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Ep 710: The 7 Steps I'd Take If I Wanted To Gain More Muscle (As A Woman) · Fit Womens Weekly Podcast

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(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) What's up guys?
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Welcome to the fit ones with the podcast
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on today's episode We are gonna talk about
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the importance of not sticking a potato up
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your hoo-ha.
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Yeah, you heard that right But before we
0:11
do welcome to the show It's been a
0:13
hot minute since you and I've just sat
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down had a conversation We've had some guests
0:17
on for the past couple episodes and I've
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also been playing some older episodes because you
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know it they're over 750 previous fit ones
0:25
with the episodes and I'm gonna guess you
0:27
probably haven't heard all of them So I've
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been super busy putting together a couple of
0:32
new programs and in the meantime I thought
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that was a great opportunity to bring some
0:36
of the more popular past episodes out of
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the safe and Replay them for you guys.
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So definitely check those out if you haven't
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already now on today's episode I'm gonna share
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with you step by step what I would
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do if my goal was strictly to add
0:51
Muscle mass to my body.
0:53
I wanted to get more toned What is
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it that I would do with my daily
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routine to make sure that I got the
0:58
results that I wanted But to start us
1:00
off.
1:01
I want to rewind about 20 years ago
1:06
Actually a little bit less than that.
1:08
We're gonna say 18 years ago Right out
1:11
of college.
1:11
I wanted to get a med school So
1:13
in the meantime all I was saying for
1:15
my MCATs My first job out of school
1:17
was working as a medical assistant for a
1:19
breast center and the doctor that I worked
1:21
for Was amazing.
1:23
Her name was dr.
1:24
Baron.
1:24
She became a second mother to me She
1:27
became a mentor to me and we would
1:30
sit basically in a dark cave She was
1:32
a radiologist that specialized in mammography.
1:34
So she was sitting in a dark room
1:36
all the time just looking at images and
1:39
We had some really great conversations in those
1:42
times where we're just sitting together looking at
1:45
all of these all the films and During
1:49
that she would share with me different stories
1:51
about her Experience going through med school and
1:54
one of them was during her fellowship.
1:56
So out of med school She was working
1:59
out at an ER at a hospital and
2:01
she had this woman come in Well a
2:03
woman came into the ER and she was
2:06
leaking green goo out of places that should
2:09
not be leaking green goo And so of
2:13
course, they're like what's going on.
2:14
Let's run all of the tests They sent
2:16
her up to do x-rays and when
2:18
the x-rays came to dr.
2:20
Baron, she looked at it went Oh my
2:22
gosh, this is not normal.
2:24
What the heck is going on?
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There's definitely something up there So, of course
2:29
doctors went up took a look and they
2:32
found a rotten potato Yeah, you heard that
2:36
correctly and so they went to the lady
2:38
and I was like, why did you have
2:40
this potato up there?
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I'm sure that's not the exact way that
2:43
the conversation went but something along those lines
2:46
And she went oh my gosh I forgot
2:49
I had had a yeast infection a couple
2:51
weeks ago and I had heard that sticking
2:53
a potato up there Will help get rid
2:56
of the yeast infection It did not get
2:59
rid of her yeast infection and obviously it
3:01
caused more harm than good But I've always
3:04
wondered like how did you one get it
3:07
up there to not feel it and three?
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Forget about it, especially when you started to
3:14
get goo coming out of places that should
3:17
not be that kind of goo, right?
3:21
But anyways the story and how this all
3:23
ties together.
3:24
I can't believe I've never shared this on
3:25
the podcast I actually just sent this story
3:27
out on my newsletter and my husband every
3:31
time we're around people He's like you've got
3:33
to hear this story So he's been trying
3:35
to get me to tell it to you
3:36
guys forever But I I don't want to
3:38
just tell a story to tell it I
3:39
want to make sure that I can tie
3:40
it in and I feel like I can
3:42
finally do that because what this story tells
3:46
us is that We live in a society
3:49
where you hear things and you go well
3:51
so-and-so told me this so it
3:53
must be true, right?
3:55
Especially because of social media especially because of
3:58
things like tick-tock where that's where a
4:00
lot of people get their Information from they
4:03
can say oh my gosh so-and-so
4:05
is it a quote-unquote expert?
4:07
You know they went through some sort of
4:09
certification and now they're telling me that I
4:11
should be taking these ten supplements that this
4:13
is What's gonna change my body?
