squat movement. This increases the
pressure in your thoracic cavity- the space in which the lung fit.
The
importance of drinking water
Studies
have produced varying recommendations over the years, but in truth,
your water needs depend on many factors, including your health, how
active you are, and where you live. Water is your body’s principal
chemical component and makes up about 60% of your body weight. Every
system in your body depends on water. Water flushes toxins out of
vital organs and carries nutrients to the cells.
Lack of water
can lead to dehydration, a condition that occurs when you don’t
have enough water in the body to carry out normal functions. Even
mild dehydration can drain your energy and make you tired.
To maintain
normal, adequate hydration, a simple calculation of the body weight,
multiplied by 0.55 will equal the amount of water a women should
drink in ounces on a daily basis. For example: a women who weighed
110 lbs, should drink 60.50 (110x.55) of water every day.
If you are doing
strenuous activities which involves more sweating, such as outdoor
jogging in extreme heat, the water should be increased by multiplying
the body weight by 0.66