Why Women shouldn’t be Afraid to Start Natural Bodybuilding!
What is natural bodybuilding?
Natural bodybuilding is the sport of building your physique without the use of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) such as steroids. Natural bodybuilding is becoming increasingly popular, among both men and women, as people wish to compete in the sport without facing the long-term issues which come from use of damaging drugs. Although natural bodybuilders may not reach the extreme physiques as those using PEDs, many have proved that it is still possible to achieve aesthetic and great results naturally.
The term bodybuilding will often give us the image of crazy muscle size, especially these days with bodybuilders continuously abusing illegal substances. That can be an issue and repelling to most women who want to get in shape. The good thing is that it does not have to be that way with natural bodybuilding.
Natural bodybuilding and the fear of becoming ‘too bulky’ as a female fitness enthusiast
We have all heard it said that women are concerned that if they begin a bodybuilding journey, they may suddenly become ‘bulky’ or look ‘too masculine’. Although this myth is slowly starting to become less common it is still a concern for many women.
The joy of natural bodybuilding is that the chances of suddenly gaining a huge amount of muscle mass is far slimmer than in enhanced bodybuilding! Choosing to go natural is a commitment to a longer process as building muscle without the use of steroids is a lot slower. The gradual manner in which most people progress in natural bodybuilding puts you in full control of how far you go with your physique and which areas you choose to focus on.
Natural bodybuilding is not only healthier due to avoiding the use of harsh chemicals but it also means that your body develops in a natural stature suited to your body-type and genetics. People often consider the physique of natural bodybuilders to be much more aesthetically pleasing than enhanced bodybuilders. If you’re a woman looking to improve her body-shape, natural bodybuilding and fitness is one of the best way to get closer to that goal.
Don’t be discouraged by genetics
Genetics is a factor that is often over-estimated by those who are sceptical about natural bodybuilding. It Is often said that people will reach their natural limits very quickly and be unable to progress beyond them, with the suggestion that these individuals then turn to performance-enhancing drugs to continue progressing. The idea that certain people are limited to smaller muscle mass and cannot progress beyond that is simply not true and many question the existence of a ‘natural limit’.
This misconception comes as many natural bodybuilders reach a plateau at a certain point in their training and can struggle to overcome this. However, with a smart training, nutrition and lifestyle plan you can work around this and begin pushing what you may have considered to be your limit. As everyone’s body is entirely unique, and it is true that you cannot build muscle mass indefinitely, natural bodybuilders achieve very different result to enhanced bodybuilders. It is clear, though, how much extra dedication and determination it takes to pursue natural bodybuilding.
While the genetics factor is often over-estimated, it remains true that some people benefit from an easier body-morphology to work with. For example, some women will have the “gym booty” without ever having done squat or fitness before, while others will have worked for some time already and still can’t see similar results.
The solution to that is to keep going, and more importantly, understand your body-morphology. Finding exercises which suit your morphology best and spotting your weaknesses is the key – so you can focus on what matters. Once you will have built significant muscle mass in the right areas, you will realise genetics weren’t as important as you thought and that you now have an advantage over those with gifted genetics with your knowledge
Tips for continued progress
Our top tip would be not to over-complicate things! In order for your workouts to be effective they do not have to be packed full of obscure exercises to target the tiniest muscles. Keep things simple with the most common exercises as they have proved to be highly effective for generations of fitness enthusiasts.
You should also make your plan realistic and achievable so that you don’t become disheartened or frustrated which may eventually lead to you giving up. Consistency really pays off and you have to be prepared for the long term commitment.
Sticking to your routine in terms of doing the same exercises is essential to allow you to track your progress. If you change up your routine and do something new every week, it is very difficult to measure whether you are improving or not!
Our final tip is to push through plateaus. They can be frustrating when you are working just as hard as you were but aren’t getting the results – we get it. It’s important to remember that they are completely normal, almost everyone experiences them and you will get there get there if you keep working at it.
Conclusion
We hope that this has been helpful to you in debunking some of the fears and myths around women in natural bodybuilding. There really is nothing to be concerned about as you have full control over how far you wish to pursue natural bodybuilding and decide what your goals are. We also hope this article has helped you understand the benefits of going natural and given you some pointers for you beginning this exciting journey. Natural bodybuilding is an excellent sport and we really want as many people as possible to share our passion for it!
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