4:14
It's gonna balance out my hormones or They
4:17
look at somebody who looks amazing and they
4:20
say she must know what she's talking about
4:22
because look at her When at the end
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of the day these quote-unquote experts are
4:27
not experts at all and we're putting our
4:29
trust in untrustworthy people people that are just
4:33
very passionate about something but that doesn't mean
4:35
that they actually know what they're putting out
4:38
and People who are sometimes just unfortunately trying
4:41
to make a buck and in the end
4:43
their advice could either be holding you back
4:46
Taking it giving it a longer opportunity for
4:50
you to get the results that you want
4:51
Or it could be a potato up the
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hoo-ha and causing you more harm than
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good Simply because you heard this was what
5:00
was gonna solve your problems So it is
5:02
so so important to make sure that you
5:05
are going to the experts with what it
5:07
is that you're looking after not Just with
5:09
your health and fitness, but in all realms
5:10
of life, right?
5:11
if you need help with something find someone
5:13
who actually is an expert who knows what
5:17
they're doing and is a qualified individual to
5:19
help you in the journey that you're trying
5:21
to get through and as a personal trainer
5:24
for over 18 years and as someone who
5:26
did not get My certification and just immediately
5:30
start training people online I literally trained clients
5:33
one-on-one for over 15 years So
5:35
yeah, I feel like I'm qualified to answer
5:37
the questions that you guys have and recently
5:40
see now bringing this all full circle I
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was asked the question.
5:44
What would I do if my goal was
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to gain five to ten pounds of muscle?
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What are the steps that I would take
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and there are actually seven of them that
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we are quickly gonna go through so that
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you Can take this information and go ahead
5:57
and get started First off I would go
6:00
ahead and have a realistic expectations If it
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is muscle mass that I want to build
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whether it's trying to build a better, but
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whether I'm trying to build total body Mass
6:11
all over trying to build muscle throughout my
6:13
entire body or if I'm trying to target
6:15
areas get better shoulders Whatever it is.
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I'm gonna have realistic expectations and realize that
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for a woman I'm gonna expect about a
6:23
quarter to a half a pound of Muscle
6:26
mass building per month and I know that
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that doesn't sound long or sound like a
6:31
lot But it takes a lot of energy
6:34
and effort for your body to actually build
6:36
muscle mass and that takes time and most
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of all It takes being consistent when I
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look back from one month to the next
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sometimes I'm like am I really seeing the
6:45
results that I want?
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But then when I look back for like
6:48
six months, I'm like, oh man, the results
6:50
have been showing So set those realistic expectations
6:53
for yourself And if you're not getting these
6:55
crazy muscle building results within just a week
6:59
or two Know that this is not something
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for the liver King, right?
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We're not taking steroids We're not going about
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this in an unhealthy way But this is
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realistic and as long as you're putting in
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the work of these other six steps You
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will get the results that you want cool
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Step number two is stop being in a
7:17
calorie Deficit in order to build muscle mass
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your body needs the tools that it needs
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to build that mass and that takes Making
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sure that you get enough protein into your
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diet and make sure that you are getting
7:28
enough calories in through your diet So that
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your body can repair itself and rebuild.
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You are not trying to go and be
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in a deficit.
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You're trying to Build right trying to be
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in an anabolic state of building and so
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to do that make sure that you are
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in some sort Deficit of anywhere between 100
7:46
or I'm sorry Surplus where you're eating about
7:49
100 to 300 calories extra per day now
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There is an asterisk if you're brand new
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to straight training You can get some crazy
7:57
newbie gains at the start of your training
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where even if you are in a calorie
8:01
deficit You're going to go into like a
8:03
body Recomposition phase where it is pretty easy
8:07
for newbies that are just getting started on
8:09
their journey to burn body fat and build
8:12
muscle Simultaneously, but for someone who's already been
8:15
working out consistently Those newbie gains are going
8:17
to be a lot slimmer and it does
8:19
take being more into a cool calorie surplus
8:22
to actually build muscle mass So if you're
8:24
always in a deficit and you're wondering why
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you're not looking more toned That is why
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start eating at least at maintenance But preferably
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go into that 100 to 300 calorie surplus
8:35
and you're going to build yourself up to
8:37
get faster results tip number two Prioritize protein
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like I just said we want to be
8:43
in that calorie surplus But we also want
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to make sure that we're giving our muscles
8:47
the building blocks that they deserve Muscle is
8:50
made out of amino acids and that is
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made from protein So we're taking our protein
8:55
from our diet and then helping us to
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rebuild and repair our muscles after our workouts
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to then get bigger stronger muscles, so how
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much protein should you be getting a Normal
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diet recommends about 0.6 grams of protein
9:09
per pound that you weigh.
