What is mass gain?
In bodybuilding, mass gain is a period during which muscle volume is increased, which is characterized by weight gain. However, it is important to distinguish between gaining fat mass (body fat) and gaining lean mass (muscle).
Many women turn to low-calorie diets and cardio exercises for fear of gaining too much muscle mass if they lift weights during their workouts.
However, bulking up is the ideal solution to achieve a slim, toned body with feminine curves, and nowadays, more and more women are turning to muscle mass gain with the aim of improving their physical appearance and health and triggering weight loss.
Women have a different hormonal system than men. The higher amount of androgens allows men to build more muscle mass and less body fat than women. Women also have smaller and fewer muscle fibers.
Women have more "growth hormone" than men, which is responsible for tissue accumulation and compensates for low testosterone levels in women. This is why women tend to gain weight and fat more quickly.
What diet should women use to gain muscle mass?
Each person has a different calorie requirement, which is measured based on gender, weight and physical activity.
A diet suitable for muscle gain in women must contain sufficient protein. Women who are weight training should consume 1.7 to 1.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight each day, divided over several meals (between 5 and 6 meals per day).
This protein must come from complete protein foods such as those of animal origin (meat, dairy) and/or complete vegetarian sources such as pea or hemp. Only essential amino acids, present in abundance in complete proteins, stimulate muscle protein synthesis and stop breakdown.
For good mass gain, a woman should also consume 3 to 4g of carbohydrates per kg of body weight and consume 1g of fat per kg of body weight. A meal suitable for mass gain is composed of 50% carbohydrates, 40% protein and 10% fat.
When eating a diet suitable for muscle mass gain for women, it is recommended to eat 300 to 500 calories more than your body burns per day. For example, if you burn 2,500 calories per day, you should eat 2,800 to 3,000 calories per day. Be careful, consuming a calorie surplus will only lead to muscle mass gain if you train regularly and properly. If you do, you will store the extra energy in the form of fat. This is called fat mass gain.
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During mass gain in women, many dietary supplements can help with muscle gain and weight loss. For example, omega-3 supplements, polyunsaturated fatty acids that improve insulin sensitivity and reduce the formation of new fat, or BCAAs, which increase insulin sensitivity and help gain more mass without storing fat.
Which sport should you favor for gaining muscle mass?
To stimulate muscle fiber growth, it's necessary to train according to the principle of "muscle hypertrophy" and create a program tailored to your needs. Weight training in the gym is the ideal sport for gaining muscle mass and helping you lose weight.
Lift heavy while bulking up.
To stimulate muscle growth, a stimulus must be applied to the muscle. Women tend to stick to weights they are comfortable lifting for three full sets. However, a greater stimulus is needed to see real changes. You need to step out of your comfort zone and challenge your muscles more.
Your muscles should be fatigued by the exercises. You should perform your sets of exercises until muscular failure. That is, do a set of an exercise until you can no longer perform another repetition correctly. Be sure to regularly increase your weights to stay within the range of a maximum of eight to twelve possible repetitions.
What training frequency should you choose when gaining mass?
To promote muscle gain, you need to work each muscle two to three times a week and leave 48 hours between two sessions using the same muscles.
Not taking recovery time between each session will prevent your muscle from rebuilding and therefore growing.
On the other hand, if you take too much recovery time between two sessions using the same muscle, your muscle will not be used enough and it will not be effective in developing it.
If you choose four workouts per week, you could do two upper-body sessions and two lower-body sessions, for example. Your main muscle groups will be stimulated twice a week.
How many sets and reps during a mass gain?
For mass gain, it's recommended to do three to four sets of eight to 12 repetitions per exercise. If you choose a heavier weight and do fewer repetitions (e.g., 3 to 6), you're more likely to gain muscle strength, while lighter weights and higher repetitions lead to gains in muscular endurance.
Which exercises should you choose when gaining mass?
Preferably choose “polyarticular” exercises, which aim to work an area of several muscles , such as squats, deadlifts, bench presses, pull-ups, etc. because they are the most functional and they use several muscles at once. These exercises are quite complex, if you are not sure how to perform them, ask a trainer for advice.
Having a smaller number of muscle fibers, women have less strength on average, particularly in their upper body. While women's lower bodies can generate 70 to 75% of the strength of men's, their core and arms generate only 25 to 55%. Therefore, it's important that women's workouts are designed to strengthen their upper body.
In summary.
Gaining muscle mass in women will not have the same results as in men due to the difference in sex and in particular the higher production of testosterone in men. You are therefore unlikely to gain too much muscle mass. In order to gain muscle mass, it is important that the training program works in synergy with a good diet including an optimal calorie and protein intake, to repair and develop muscle proteins, leading to muscle hypertrophy (muscle growth).
To begin gaining mass, it is strongly recommended to seek advice from a health and sports professional.
