Bodybuilding for women

Female body building is believed to have started during 19th century and the contests in body building for women started about half a century ago. It is said that female bodybuilding is an offshoot of beauty pageants and bikini shows although they are in no way related to the concept of body building.

The first International Female Body Building contest was held on August 18, 1978 in USA. It was in the year 1979 the first international forum for women building namely ‘Superior Physique Association’ (SPA) was established. Thereafter, in the year 1979 SPA held its first international women body building competition in Florida. In the meanwhile women body building was also inducted into Olympic Games. Now, this game has gained popularity although at a slower pace.

Body building technique: Bodybuilding is a kind of a reformatting of the body by undergoing rigorous and exclusive exercises as also taking nutritious diet and adequate rest. The exercises comprise on working out on specially designed resistance equipments, pulling and pushing weight and also weight lifting procedures. All these exercises enhance the volume of muscles and make them strong. As one of the body builders says, the exercises redefine the body curves of the women. In so far as diet is concerned, the women bodybuilder will have to take food that is rich in nutrition, antioxidants and vitamins. Food rich in Vitamin B, as also Iron and other supplements of vitamin are strongly recommended. Bodybuilders are strongly advised to prefer organic food.

Pros: With so much of exercises and nutritious food the women would certainly lose the excess fat and on the other hand she would improve her muscular strength and also shape the muscles in the appropriate manner. She would be able to shape her muscles appropriately and of course without that unwanted excess fat. She can get rid of heart diseases, osteoporosis, back pain and various other ailments. With appropriate rest and adequate sleep she can also rejuvenate her mental health with reduced depression, anxiety and on the other hand enhance concentration and mental agility.

Cons:In their anxiety to perform better many women are in the habit of taking protein rich food and other supplements in quantity much more than what is required for her body. Excessive protein can cause undue stress on the kidney and such a situation can be harmful in the long run. Excessive sweating during workout can cause dehydration and it is needless to mention that dehydration can also cause various ailments.

Of course, both male and female body comprises of same muscle group and both have about 6000 muscles in their respective body. In spite of this, women body cannot produce same level of muscle as that of men. This is because of the role of testosterone which is a steroid hormone and it plays a vital role in body growth, bone mass and formation of muscle. Male body produces 7 to 8 times more testosterone as compared to female body. As a result, women who want to build their body and shape their muscle would be required to take extra doses of testosterone. Unfortunately, in the long run such extra dose of this steroid hormone can cause several side effects on her body. In spite of all these, as experts say, the women will continue to her show her feminine body.

Bodybuilding equipment: The right Equipment is extremely important for a serious bodybuilder. Getting the right equipment is very easy with quite a few good online stores providing Home Gym Bodybuilding equipment and multiple apps available to find good storage units for additional storage space.

Basis for muscle evaluation: In so far assessment of her performance in any bodybuilding competition is concerned, the women is expected to present her body in Bikini dress. She will have to show her muscle in the shoulders, arms, back, chest, hips, thighs and she will have to flex these muscles appropriately. The judges will evaluate the muscle and grade her accordingly.

Restrictions: The International Federation of Bodybuilders and Fitness which is the nodal regulatory agency for body builders has introduced several rules for women body builders. One of the rules specifies that women bodybuilders should not build too big muscles and if she does so then the judges are authorized to deduct certain points as penalty. It is argued this rule is intended to retain the femininity of the women. In spite of the popularity of the game, few countries like Afghanistan, Malaysia have banned women bodybuilding. It is said that some more countries are in the process of enforcing law banning women bodybuilding.

Of course, women bodybuilding is a good sport. Some of the experts suggest that women should attempt body building without resorting to that extra dose of testosterone. These experts argue the bodybuilding game should be within the ambit of restrictions imposed by the nature on the body of women. Experts continue and say that bodybuilding by taking extra dose of testosterone can harm the health of the woman and the underlying philosophy and ethics of sporting community is not to destroy the gift of nature namely the ‘human body’.