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BODYBUILDING and FEMININITY

Can bodybuilding for women be dealt with in the same way as bodybuilding for men ?
Physical strength is a primordial feature of man, whether it be consciously or unconsciously achieved.
Femininity in general, on the other hand, does not go hand in hand with muscular volume.The female psyche is generally aimed at other objectives...
However, should this mean that the physical upkeep of their bodies should suffer?


I'm not even attempting to deal with the more ‘touchy’ questions, such as:
    - Is bodybuilding incompatible with femininity ?
    - Does a woman need muscles to be equal to a man ?
    - Muscles for a man, children for a woman.
    - etc ...

A woman has a muscular system just like a man, and, just like men, some women are stronger or have better endurance than others.

All women are not equal - in fact it's this variety that gives life it's charm.

What are the principal points to be worked on ?

Naturally, for the same reasons as stated for men, the abdominal muscles are the basis of all physical preparation. I’d add one other reason here… Motherhood.

If a man is likely to prefer working on the upper chest area, a woman, by her nature, is more likely to work on her thighs and backside.

However, for the same reasons I’ve given for men, women should not neglect working on their back. Particular attention should be paid to the "dorsals fixators".
The pectoral muscles, even if their role isn’t to ‘improve’ the bust, their development will help improve bearing.

The triceps, shouldn’t be ignored either, if one doesn’t want to see a flaccid mass building up behind the arms.

Short or Long series ?

Any training session must include a warmup.

Long sessions are better at burning off fat.
Short sessions, on the other hand, improve muscular power.
For example, when working on areas most effected by body-fat, 80% of sessions should be built around long series of 30 to 50 repetitions, whereas 80% of the strengthening of the back or bust should be based upon short series of 10 to 15 repetitions.

There’s no risk of developing ‘hypertrophied’ or over-enlarged muscles by working on heavy series of repetitions.
The muscles of a woman do not react in the same way as those of a man.

It remains, however, preferable to train several times a week in shorter sessions rather than one single, big session at the weekend.

Bodybuilding or cardio-vascular training ?

The two should be worked on simultaneously, as their effects are complementary.

It is better to walk for 40 minutes each day than just do a 100 km bike ride on Sunday.

Please feel free to seek inspiration from the session models available on the site – both for bodybuilding and gym.
Not forgetting of course the short programme you can do at home, without equipment, or just with a small set of dumbbells or weighted armbands.

Don’t forget to look at the pages: