Can Women Gain Muscle Like Men?
This is something a lot of women ask? Most women are more concerned that they might gain bulging muscles which is almost impossible to do unless you were to take anabolic steroids.
In this article, I will try and set the record straight and answer the question can women gain muscle without steroids?
From a scientific view, proportionately women can gain muscle naturally like men but due to their smaller frame, they cant get as bulky.
Women can gain as much muscle as men but they start out with less muscle mass.
Women tend to carry less muscle mass than men so when they try to gain muscle they are starting out with less, however, women can gain just as much muscle proportionately as men.
In fact, there have been studies that show that women have just as much muscle and strength gaining potential as men. Some women have been shown to synthesize protein at a higher rate than men.
Women who lift weights can not only increase muscle they will benefit from increased bone density.
If you go to a gym invariably you will notice that most women mostly do cardio, not a lot of them visit the weight room.
There are many benefits to gaining muscle
Women who want to increase muscle mass are helping their bodies more than they realize.
Lifting weights offers many health benefits. Some of them include:
- Strengthen bones
- Prevent the onset of osteoporosis
- Improve flexibility
- Gain overall strength
- Burn body fat
- Helps maintain a healthy weight
- Increase muscle tone and firmness
So now that we have covered the benefits of lifting weights let’s take a closer look and see if women can gain weight without taking steroids.
The first question we have to answer is what does it take for women to gain muscle.
We know that lifting weights stimulates muscle growth but there are other things needed for the muscle-building process to be effective.
Some women are impatient and want to gain muscle fast, many feel they can’t gain muscle without steroids but they can.
What makes muscles grow?
Lifting weights helps you gain muscle because it places a strain on muscles and if the amount of weight you lift continues to increase your muscles begin to grow in size in order to adapt to the increased load.
Besides lifting weights there are other factors that can play a role in helping women gain muscle without steroids.
Testosterone
Testosterone is the male sex hormone and something women have less of.
Women have about 15% less testosterone than men making it biologically more difficult for women to gain muscle than it is for men.
This can be overcome to some degree by lifting weights, resistance training with moderate to heavy weights has shown to increase testosterone in women.
Human growth hormone
HGH is a natural substance your body produces and helps with gaining muscle. Human growth hormone is produced by the pituitary gland. HGH is produced at its highest levels when you sleep which is why we’re told that proper rest and at least 8 hours of sleep is important.
There are natural ways you can increase natural growth hormone production and these include intermittent fasting, reducing sugar intake, and exercise with high intensity.
Some studies show that GABA supplements can also help you increase growth hormones naturally.
Protein
The first thing you need to ensure is that you are eating a healthy diet.
In order to gain muscle without steroids, your body needs to eat protein-rich foods.
Protein is the fuel your muscles need to grow.
When you lift weights you are essentially tearing the muscles and in order for them to heal properly, they require protein.
How much muscle do you really want to gain?
Most women are happy with gaining lean muscle, this added with improved muscle tone and definition is what most women want.
Gaining lean and toned muscle is possible with a proper diet, exercise, and supplementation, unfortunately, a lot of women want to gain muscle the fast way and feel this can only be done by taking steroids.
Unfortunately, anabolic steroids can cause side effects in women.
Let’s face it, a hard body with firm glutes, toned abs, and a flat tummy is what most women want, but what about women who want more muscle and want to bulk up like a man.
Women who want to gain muscle like men are looking to take things to another level and one that is not natural.
Most of these women looking to gain a lot of muscle for the purpose of competing in a female bodybuilding contest or powerlifting competitions can only achieve this by taking anabolic steroids or some other sort of performance-enhancing drugs.
Anabolic steroids can help women gain a lot more muscle than they could without them, the problem is not only will you gain a lot of muscle you will begin to transform your body into something more masculine.
So to sum things up.
Women can gain muscle without taking steroids and if they are patient can end up with an incredible-looking body.
Can women gain muscle like men? Yes, proportionately they can but they just won’t get as big. In order to get as big as a guy anabolic steroids are the only way to achieve this.
Are anabolic steroids worth it?
For most women, unless they are competing on a professional level the risks and side effects of steroids are probably not worth it.
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Hi My name is Rosalie and the author of Womenandmuscle.com I started this blog to help women understand a little about the side effects of anabolic steroids and share some of my favorite alternatives that have helped me stay in shape and improve my performance in the gym.