Hey hey! So I’m a 22F about 130/132 ish, 5’6 about 35.5/36 inches in my hips(measured 2 days so (3.15). I want to lose a little ( not much since I’m not a huge frame as it is) weight in my stomach and truly a little tummy doesn’t bug me BUT I do want to get bigger in my lower half. My main focus would be my hips/ outer thighs and lower flute portions as well as not losing too much weight in areas I don’t want to lose muscle in. Granted I don’t have chicken legs I just want to get bigger in my lower half from where I’m at currently. I’m not too worried about my top half(arms) because I’m pretty strong due to my job I lift a lot of heavy stuff and have a fair amount of muscle in my biceps/ triceps. Any advice, exercise recommendations, opinions for lower half gainz?
@wemchud quickly clarifying, you don't want to lose weight, you want to change your fat to muscle ratio. The number on the scale will hopefully go up in your ideal scenario where you're bottom half grows. To become leaner you simply eat less while still working out, this does not mean starving yourself or skipping meals! It important to still have enough protein. The best diet you can do is lots of chicken, fish, sweet potatoes, a fuck ton of veggies, and some good ol' carbs, I would throw in a protein shake, multi vitamin, and creatine to fill in any gaps. Protein per day for you would be 92-130 grams per day (a gram per pound is a quick mental note, but the science is showing 0.71 grams of protein per pound of body weight is enough to grow, particularly if you're young and healthy).
That said it is really hard to GROW while also becoming leaner. This is why people bulk then cut. A bulk is simply eating more while still working out. Don't dirty bulk, which is just eating fucking anything. Eat what I suggested above, just more of it lol (but also if you're bulking it's waaaay more okay to cheat the diet). At the end of the day if you don't want to overthink it just eat until you're full and making sure you have veggies / proteins on your plate, especially if you've had even an inclination of an ED in the past.
For growing your bottom half the two most important things are eating enough and not overworking yourself. The butt and legs contain the largest muscles in the body, those take time to repair after being worked. You're in luck though because women recover faster than men. I'd suggest doing lower body 3 days a week with a day in between each. Listen to your body, if your legs are still sore don't wreck them again, either take it easy or do a different muscle group all together.
Weight Squats are your best friend, you can also do bulgarian split squats to really target the quads / workout any imbalance, some people swear by hip thrusts and they're good for hips/glutes but have limited ROM, for really functional strength you can try deadlifting which will hit tons of different muscles, and of course there are good old fashion stairs. Do at least one day of cardio per week, but don't do a ton of cardio when you're doing lifts on the same day, it can be too fatiguing.
Deadlifts and Squats are particularly fatiguing because they're compound lifts (meaning they hit many parts of the body), so make sure to rest enough after those.
If you're new to using weights then watch a ton of form videos, practice a bunch with zero weight, then practice with light weight, then try heavier. Always warm up by doing the exercise with light/no weight. Try out different rep ranges and figure out what works for you. For me I like to do 3 sets of 7 reps some days, and then 5 sets of 5 reps others.
Feel free to hit me up if you have any questions
TLDR
Bulk by eating more (still healthy foods), grow by doing weighted squats and resting (which means good sleeps and good foods), get lean by eating a little less (but still healthy) and upping the cardio a bit. Aim for 3-4 days per week of working out, but listen to your body if certain parts haven't recovered yet.
Good luck!
That said it is really hard to GROW while also becoming leaner. This is why people bulk then cut. A bulk is simply eating more while still working out. Don't dirty bulk, which is just eating fucking anything. Eat what I suggested above, just more of it lol (but also if you're bulking it's waaaay more okay to cheat the diet). At the end of the day if you don't want to overthink it just eat until you're full and making sure you have veggies / proteins on your plate, especially if you've had even an inclination of an ED in the past.
For growing your bottom half the two most important things are eating enough and not overworking yourself. The butt and legs contain the largest muscles in the body, those take time to repair after being worked. You're in luck though because women recover faster than men. I'd suggest doing lower body 3 days a week with a day in between each. Listen to your body, if your legs are still sore don't wreck them again, either take it easy or do a different muscle group all together.
Weight Squats are your best friend, you can also do bulgarian split squats to really target the quads / workout any imbalance, some people swear by hip thrusts and they're good for hips/glutes but have limited ROM, for really functional strength you can try deadlifting which will hit tons of different muscles, and of course there are good old fashion stairs. Do at least one day of cardio per week, but don't do a ton of cardio when you're doing lifts on the same day, it can be too fatiguing.
Deadlifts and Squats are particularly fatiguing because they're compound lifts (meaning they hit many parts of the body), so make sure to rest enough after those.
If you're new to using weights then watch a ton of form videos, practice a bunch with zero weight, then practice with light weight, then try heavier. Always warm up by doing the exercise with light/no weight. Try out different rep ranges and figure out what works for you. For me I like to do 3 sets of 7 reps some days, and then 5 sets of 5 reps others.
Feel free to hit me up if you have any questions
TLDR
Bulk by eating more (still healthy foods), grow by doing weighted squats and resting (which means good sleeps and good foods), get lean by eating a little less (but still healthy) and upping the cardio a bit. Aim for 3-4 days per week of working out, but listen to your body if certain parts haven't recovered yet.
