women

Many women want to lose stubborn body fat and replace it with a lean, toned and sculpted figure, but a common mistake when chasing this goal is focusing solely on fat loss. 

While shedding body fat is an essential part of the process, building muscle is equally crucial for achieving a toned and defined appearance. 

Contrary to popular belief, women possess the potential to develop lean muscle without compromising their femininity, and there are numerous benefits associated with adding muscle, such as a higher metabolism, greater functional strength and enhanced body composition and shape.

The bulking myth

A common misconception is that weight training will inevitably result in a bulky physique. However, a woman’s physiology is fundamentally different from a man’s due to lower testosterone levels. 

This hormonal disparity makes it significantly more challenging for women to develop excessive muscle mass. Instead, weight training empowers women to enhance their body composition by building lean muscle while reducing body fat.

Raid his supplement stack

This understandable fear about adding bulk can also limit a woman’s potential to achieve her goals by restricting the available supplements women are willing to use.

Many women associate common bodybuilding supplements with the big and muscular men they see in the gym, mainly because these products are traditionally marketed to men. 

However, these products can help support your progress towards a sculpted physique when used correctly. Here are 4 common supplements you’ll likely find in a man’s supplement cupboard that more women should consider:

1. Zinc + Magnesium Aspartate (ZMA)

While ZMA is often touted as a testosterone booster, it is primarily a zinc and magnesium supplement. These essential minerals play a vital role in hormone regulation, sleep quality, and muscle recovery. 

By supporting optimal hormone levels, ZMA can enhance strength, power, and muscle growth without inducing masculinising effects.

Biogen ZMA Power Plus is a combination of zinc, magnesium aspartate and vitamin B6 to support the maintenance of normal muscle function and reduce tiredness and fatigue. 

Zinc contributes to the maintenance of normal testosterone levels in the blood while magnesium contributes to the maintenance of normal muscle function and protein synthesis, and vitamin B6 helps promote normal red blood cell formation. Vitamin B5 contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue and normal mental performance.

Creatine has unjustly gained a reputation for causing bloating and bulk. However, research consistently demonstrates its effectiveness in increasing strength, power, and lean muscle mass. 

Creatine is stored mainly in the muscle, where its primary role is to restore energy during intense, short-duration exercise. By delaying muscle fatigue, creatine enables more intense workouts, which can support muscle growth when combined with the right diet plan. This supplement also helps speed up recovery after intense physical activity.

A product like Biogen Pure Creatine Monohydrate Powder may be an ideal choice to look at as it is also part of the Informed Sport Programme, meaning it is batch tested to verify the product is exactly what it says it is.

When it comes to dieting, many women focus too heavily on carbohydrates and fats to achieve their weight-loss goals. Neglecting your protein intake is not only detrimental to your ability to recover properly and maintain optimal health, but it also negatively impacts on your weight-loss and body-sculpting goals.

A 2012 study¹ confirmed that a higher protein intake benefited body composition, particularly during periods of weight loss, as participants lost more weight from fat, not muscle. 

The study found that “a 500kcal dietary restriction for one year resulted in 9.9-11.2% weight loss in overweight persons with no difference between gender”. 

While the difference in overall weight loss did not differ much between the high protein group (1.6g/kg) and the low protein group (0.8g/kg), when measuring only fat mass, the high protein group lost significantly more fat than the low protein group when calories were kept equal.

A higher protein intake preserves lean muscle mass during weight loss and also supports muscle repair and growth, which is beneficial for your resting or basal metabolic rate (BMR). This effectively means you burn more calories throughout the day, even at rest.

Suitable protein supplements may include products like Biogen Premium Iso-Whey, Biogen Lean Whey, Biogen Complete Whey, and Biogen Plant Based Protein.

Often marketed as hardcore training amplifiers, pre-workout supplements work for every training session.

These supplements mainly work by boosting nitric oxide production, enhancing blood flow to muscles, delivering vital nutrients and oxygen while removing waste products. This translates to improved performance, endurance, and recovery. 

They can also optimise your workouts with more energy and more efficient recovery, with supplements like Biogen Premium Pre-Workout and Biogen Rage Pump NOS contributing to a more efficient and effective training session by delivering ingredients that may assist in maintaining energy levels and overall performance.

Incorporating these supplements into a well-rounded fitness regimen can help women overcome plateaus and achieve their dream lean and sculpted physique that celebrates female strength and femininity. Always remember that achieving your results will require consistent weight training, proper nutrition, and adequate rest, coupled with supplements.

References
  1. Evans EM, Mojtahedi MC, Thorpe MP, Valentine RJ, Kris-Etherton PM, Layman DK. Effects of protein intake and gender on body composition changes: a randomized clinical weight loss trial. Nutr Metab (Lond). 2012 Jun 12;9(1):55. doi: 10.1186/1743-7075-9-55. PMID: 22691622; PMCID: PMC3407769.

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