Share on Facebook. Step 1 Lift weights to define muscles. Step 2 Prioritize compound exercises recruiting major muscles groups such as squats, leg presses, bench presses, lat pulldowns, upright rows and lunges. Step 3 Use a three-day workout cycle.

Step 1 Eat a well-balanced diet containing approximately to calories a day fewer than you expend for a gradual steady fat loss. Step 2 Consume several small meals a day, each with at least 10 grams of lean protein and a small amount of complex carbohydrates rather than two or three big meals.

Step 3 Do at least 30 minutes of cardio exercises such as biking, elliptical trainer, running, cross-country skiing or swimming five times a week to burn fat. References Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Healthy Weight - It's Not a Diet, It's a Lifestyle!

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Why Strength Training? com: Strength Training: Get Stronger, Leaner, Healthier BodyBuilding. com: Women - Weight Train And Burn More Fat! Free weights recruit stabilizing muscles as well as the main muscle group you are working, but machines are safer.

If you want to use free weights, consult a certified fitness professional to learn how to lift them correctly and only lift heavy weights if you have a spotter. To gauge how long your muscles are, put your elbow up at a right angle, and see how many fingers you can put in between your elbow crease and where your bicep starts.

The less space you have and fewer fingers you can fit , the longer muscle belly you have, which means the greater potential you have for building muscle size , strength, and definition. And while it makes sense that a tall, athletic person would have longer bones — and thus, longer muscles — just because you have long arms and legs or are tall doesn't necessarily mean you have long muscle bellies compared to your bones, says Westcott.

Someone who's short, for example, can still have a longer muscle belly relative to their bone and have just as much potential for expanding their muscle mass.

Along those same lines, everyone is born with slow-twitch and fast-twitch muscle fibers , says Westcott. When you strength train, the fast-twitch ones are more responsive and grow more easily, he says.

So: "People born with a higher-than-average percentage of fast-twitch fibers respond quickly and more effectively to the strength training stimulus," explains Westcott. Then, there's body fat. Body fat distribution is also at least partially genetic — and don't forget that body fat is not a bad thing to have!

Just because your muscle gains aren't as visible, doesn't mean you aren't strong and powerful. However, if you're set on seeing your defined muscles, there are ways to safely lose body fat while maintaining those gains.

The good news? Genetics aside, everyone has muscles and everyone can work to develop them, notes Olson. Unfortunately, there's not much you can do differently if you have a shorter muscle belly, but you can adjust your training based on your muscle fibers.

If you have more slow-twitch muscle fibers think: marathon runner , you'll likely be better at endurance-type activities as these muscle fibers fatigue more slowly than the fast-twitch kind think: sprinter.

That also means they respond better to high reps. So while someone with fast-twitch muscle fibers which fatigue more quickly could get away with doing fewer reps and seeing definition faster, you might just need to put in say, 15 or 20 reps to see similar results, explains Westcott.

But that doesn't necessarily mean it's more work for you. After all, if you're full of slow-twitch fibers, you likely won't mind the extra work as it doesn't necessarily feel like "extra. If you're simply born with a higher level of body fat, you could also benefit from more aerobic and cardio work on top of strength, notes Westcott.

This can help elevate your resting metabolic rate, burn more calories called the afterburn effect , and is a huge factor when it comes to keeping a healthy body weight.

After that, the general recipe is simple. A combination of aerobic and anaerobic — strength and endurance training — is a solid strategy, says Westcott. After all, if your goal is to build lean muscle and burn fat, it's going to be a challenge if your eating habits aren't in check. Building muscle actually requires more protein than maintaining muscle.

The American College of Sports Medicine ACSM recommends that women eat about 1. For a pound woman, that works out to between 76 grams and grams of daily protein. Eating some lean protein with every meal is a great way to ensure you're meeting your daily intake goal.

Poultry, fish, low-fat dairy, eggs, beans, nuts and seeds are all great examples of lean protein you can easily incorporate into your diet, according to the ACSM. Pair your protein with plenty of whole carbs, too. Carbohydrates are another important part of the muscle-building process. Carbs are converted into glycogen, which is stored in the muscles and used to power you through your workouts, according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Incorporate high-quality, whole carbs that are low in fat, like brown rice, whole-grain bread or pasta and quinoa, suggests the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Vegetables can also be a great source of whole carbs. They also deliver a haul of fitness-boosting vitamins and minerals, fiber included. Fiber helps keep your blood sugar levels stable, promotes regular digestion and helps boost satiety levels.

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Reducing the simple carbs and fats, such as those found in high-sugar, processed foods is a good place to start. However, there's no reason to restrict the complex carbs and healthy fats commonly found in vegetables, whole grains, fruits, nuts, avocados, and healthy oils.

Doing so robs your body of essential macronutrients that your muscles need for glycogen energy and anabolism growth. Complex carbs play an important role in muscle-building.

They are stored as glycogen in the liver and muscle tissue and provide energy during and after your workouts. Our bodies generally don't tolerate carb restriction well and will convert amino acids protein stored in muscle to fuel workouts in the absence of carbs. This process is called gluconeogenesis and can mean losing hard-earned muscle.

Fats, especially essential fatty acids EFAs , play an equally important part in muscle development. Fats help transport nutrients in and out of our cells and deliver amino acids to muscle tissue. Make a mental shift from focusing on foods for fat loss to eating for muscle gain. This means consuming nutrient-dense foods in the form of lean proteins, complex carbs, and fats in the right quantity to support muscle growth.

It also means committing to regular weight resistance training. If your goal is to achieve muscle definition, it will require more than cardio to get there. Focusing on losing fat without considering what it takes to build muscle can become a mental roadblock.

