But I WANT big manly muscles

Post Reply New Topic

My body is female, but I am NOT, and it's a huge pain in the ass to find anything for people with female bodies who WANT big bulky manly muscles (not body builder crap, but still noticeably large).

I want to be stronger than the average man. I want to be stronger than most (if not all) of my friends. But most of the crap out there geared towards female-bodied people is for WOMEN who are afraid of having real muscles and just want to be thin and pretty, and most of the stuff geared towards men assumes that they'll have testosterone. I don't have those same testosterone levels, so I can't make those same assumptions. Could anyone point me somewhere that will give me advice on growing real muscles and gaining real strength even though my body doesn't have the same testosterone levels as most man bodies?

Eat the right foods and work out. Keep some protein shakes on hand.
http://breakingmuscle.com/nutrition/top-10-foods-to-gain-muscle-mass

There are some natural supplements out there that have plant androgens that can sort of mimic testosterone. The problem is, without testosterone, most women can't get big muscles. It's just not possible, unless one has a genetic predisposition to have large muscles. Even men have trouble getting big if it's not in their genes.

I'm a woman, and very strong, but my muscles are not big. I lift much heavier than most women, especially for my size.

Nitric oxide supplements claim they help grow mussels by increasing blood flow to them. You can look em up on Amazon & read reviews.

Avoid drugging yourself. Even 'natural' androgens are androgens.

Do exercises that work out the muscles you want to develop. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. It may be rock climbing, it may be weight lifting, it may be rowing - whatever. Work your muscles as hard as you safely can. Then do it again.

Eat enough proteins, enough HDL cholesterol and enough unsaturated fat. Get a workout schedule, where routines and consistency are important. Eat enough, but don't buy into that crap that you can force a muscle to grow quicker by eating like a pig (this will make you fat). Creatine transporters, nitrous No-Xplode 2.05 uber edition, and so on are BS. The only supplements you need are proteins, minerals and vitamins--and if your body does not produce enough of it, creatine.

I was bench pressing 155 kgs before I even touched anabolic steroids, and gaining muscle isn't difficult per se--it's just time consuming.

HDL cholesterol, unsaturated fat, zink, magnesium, B6 vitamins and D vitamins can naturally boost your testosterone levels; if your levels are low, it might even double them.

Unfortunately, being female-bodied does disadvantage you in both the strength and muscle size departments, and even a woman with large, bulging muscles is still likely to not be as strong as an slightly above average man due to lower muscle density. Do not despair, however: I've seen plenty of rather tiny women display impressive strength thanks to excellent form and technique, sense of balance and core strength.

I don't know what you mean by "body builder crap", because body building is really what we're talking about here. For strength training, either a gym membership or a Crossfit club would probably be your best bets. Unless you know what you're doing and can tailor your training to your own needs, I suggest the latter. After that, your results are determined by your diet and your ambition. Hope you like blended chicken.





Pictured: Annie Thorisdottir, Crossfit champion. A woman so ripped she has abs on top of her abs.

Crossfit is a reckless practice that is vehemently SHUNNED by the bodybuilding community. http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthrea ... =129941353 http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthrea ... =168214913 http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthrea ... =148982113 http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthrea ... =128648391

Most crossfit is simply ridiculously exhausting and fast, acrobatic-like exercises with no concern for safety or injury-prevention.

It takes no consideration for learning the exercises properly and using good form and taking the necessary rests between exercises.

Here's a video of some professional crossfitters, doing what they do best: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8up6A4QesU

And this is how the bodybuilder does a deadlift: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5zhnubunoE

Besides, most extremely fit practitioners of cross-fit usually also do strength training and judging by their physiques, they probably only do crossfit 10% of the time or less.

OP, miss: A large assortment of various natural, healthy and scientifically tested supplements (good starter: Creatine), along with strength training and eating a healthy balanced diet in a calorie surplus (more food than you need) is the answer and will get you there quickly.

Bodybuilding.com is a great site and is as much for women as it is for men: http://www.bodybuilding.com/

I do crossfit on a noob basis (for fitness) and every session is led by a coach who monitors and instructs each person individually. Proper form and technique are paramount. Now, when you introduce a time limit and a desire to get as many reps in as possible, I could see recklessness and shoddy technique entering the picture, but not before then.


And those threads hardly represents a vehement shunning.


Yeah, those are not professionals by any stretch, those are newbies trying out a bad box. The BB vid was a nice demonstration, and I assure you our deadlifts don't look any different.


How exactly do you distinguish between "strength training" and Crossfit? Strength training is part of Crossfit. That's like saying "Yeah, boxers don't box all the time, sometimes they cheat and practice footwork instead".