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However, we're not doing a normal diet We're
9:13
trying to go into an anabolic phase where
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we're actually building muscle and so for that
9:18
We're trying to go into more of a
9:19
0.8 to 1.2 grams of protein
9:23
Per pound that you weigh if you are
9:26
considered obese Then going with a 1 gram
9:30
of protein might be very very difficult for
9:33
you depending on how much that's recommend Recommending
9:35
right so trying to get like 250 grams
9:38
of protein might be a little bit too
9:40
much Just a little bit too hard So
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in order to not feel defeated from the
9:45
get-go at least start with that point
9:47
eight But if you're capable definitely work more
9:49
towards that one gram if not up to
9:51
1.2. There's no Greater gains if you're
9:55
trying to go beyond that so make sure
9:57
that the protein is good quality Make sure
10:00
that you're getting a well-rounded diet.
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And if that means Supplementing with a protein
10:05
powder then that's fine and we'll talk more
10:08
about that here in just a second number
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three Lifting obviously if we want to build
10:14
muscle, you gotta start picking up weights You
10:16
got to start moving your body and you
10:18
have to go near failure for most of
10:20
your workouts So you want to go into
10:22
big compound lifts meaning lifts like squats deadlifts
10:28
pull-ups Binch press Big exercises that work
10:32
multiple muscle groups at once and big muscle
10:35
groups to get the biggest bang from your
10:37
buck and you want to Lift about three
10:39
to five times now in a previous episode
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recently I talked about how you should do
10:43
your splits should you do all total body
10:45
workouts?
10:46
Should you do an upper body lower body
10:48
split and really that depends on what your
10:50
training routine looks like if you're lifting Three
10:53
days a week.
10:53
I would recommend all three of those lifts
10:55
being total body That way you're making sure
10:58
that you're getting the most volume for all
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of your big muscle groups if you're working
11:02
out more than that, I do recommend probably
11:04
two total body lifting days and then One
11:08
to two or I'm sorry And then you
11:10
can do like two split days So you
11:11
can do a total body and then you
11:13
can do an upper body split Then you
11:15
can do a lower body split and then
11:16
you can do another upper body split Make
11:19
sure that you're never doing or and on
11:21
another total body split Make sure that you're
11:24
never doing back-to-back-to-back lifts
11:26
of the same muscle groups because you do
11:28
want to make sure that you're giving your
11:30
muscles time to rest and recover so when
11:32
I'm doing like an upper body split followed
11:35
by a Total body.
11:37
I'll make sure that that total body split
11:40
is more Tailored towards the lower body to
11:44
give my upper body from the workout before
11:47
a little bit of a rest But I'll
11:48
still make sure to add in some of
11:50
the exercises that maybe didn't target a certain
11:53
muscle so for example if that sounded really
11:56
confusing if I do an upper body workout
11:58
where it's a lot of pulling a lot
12:00
of different rows and Then I have just
12:02
like one or two Press exercises like an
12:04
overhead press or a chest press then I'll
12:07
incorporate more of those press Exercises into my
12:10
next workout so that my back can recover
12:12
from all the pulling and then I'll make
12:14
sure to add in some extra lower body
12:16
exercises So you do want to make sure
12:18
that you're tailoring it correctly so that you
12:20
give your body the opportunity to rest and
12:22
recover and You don't push too hard back
12:25
-to-back days now that also comes down
12:28
to actually following a training program versus just
12:31
Picking random workouts offline and being like that
12:34
looks like fun So this is when if
12:36
you have a specific goal I cannot stress
12:38
the importance enough of actually working with a
12:41
trainer and following a program of some sort
12:43
and fitmans weekly live which is my online
12:46
training program.
12:47
We do eight week chunks of Training goals
12:51
like right now.
