Pretty much what it says on the tin there. I’m looking for a new workout routine to get a more feminin body shape. I know that stuff exists, but at this point in time instead of googling it, I rather ask my tribe.
Some pointers:
- Prefferably something I can do indoors without a lot of gear involved
- I’m not a total newcommer to home workouts, but at this point I’ve gotten a bit out if shape
Thanks for your input in advance! <3
Disclaimer: I am chunky lazy bitch but have read a fair amount on this subject. So take the following advice with a hefty pinch of salt.
That totally depends on what you consider a more feminine body shape. But basic principles are:
1: fat is burned relatively uniformly according to how it’s distributed. So you can’t burn fat from your belly without also burning it from your hips.
2: the only way to change the bone structure of your pelvis/hips is to take enough estrogen and progesterone to simulate pregnancy. Don’t do this without constant medical supervision or at all if you take estrogen orally. You don’t need to actually have a baby to stroke out.
3: The one area that you can control is muscle distribution. So if you find exercises that build muscle on the quads and all three glutes you’ll be fine. (Assuming you mean TnA)
4: Exercise releases HGH which will slightly increase breast growth.
So run, walk, cycle to the point of exhaustion every day, cut your calories a bit but not too much. Every other day do strength training and muscle building in the quads, glutes, and pectorals. This should give you a decent start. Once you’re down to the lower side of a healthy BMI start adding back calories and see where they go. If you are lucky they’ll go to your ass and thighs (the genetic lottery jackpot). If not concentrate on building muscle in your lower half.
For strength training you want to gradually increase the weight/resistance to the point of not being able to do 5 reps and then keep it there until you can. Strength training is about increasing motor neuron innervation in the existing muscle fibres.
For muscle mass, you want to go to your 1 rep limit every time. This damages the muscles and causes them to grow back larger.
On calorie cutting, it’s a trade off. It’s hard to build muscle at a deficit. And if you’re early (first two years or so) of hormones you should be eating when hungry because your body needs calories to grow breasts. Bulk-cut cycles are great for muscle building, and you can tailor the lengths to be either net neutral or net negative.
Sitting with hunger means fat is burning. But hunger while your muscles are aching means your body is telling you to eat so it can build them. Getting in touch with your body like that is very helpful. And you can even start to notice stuff like “hey my tits are feeling odd and I’m unexpectedly ravenous, I guess they’re about to grow a bit despite being 10 years into hrt”.
I should point out that constantly hitting 1RM every workout is going to fatigue you like crazy. It’s not a sustainable strategy, but it is important to occasionally test your limits. Some programs prescribe your workouts based on percentages of your 1RM.
You can achieve muscle hypertrophy just fine at higher rep ranges like 5-15, the important part is that the last few reps need to be difficult.