Many people find it difficult to believe that eating more nutrient-dense calories results in faster muscle gain. Try various and challenging weightlifting classes or solo lifting to build muscle.

Approach your workout with determination and accept the potential discomfort of lifting heavier weights. Your new outlook and efforts will likely create new muscle and a natural reduction of body fat at the same time. It's not uncommon to go through guilt cycles when it comes to food.

Completing hours of cardio or overly restricting your caloric intake to "make up for" indulgences hinders muscle development and may cause physical and emotional stress. If you get down on yourself and allow slip-ups to define you, you may be more susceptible to unhealthy exercise practices or giving up.

While some people can enjoy an indulgence and move on, others believe that all of their muscle-building efforts are ruined by going off plan. Spoiler alert: They're not.

If your mindset is focused on muscle growth rather than fat loss, an occasional treat is not going to make or break your results. Reframe your way of thinking to free yourself from needless and counter-productive guilt.

Strength training is the most effective way to build muscle. Incorporating bodyweight workouts and weight lifting into your workout regimen can be a successful way to increase muscle mass and gain strength. You don't need much equipment — or any at all — to start a strength routine. Instead, start a bodyweight circuit at home for beginners to kick off your strength training journey.

A workout that includes squats, pushups, lunges, planks, and mountain climbers can be an effective strength-building strategy.

All of these moves, incorporated into your routine, can help in building muscle. Elevate a bodyweight workout by adding low-weight dumbbells. For example, perform a squat while holding dumbbells at shoulder height. Alternatively, do a lunge with two dumbbells at your side.

If you'd like more direction with your moves, download a fitness app , which can guide you in moves and proper form for each step. Gaining muscle is a popular health and fitness goal, and eating well to support lean mass gains is essential.

Once proper nutrition is incorporated, building muscle can lead to effective fat loss as well. A review of your current food intake and more mindfulness around your eating habits will unlock your muscle development potential.

Thomas MH, Burns, SP. Increasing lean mass and strength: a comparison of high frequency strength training to lower frequency strength training. Int J Exerc Sci. Mielgo-Ayuso J, Fernández-Lázaro D.

Nutrition and muscle recovery. Clark RV, Wald JA, Swerdloff RS, et al. Large divergence in testosterone concentrations between men and women: Frame of reference for elite athletes in sex-specific competition in sports, a narrative review. Clin Endocrinol.

Chappell AJ, Simper T, Barker ME. Nutritional strategies of high level natural bodybuilders during competition preparation. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. Jouris KB, McDaniel JL, Weiss EP.

The effect of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on the inflammatory response to eccentric strength exercise. J Sports Sci Med. Allman BR, Morrissey MC, Kim JS, et al. Fat metabolism and acute resistance exercise in trained women.

J Appl Physiol. Helms ER, Aragon AA, Fitschen PJ. Evidence-based recommendations for natural bodybuilding contest preparation: Nutrition and supplementation. By Darla Leal Darla Leal is a Master Fitness Trainer, freelance writer, and the creator of Stay Healthy Fitness, where she embraces a "fit-over" lifestyle.

Use limited data to select advertising. You can get those gains with a few smart tweaks in your routine. The biggest determinant of muscle mass in women comes down to three major things you can control: training , diet , and rest.

Meet the experts: Danyele Wilson , CPT, is a trainer for Evolve You. Hannah Davis, CSCS, is a certified strength and conditioning specialist and creator of Body By Hannah. Of course, as Wilson notes, there are some immovable factors that can either hinder or help when it comes to muscle growth.

The main one: testosterone. Sex-related differences aside, though, as far as muscle growth capacity goes, testosterone is pretty potent stuff. Here, experts break down the best ways for women to start building muscle by tweaking your training, diet, and rest habits.

From explosive strength think: the ability to reach a basketball hoop to absolute strength like the ability to deadlift pounds , there are a multitude of approaches to strength training.

Not all will help hit the goal of building muscle. The kind that will, though, is called hypertrophy. As for how often you should be training , Wilson says three to five times per week is ideal for muscle growth. So if you've been sticking with those pound dumbbells for upper-body exercises, stop underestimating yourself—grab those heavier weights as long as your form is on point!

Compound movements give you the most bang for your buck muscle activation-wise, Wilson recommends. That being said, though, if you prefer isolated exercises say, biceps curls or the hamstring curl machine , just make sure that you hit each muscle group legs, back , chest , arms at least once per week.

Here are five of her favorites:. How to:. Try this total-body strength workout:. That is, if you're grabbing the same weights and doing the same moves on repeat. Enter: progressive overload. It simply means increasing the intensity of your strength exercises through increased volume or weight , reps and sets, frequency, or even time-under-tension or how long it takes to complete a single rep, further challenging your muscles.

But how much and when should you up the ante when training for progressive overload? Aiming for a five to 10 percent increase each week, for any given variable, is a solid start , Wilson notes.

An increase beyond that amount could up your risk for injury, she explains say, going in for a pound dumbbell chest press for six reps when the week prior you were hitting 15 pounds for that same number of reps.

All those muscle-building workouts require quality fuel. And save the calorie skimping, Wilson says. Davis says she often sees clients who barely eat all day long, and then eat a big meal before bed.

You don't necessarily need to fuel right before a workout although if you do, Davis says an apple is her go-to , but you do need to eat enough to keep your body energized, and promote muscle-building.

FYI: Dividing up training days based on lower- and upper-body moves can help keep you at three to five days of training per week! Sleep plays an important role too, she says. Your brain is resting with very little activity, so your blood supply available to your muscles increases, delivering extra oxygen and nutrients so they can heal and grow.

Davis recommends putting screens away an hour before bed and keeping your room dark and cool.