12:51
We're focusing on kettlebell strength and cardio endurance
12:54
and then after eight weeks We'll change things
12:56
up to another training block But we do
12:59
that to have a goal in mind and
13:01
then also to make sure that we are
13:02
programming out smart training for our clients So
13:05
make sure that you find a trainer that
13:07
works for you that is working on the
13:09
goals that you want to actually accomplish and
13:12
then the fourth tip is make sure that
13:14
you're tracking and that goes back to the
13:15
different workouts because like I said Every workout
13:18
that you do you want to make sure
13:19
that you're really pushing your effort to where
13:22
you're almost at failure with your lifts Or
13:24
with your workouts depending on what your goals
13:26
are So if it's obviously we're trying to
13:29
make our muscles going to a state of
13:31
hypertrophy We want each of our lifts to
13:33
go near failure And how do you know
13:35
if you're doing that if you're not tracking
13:37
if you're not tracking and you don't remember
13:39
what you did from one workout to the
13:40
next then chances are you're gonna be leaving
13:42
a little bit of Gas in the tank
13:45
when you should be starting out heavier because
13:47
you're going wait I don't remember what I
13:48
did last week So I'm just gonna start
13:49
it this weight and then I'll work my
13:52
way up if I feel like I need
13:53
to So make sure that you're tracking so
13:55
that you can say okay last week I
13:57
did three sets of eight reps using a
14:01
35 pound weight this time I'm gonna stick
14:03
with three sets of eight reps, but instead
14:06
of the 35 pound I'm gonna try to
14:08
do it with a 40 pounder, right?
14:10
So you're trying to progress and push a
14:12
little bit harder from one time to the
14:13
next and if you're not tracking You're doing
14:15
yourself a huge disservice and slowing down the
14:17
results that you could be getting so track
14:22
Tip number next I think this is tip
14:25
number six.
14:25
I think the last I think tracking was
14:27
actually tip number five Tip number six sleep
14:30
and recover.
14:31
I can't stress this enough I feel like
14:33
this is something that's talked about and a
14:34
lot of times you go like well duh
14:36
But yet we don't do enough of it
14:38
Make sure that you're getting at least seven
14:40
hours of sleep per night Preferably eight to
14:42
nine and make sure that you're cutting out
14:44
the stresses of life that you can now
14:46
I know life is busy life is stressful
14:49
there's some things that we just can't cut
14:50
back on but if you are able to
14:53
take a Some of that stress out and
14:56
push it to the side Now is the
14:58
time to do it try to simplify your
15:00
life as much as possible Make sure that
15:02
you're also spending time doing other recovery habits
15:05
like stretching and foam rolling things that will
15:07
help drive blood To those muscle groups that
15:10
you're working so hard on so that they
15:12
can recover faster and be ready and also
15:14
heal and get bigger And stronger and then
15:17
tip number seven supplement with a couple of
15:20
things if Needed like I'm never gonna say
15:23
you need to take this But if I
15:26
were personally and that was what the topic
15:28
was if I was personally trying to gain
15:29
muscle I would make sure to be supplementing
15:32
with creatine, which I would be taking five
15:34
grams a day Every single day which I
15:38
do do that I'd also be taking an
15:40
electrolyte just to help with my body and
15:42
help with hydration because obviously hydration is key
15:44
to recovery and movement and performance and I
15:48
would be taking a whey protein supplement I
15:50
Obviously believe in getting most of my food
15:53
or most of my nutrients through real food
15:56
However, when you're trying to take in so
15:58
much protein of one gram of protein per
16:01
pound that I weigh That can be really
16:03
hard.
16:04
And you know while some people might love
16:05
eating that much meat throughout the day That's
16:10
not so great for me So I would
16:12
personally use a really high-quality whey protein
16:15
to help with that And I say whey
16:17
protein because it's gentle on the stomach.
16:19
It is a complete protein and It's pretty
16:23
easy to find Right.
16:25
We just get ours from Costco now the
16:27
great thing.
16:28
There are so many options There's some great
16:30
plant proteins out there as well.
16:31
But if you're gonna do a plant protein
16:33
source, make sure that it is a Mix
16:37
of different types.
16:38
So like rice protein pea protein Broccoli protein
16:43
alfalfa protein make sure that it's sourced from
16:46
a whole bunch of different things to make
16:47
sure it is making a complete protein versus
16:49
if you just Stick to like I don't
16:53
know one type and then I would also
16:56
avoid a soy protein supplement for some people
16:59
It can have some side effects.
17:00
I'm not a fan of soy protein but
17:03
you do you and just make sure that
17:05
you're tracking so that you know the different
17:07
type that how much you're actually getting per
17:09
day and I think that's it.
17:13
Oh also when it comes to tracking I'm
17:15
Have my notes so I don't forget anything
17:17
Make sure that you're doing things also to
17:20
track your progress not just how you're doing
17:22
with one workout to the next But like
17:23
I talked about earlier because muscle building is
17:26
such a prolonged Activity right, it's not as
17:30
if you're gonna gain 10 pounds in one
17:32
month.