Maybe I shouldn't have dismissed it entirely. I'll admit I'm a little biased towards it.

Thing is, when you first start using your muscles and exposing it to stimulus it's never experienced before, you'll gain muscle fairly quickly as your body adjusts, I'm sure you know this. Known as 'noob gains' by the bodybuilding community.

Some crossfit is tailored and marketed entirely toward beginners. Once your 'noob gains' run out, unless you alter your program to incorporate consistent strength training, you won't gain much extra muscle at all.

Thing is the crossfit programs are all pretty diverse while bodybuilding is a lot more restrictive.

Some of the programs are too reckless imho, which you are also aware of sir, and the video is definitely an example of how bad some crossift gyms can be, but plenty are better.

Some might not incorporate strength training enough, some might do it just fine.

Some crossfit does make a good alternative to cardio and definitely better than just plain running.

By strength training I mean a purely bodybuilding-inspired program. Aka the 5x5 (5 days of training per week, 5 sets of 5 reps).

I just mean to warn the OP to be wary of some Crossfit. Those ones with time limits and disregarding form just to complete reps, along with bad coaches do exist.

Bodybuilding, due to its restrictive rules/regulations from the very beginning, means you're far less likely to get misinformation. Straight-away on the forums are stickies at the top of the forum giving you all the accurate information you need. The only inaccurate information is the occasional outdated article.

Trust me, I was too, and still am to some degree. It's a trendy fitness-training style with all the hallmarks of a passing fad, and more than a few weirdly cultish elements. But I think the general idea is sound, the setup of small groups training together under close instruction by a coach works well for me. I have a lot of "raw" strength, and because of that I've been getting away with somewhat shoddy form while training alone for too long. That, and the sessions are varied enough to stave off boredom easily.

I think the problems you describe arise mostly from it being trendy right now. Lots of borderline scam artists want to cash in on its popularity. Either just throwing together some basic fitness routines to milk the name for cash, or instructing newbies to do, I don't know, barbell squats on the bosu ball so they feel hardcore. Or, as in that video you linked, hand some noobs a too heavy barbell and tell them to do a lift I had to look up. All rather sketchy and dangerous.

Don't get me wrong, the OP would be wise to carefully research any program or club they'd want to try out, and perhaps especially trendy ones.


I don't mean to disparage traditional bodybuilding (/powerlifting/weigthlifting/picking heavy things up and putting them down) at all. I did the Stronglifts 5x5 thing before I started Crossfit (and a bunch of years of martial arts before that). The only negative thing I have to say about it is that it can get very tedious when you're not training with friends.

That's good then.

I just didn't want the OP into being mislead to think crossfit is particularly safe when you have to research your programs carefully.

Since I'm at it even bodybuilding has its ocassional apathetic personal trainers that'll let their customer get away with bad form or dieting, and gyms like Planet Fitness are an absolute disgrace (low weights, offers free pizza days, etc.) but I still think bodybuilding is easier to pick-up information, especially since it's not as much of a 'trendy fad' as crossfit and other exercise or diet programs. Bodybuilding is definitely a trend, but it's been a longer-lasting one popular since at least the '80s and before. More scientific research has gone into it, and the website bodybuilding.com gets its information from peer-reviewed scientific publishes, journals, researches, etc.

I mistook you sir for one of those trendy crossfitters possibly, especially since that image is of the women's crossfit champion. There's not much evidence to fully say you are only an advocate for cross-fit but I misinterpreted it this way anyway.

I do have some criticism of cross-fit and that is if you're not careful you're likely to encounter inaccurate information. It's been around for a lot less longer and its marketing/promotion is based on getting the average person out of their chairs and up doing exercise. Most people are just happy to do what the coaches say if it means they're living a more 'active lifestyle' that can help them shed those extra lbs/kgs off.

Bodybuilding isn't designed to do that. From the very beginning it's about pushing your muscles to its limits and fueling it with proper nutrients so they can grow. It's definitely 'hard-mode' compared to 'Zumba'.

Sorry to intrude here - but I love the look on the woman's face at the back.
Wish I had muscles like that too.

I don't consider her to be particularly large, definitely not manly. My abs weren't that far off from that (they were basically that defined, but not that large) just from doing various types of crunches. I stopped because it looked strange.

I don't believe that level of musculature is that hard to achieve.

It depends on your initial build, same as it does for guys. Some women are just naturally more muscular than others, and it'll be easier for them to bulk up with exercise than it will be for a woman who is naturally slender/lean. Likewise, some people are built better for distance running.