Engage in consistent, regular therapy (e.g., weekly sessions) to address underlying psychological issues, past traumas, and dysfunctional beliefs, as this is foundational for overall well-being and recovery from conditions like eating disorders.
Treat yourself with the same kindness and understanding you would offer a client or best friend. Reduce self-judgment and negative self-talk to foster a healthier mindset and make progress in personal growth.
Understand that recovery from psychological conditions or addictions is a continuous process, not a destination. Maintain awareness and commitment to new behaviors, as the desire to revert to old habits can persist.
Clearly identify what you want your physique to look like, using visual examples (e.g., social media figures) to help your coach understand your aspirations. This helps in setting realistic expectations and designing an appropriate program.
Seek a coach who is evidence-based, experienced in powerlifting and bodybuilding, and ideally has specific experience working with women. One-on-one training is highly valuable for learning optimal techniques and movement pathways.
Start new resistance training programs with low volume (e.g., one working set per exercise) and gradually increase sets, reps, and intensity over time. This ensures adherence, minimizes injury risk, and facilitates muscle growth.
Begin with bodyweight exercises like squats to learn proper movement patterns before adding external load. This builds a strong foundation and confidence, especially for intimidating exercises like barbell squats.
Use Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) or Repetitions in Reserve (RIR) to gauge and progressively increase training intensity. Aim for RPE 6-7 initially, progressing to RPE 8-9 (near failure) as you advance to optimize hypertrophy.
Maintain a consistent protein intake between 1.8 to 3 grams per kilogram of lean body mass daily. This is crucial for muscle building and retention, and consistency prevents negative impacts on energy balance.
During muscle building, aim for a 10-20% calorie surplus above maintenance, adjusting based on comfort with body fat gain. During fat loss, target a weekly weight loss of no more than 1.5% of body weight to preserve muscle mass and metabolic health.
After a fat loss phase, slowly and incrementally reintroduce calories week by week to find your new maintenance and restore metabolism. This helps prevent hyperphagia and promotes sustainable results.
Take sufficient rest between working sets (e.g., until heart rate is below 100 bpm) to ensure full recovery. Rushing sets can lead to fatigue, reduced performance, and hinder progress.
Incorporate compound exercises like squats and deadlifts early in your workouts, as the first 6-8 working sets tend to yield the best returns. These movements efficiently target multiple large muscle groups.
Include at least one single-leg exercise per session (e.g., single-leg RDLs) to correct discrepancies and improve stability. Begin with opposing arm/leg for greater stability, progressing to same arm/leg as you advance.
Prioritize seated hamstring curls over prone variations for better isolation and tension on the hamstrings due to the starting position. This helps in optimizing hamstring hypertrophy.
Program pull-ups into your routine consistently, even starting with assisted bands, and progressively decrease resistance or add weight. This builds significant upper body strength and can lead to impressive gains over time.
Acknowledge that women may tolerate higher rep ranges (8-15 reps) better due to muscle fiber type differences and may benefit from deloads scheduled around their menstrual cycle to account for hormonal fluctuations impacting performance, mood, and energy.
Dedicate time to weighing your food and learning what specific portion sizes look like. This lifelong skill improves dietary precision, calorie awareness, and adherence to nutrition goals.
Curate your social media feed by unfollowing accounts that solely focus on extreme aesthetics or promote unrealistic body ideals. This helps protect mental health and reduces negative self-comparison.
Shift your focus from extreme leanness and aesthetic ideals to long-term health, functional fitness, and maintaining bone density. Resistance training is crucial for preventing age-related conditions like osteoporosis.
Be realistic about what can be achieved with physique goals, especially for individuals with significant time constraints like mothers. Adjust programs and expectations to align with available time and resources.
If your current clothes cause distress or negative thoughts about your body, consider getting a new wardrobe that fits and flatters your current physique. This can instantly improve mental health and reduce constant body-related anxiety.
For menopausal women experiencing low energy, motivation, or difficulty with body composition changes, consult with experts about HRT. Optimizing hormone levels can significantly improve quality of life and support adherence to active lifestyles.