Good luck!
@eduman That’s correct. My goal is to change my fat to muscle ratio. I started to bulk and I ran a fine line of eating good but I also have my sweet tooth moments so that wouldn’t help cause well sugar. I eat a lot of meat typically as well as veggies. However I will say I’m weird and all except potatoes I don’t like cooked nor steam. If it’s not cold veggies I won’t touch it. I will keep the protein in I typically have a small amount just cause it’s normally a shake. So I will definitely keep the ratios in mind and incorporate them into my diet so it’s not in one sitting and it’s while I’m at work where I’m moving and some days I do get sore muscles.
Eep Bulgarians
my whole ass kryptonite but for the gainz we must make sacrifices and use the force
Before I moved and was much more consistent with the gym I did a lot of leg presses, as well as squats with a smith machine( I tend to have bad balance when my knee and ankle are bothering me plus it helps my form the same everytime ) even though there are times it can be uncomfortable to work out I like doing deadlifts and squats w/ a smith. I’m going to be going back to the gym here soon however cause I miss being in the gym.
I greatly appreciate all the info man
most def will keep you on the roster.
Eep Bulgarians
my whole ass kryptonite but for the gainz we must make sacrifices and use the force Before I moved and was much more consistent with the gym I did a lot of leg presses, as well as squats with a smith machine( I tend to have bad balance when my knee and ankle are bothering me plus it helps my form the same everytime ) even though there are times it can be uncomfortable to work out I like doing deadlifts and squats w/ a smith. I’m going to be going back to the gym here soon however cause I miss being in the gym.
I greatly appreciate all the info man
most def will keep you on the roster.@laura21 npnp, Also If you have knee and ankle pain then I'd actually suggest doing some PT for them before jumping into a lot of weight. Some banded side steps, calf raises, mobility training, ect. If it's not pain but a balance issue then I'd suggest doing some yoga (particularly the balancing stuff lol). Also make sure you're bracing for your lift (keeping your core tight), just take a breath before doing the lift and hold it, a lot of balance issues can actually stem from not engaging the core properly.
Smith is great for really targeting the muscle you want to hit, because you're not limited by stabilizers, but you should still train stabilizers from time to time by doing a normal bar, just with light/no weight - that's really in the interest of injury prevention (plus your lifts end up looking way smoother to get you that gym clout)
A little sugar never killed anyone, life is meant to be lived. Good luck with the gains, and remember fitness is never a sprint, 1 hour 4 days a week is so so so much better than 4 hours 1 day then nothing for 6.
Smith is great for really targeting the muscle you want to hit, because you're not limited by stabilizers, but you should still train stabilizers from time to time by doing a normal bar, just with light/no weight - that's really in the interest of injury prevention (plus your lifts end up looking way smoother to get you that gym clout)
A little sugar never killed anyone, life is meant to be lived. Good luck with the gains, and remember fitness is never a sprint, 1 hour 4 days a week is so so so much better than 4 hours 1 day then nothing for 6.
@wemchud 22 is a forgiving age! I’d recommend two things:
1) watch your diet now. Diet is easier to slowly change versus when you are faced with a drastic choice. Some 22 year olds wake up 30 and 25lbs heavier with clothes that dont fit and begin a starve and binge mentality only to gain more weight. Eat proper portions, try weighing food for a few weeks, just to learn. Also, practice moderation on sugar and processed foods.
2) start moving! Walking works wonders. Also I highly recommend strength training. Squats, leg curls, cable kickbacks, leg press, calf raises…all these help give great definition. Do 3 sets of 12 and adjust weight as you get more comfortable.
I am 33f with a close enough build to you. I have two kids and my foundation was okay when I turned 30. I am now working out 4x per week for the last 6 months and i am soooo happy with my muscles from strength training. I am not bulky but have that “shape” i like. I wish i had this confidence when i was 22!
If you keep your diet the same, but hit the weights hard, you will likely get that recomposition you are after. After a few months you can play with your diet a bit to adjust. I am right now burning maybe 2200 on a workout day and trying to cut by eating around 1600.
1) watch your diet now. Diet is easier to slowly change versus when you are faced with a drastic choice. Some 22 year olds wake up 30 and 25lbs heavier with clothes that dont fit and begin a starve and binge mentality only to gain more weight. Eat proper portions, try weighing food for a few weeks, just to learn. Also, practice moderation on sugar and processed foods.
2) start moving! Walking works wonders. Also I highly recommend strength training. Squats, leg curls, cable kickbacks, leg press, calf raises…all these help give great definition. Do 3 sets of 12 and adjust weight as you get more comfortable.
I am 33f with a close enough build to you. I have two kids and my foundation was okay when I turned 30. I am now working out 4x per week for the last 6 months and i am soooo happy with my muscles from strength training. I am not bulky but have that “shape” i like. I wish i had this confidence when i was 22!
If you keep your diet the same, but hit the weights hard, you will likely get that recomposition you are after. After a few months you can play with your diet a bit to adjust. I am right now burning maybe 2200 on a workout day and trying to cut by eating around 1600.