17:32
You're gonna have those times You're like I'm
17:34
not seeing results So I would suggest once
17:37
a week or at least once every two
17:39
weeks Taking progress of pictures of yourself and
17:42
then making sure to compare them I personally
17:45
was going through a hypertrophy program for about
17:48
12 weeks at the end of 2024 up
17:53
until the spring of 2025 and at times
17:56
I was going like is this really working?
17:58
I'm pushing myself to the brink of like
18:00
oh my god I can't lift one more
18:02
rep, but am I actually seeing results and
18:05
so when I actually took the time to
18:06
take progress pictures I was like, oh my
18:08
god, my legs have never been this defined
18:11
and for some people you they might look
18:13
at that and go I can see a
18:14
difference, but it's pretty small.
18:17
Well, you know what again small results are
18:19
results I've been lifting for 20 years now
18:22
so to be able to continue to Get
18:25
changes with my physique or to build more
18:27
muscle mass is pretty cool and to be
18:29
able to see those results made me realize
18:30
This is working.
18:32
Obviously, luckily, I know what I'm doing, but
18:35
it's still yes This is working.
18:37
I'm seeing results and it helps you to
18:39
continue working forward and keep going So take
18:43
progress pictures.
18:45
I wouldn't suggest necessarily taking Your scale like
18:48
your weight because we're not trying to lose
18:50
weight We're trying to build muscle and for
18:52
some of us that can really play mind
18:54
games with us when we get on the
18:56
scale And you might be up a few
18:57
pounds, even though it could be water weight.
18:59
It can be inflammation from lifting so hard
19:02
And yes, if you gain muscle, it's going
19:05
to weigh a little bit more But how
19:08
would you feel with your body if you
19:10
looked completely different you looked leaner you look
19:13
stronger But you gained 10 pounds more with
19:15
that take away From the benefits and the
19:18
results that you've gotten I'm gonna guess probably
19:20
not but yet it can still mess with
19:22
us So I would stay away from the
19:24
scale if you are somebody like that and
19:26
I can totally relate But progress pictures are
19:30
absolutely the way to go So that's what
19:33
I would do if Michael was to gain
19:34
muscle mass get out of the calorie surplus
19:38
Have realistic expert expectations of how much time
19:41
this is going to take prioritize protein lift
19:45
three to five times per week one additional
19:48
tip with that too is while I would
19:51
absolutely focus on compound lifts like I talked
19:53
about with Knee flexion hip flexion push and
19:57
pull exercises at the end of the workouts
19:59
I would add in one to three accessory
20:02
lifts meaning more isolated movement.
20:04
So if my goal was to build Shoulder
20:07
caps right?
20:08
I wanted better delts at the end of
20:10
my workout I would add in a couple
20:12
of sets of lateral raises and front raises
20:15
and shoulder pulses and things like that that
20:18
are then gonna focus directly on The specific
20:21
muscles that I want to train.
20:22
I wouldn't do that at the front of
20:24
a workout because then I'm Risking fatiguing muscles
20:27
that are gonna help me with my compound
20:29
lifts And those are definitely where you're gonna
20:30
get more bang for your buck So just
20:32
something to keep in mind track track the
20:34
actual workouts that you're doing and track your
20:37
progress with track progress pictures sleep recover cut
20:42
stress as much as possible foam roll stretch
20:45
and then Supplement if you feel like you're
20:47
capable of doing that things with creatine which
20:50
I've recently did a podcast episode on creatine
20:52
So check that out and away protein powder
20:55
or any type of protein powder that works
20:57
for you Alright guys, that's what we had
21:00
if you found this episode Helpful at all
21:04
do me a quick favor Hit that like
21:06
button and share it because I'm gonna guess
21:08
if you enjoy this kind of content that
21:11
other people in your life Are gonna enjoy
21:13
it as well.
21:13
We typically surround ourselves with people that are
21:16
similar to us, right?
21:18
So share it with your friends and family
21:19
and I would love you forever Comment down
21:21
below any questions that you have and we
21:24
can answer it on Friday's follow-up Q
21:26
&A I do want to get back to
21:28
doing follow-up Fridays where I just answer
21:30
questions and they're very short and just very
21:33
relaxed episodes So comment your questions.
21:35
Let me know what's on your mind and
21:36
we'll continue the conversation.
21:37
Alright Bye