Women’s guide to building muscle: Workout and nutrition tips

Whether you’re looking to build strength, lose weight, or just get a little more flexible, any healthy, fitness-focused lifestyle advice usually includes building muscle mass. This is for good reason.

Gaining muscle mass not only increases strength and improves mobility, balance, and joint health but has been shown to positively impact mental, heart, and gut health.

However, knowing where to start can be tricky, especially as a woman.

After all, when you think of muscular gains, you probably end up thinking of some pretty intimidating weight-training equipment at your local gym.

Gaining muscle doesn’t have to be an intense or scary process though.

There are a lot of ways to build lean muscle in a way that has you feeling like your best self — strong, secure, and savvy to the ways of your body.

So, how do you build this sort of strength? And how do you maintain it in the long run? Let's find out.

Why gaining muscle can be difficult for women

If you’re in any sort of health or fitness space, you’ve probably heard that it’s harder for women to build muscle than it is for men, and unfortunately, that is a theory that has clinical weight.

The theory behind this is actually not so much muscular as it is hormonal. Men have 10 times more circulating testosterone than women, and upper body muscles seem to have more androgen receptors than lower body muscles.

It’s believed that this hormonal difference allows men to develop muscle mass — particularly upper body muscles — much easier than women [1].

For both men and women though, our muscle mass peaks in our 30s, and muscle loss, a process known as sarcopenia, affects more than 45% of older Americans, especially women [2].

This natural muscle loss means it can be harder to gain muscle mass after 40.

The benefits of building muscle mass

The benefits of building muscle mass for both men and women have been well-studied and well-documented — and they're both physical and mental [1]:

• Increased resting metabolic rate and improved glucose metabolism, leading to more efficient calorie burning and weight control
• Improved blood lipid profiles and reduced resting blood pressure, meaning improved blood flow and reduced inflammation
• Improved bone mineral density
• Improved range of mobility and motion
• Better balance and a decreased risk of falls
• Reduced pain and discomfort associated with joint issues
• Enhanced flexibility and more endurance for sports and daily activities
• Improved mental wellness
• A lower risk of several chronic illnesses

For women in particular, achieving lean muscle growth through resistance training exercises helps to activate bone-forming cells, leading to denser, stronger bones.

Bone density is a particularly important factor for women as they are more likely to experience bone thinning in later life [3].  

The best exercises for building muscle

When it comes to supporting your body’s muscle growth, resistance training is the place to start.

If you are new to this sort of exercise, it’s important to start slowly with an emphasis on proper technique to avoid injury.

Start with body weight resistance exercises like sit-ups, knee or counter push-ups, and squats without using weights, and begin with just 2 days a week.

After a few weeks, as you get stronger, you can start to progress — first, by using light weights or low-resistance bands, and then by increasing the number of days you work out, and the number of reps and sets that you do.  

Not sure about lifting weights? Pilates and yoga are both low-impact forms of exercise that can also help you build strength, stimulate muscle growth, and reduce overall body fat.

While recommendations as to how much you should exercise vary, women should generally aim for 2 15-30 minute strength training sessions per week coupled with either:

• 75 minutes of high-intensity aerobic exercise (running, swimming laps, or dancing) or
• 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise (walking, jogging, or cycling) [3].

The importance of progressive overload

While starting slow can feel frustrating at times, it embodies a key principle of strength training and healthy, well-supported muscle growth.

Progressive overload is the foundation of resistance training as it relies on increasing load to increase the neuromuscular demand to reshape your body.

In other words, building your workouts over time allows you to not just address your body weight and prevent fat gain, but to target a specific muscle group and maintain lean muscle in a way that has you looking and feeling your best [4].

How to eat to build muscle (while losing weight)

Maintaining a balanced and healthy diet is vital for any workout regime, but in particular, when it comes to strength training and building muscle, ensuring you eat enough protein is a key requirement [2].

Protein is a critical part of what we eat as it’s the nutrient our bodies need to grow and repair cells, conduct muscle protein synthesis, and function properly.

Proteins are made up of building blocks called amino acids, and our body uses them to make muscle fibres and bone, and other compounds such as enzymes and hormones.

As we age and begin to lose skeletal muscle, getting enough protein becomes even more vital.

Luckily, dietary protein is an easily accessible nutrient and can be found in lean meat and poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts and seeds and legumes, as well as milk, yoghurt and cheese.

Still not hitting that protein target? Supplements in the forms of powders and shakes such as Juniper's Nourish Shakes can be a great way to keep you moving and building lean muscle as you work out.

For recipe ideas, advice on how to get enough protein in your diet or the best time to eat more protein in your muscle-building journey, Juniper's Weight Reset Program is here for you.

This tailored program offers you the support, guidance, and medical and dietary advice you need to achieve your healthy weight goals.

How long does it take for women to build muscle?

Jump onto any search engine with a question about exercise, and the odds are ‘how to build muscle women’ will be one of the first to auto-complete, but the reality is how women build muscle depends on a number of factors.

As a result, how long it takes for women to see results can vary depending on your age, lifestyle, genes and what your workout routine looks like.

Generally speaking though, most women start to notice a difference after about 4 weeks, with many studies finding it takes between 3-6 months for women to really start to notice lean muscle gain.

Starting out with the guidance of a medical professional, personal trainer or a doctor can help you to set expectations and healthy goals.

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