With the Miss Illinois Pageant only 3 weeks away...I am in cutting mode. This means I am working hard to get my body fat percentage down. Last year it was pretty low..10 percent to be exact..a lot of women can not get that low but depending on testostrone levels and the individual everyone is different. I met with a specialist and I was able to get that low in a healthy way but only TEMPORARLY!! you can not stay that low due to the natural make up of the female body..and prevention for health problems. However it is not bad for an active women to set goals to maintain between 12 to 22 depending on the individual. Many say 20 is as low as a women should get but if you are looking for that leaned out defined look this is not true.
Body Fat- How low or high your body fat percentage is depends on the style of "tone" want. If you don't want veins, then you should not have too low of a body fat percentage. Which for women is totally almost impossible anyways. If you want some muscle, but don't want them undefined and "thick," then you need a lower body fat percentage.
Tailoring a look, a lot of times, comes with what body fat percentage you have. This is most true for arms and stomach definition, which is a big concern for a trainee. If you want defined arms, you have to get that body fat low. To do that, you need to have the diet in check. It needs to be clean and pretty dead-on.
Stretching. I am sure if I conducted an actual poll, at least 80 percent of the women I talk to would want the body of a dancer (long, lean, and very good "tone"). If I told you what those dancers did to get those bodies and what you would have to do to achieve this kind of body, your response to me would be, see you later, don't have the time.
Just like their talents are achieved over time, the same goes for their bodies. It also doesn't hurt that their genetics and height play a nice role. Still, this doesn't mean that a 5'3" 35-year-old woman can't have long, lean muscle. This doesn't mean their posture can't be so perfect that it gives the illusion of extra height and longer legs.
The key lies in stretching. Ever heard, "Stair climbers make my calves bulky!" or, "I have been working out for three weeks and my thighs are bigger!"? Well as a trainer, I hear it all the time. Mostly it is because these women ignore stretching. How often do you stretch? And for how long? Two minutes before bedtime isn't enough.
Surrounding muscle tissue is fascia. There are different functions and layers, but two such functions are flexibility and movement. You cannot alter the length of given muscle, but you can reverse the damage created over time from being in a shortened state from day-to-day activities or workout routine.
Stretching should be placed at the right times depending on workouts. A good guide to follow would be dynamic stretching pre-lifting/cardio and static stretches post lifting/cardio. Self-myofascial release with foam rollers can be done any time, and is one of the best methods for correcting tight and inflamed muscles. It is great to incorporate it at any time, even while just watching TV. The combination of all these styles of stretching will not only give a better overall look to muscles and posture, but will keep protection from injury as well.
Diet- There is one simple point I have to make: to gain muscle you need a surplus of calories. This means eat more than your body needs for energy in a day. That is what it takes to gain fat; and if lifting, to gain muscle.
Sometimes, women start weight-lifting to try to spot reduce problem areas, but they don't do anything about their diet. In some cases, they are eating over their calorie limit anyway (which is what most likely caused the fat gain), and think lifting will help them spot reduce those problem areas. You cannot spot reduce; fat is fat, and it comes off where it decides it wants to.
If a trainee wants smaller, flatter abs, and then starts doing a lot of abdominal isolation work while taking in surplus calories, then the abdominal area will get bigger. If seeing abdominal definition is the goal, the trainee needs to be in caloric deficit (fewer calories eaten than burned) to lose body fat.
The diet should be clean and with the proper amount of lean protein, good carbohydrates, and good fat sources. Water intake and sodium levels are also important. Water retention usually rises when starting a workout routine because most people ignore taking in adequate amounts of water. It is easy to mistake a case of water retention for bulky thighs.
Women should not be afraid of lifting and lifting hard. The world for you does not have to be colored baby dumbbells anymore. Choosing the right program and right diet for your goals is all you need to get the body of your dreams.
