Muscle toning for women: a program to be adapted

Sculpting your body requires weeks of hard training, but sometimes the fat you want to shed refuses to disappear. How can you improve your body composition without losing energy or performance? Muscle drying is one of the ideal solutions for transforming your figure and achieving your weight loss goal without sacrificing muscle mass.

It goes beyond weight loss and sometimes follows a period of mass gain. It's a subtle balance to be struck between training, nutrition and recovery to optimize body weight . For women, the process is more delicate, as their bodies are physiologically different from those of men. They are also subject to hormonal variations that need to be integrated into a nutritional and sports plan.
A mistake in the program, such as an excessively brutal diet or a poorly managed caloric deficit, and the efforts are in vain. How can we optimize our energy intake in terms of proteins, carbohydrates and lipids? What exercises should you choose to optimize your caloric expenditure?

Here's a brief overview of the practices you need to adopt or abandon if you want to achieve effective and lasting weight loss. From programs tailored to women's metabolisms to nutritional advice and training strategies, here's everything you need to maximize your results.

The weight-loss process in women's bodybuilding

How does a woman's dryness differ?

Dry weight training is a low-calorie diet combined with a training program aimed at losing body fat. Drying and dieting are not the same thing: in the first case, the aim is to lose as much body fat as possible while retaining as much lean body mass as possible, while in the second case, the aim is to lose as much weight as possible.

Men and women have very different morphologies and physiologies , starting with their body fat levels. In the general population, a woman's average adiposity level is between 22 and 25%, while a man's average is between 12 and 15%¹. For performance-oriented athletes,optimal adiposity ranges from :

between 9 and 12% for a man, without falling below the lower limit of 5-6%.
between 12 and 23% for women, but not below 10 to 12% for men

Depending on the physical effort involved and the energy pathway involved, the optimum fat mass level varies. It's impossible to give a fixed figure for each sex, especially as body weight also comes into play, as do inter-individual differences.

A female muscle lean will therefore have a different objective in terms of weight to be lost and body composition than a male lean.

Trying to achieve too low a body fat percentage and exceeding the minimum recommended threshold can damage the body and lead to health problems.

A metabolism punctuated by menstrual cycles

A woman's body has different hormonal rhythms to a man's, since sex hormones diverge. While men have predominantly androgenic hormones and stable testosterone levels, women'sestrogen levels vary constantly with their menstrual cycles. They are therefore subject to these variations throughout their training program.

A quick reminder of the menstrual cycle: it lasts from 24 to 28 days and is divided into 3 phases. The 1st day of menstruation marks the beginning of the cycle and the start of the follicular phase. This is followed by theovulation phase, which peaks on the 14th day of the cycle. Finally, the luteal phase completes the cycle, and can include premenstrual syndrome (PMS), which lasts up to 6 days before menstruation.

PMS is important to take into account in a training program, as it brings together a range of mental, behavioral and physical symptoms that disturb athletes to varying degrees depending on their intensity². PMS therefore influences the performance perceived by sportswomen. However, overall performance is linked to this perceived performance and to physical performance, assessed by objective criteria such as ^V02maxrates or maximum heart rate.

According to a review of scientific studies on the impact of the menstrual cycle on performance:

high-intensity performance is favoured in the luteal phase
the early follicular phase (during menstruation) has a negative impact on travel speeds and fatigue
the luteal phase and PMS have a negative effect on aerobic endurance exercise

Menstrual cycles have, a priori, no impact either on anaerobic explosive power efforts in the lower limbs or on muscular strength, which is what interests us in dry training for women².

Overall, the effects of the cycle differ greatly from one woman to another, and perceived performance is also a factor to be taken into account, hence the importance of tracking and monitoring each woman's individual dryness journey.

The effects of menopause on sport

After the hormonal variations during menstruation (also known as the premenopausal phase) comes the phase many women dread: perimenopause.

As its name suggests, this phase precedes the menopause and is characterized by highly irregular cycles. For many women, it is accompanied by symptoms such as hot flushes, musculoskeletal pain and depression. And it lasts for several years.

The perimenopause phase, whether early or late, is accompanied by a reduction in muscle strength and power³. The good news, however, is that a high level of physical activity can reduce the negative effects of menopause on muscle function⁴.

Muscle toning diet for women

The dietary principles of a lean diet

A healthy, balanced diet is the key to successful weight loss and a sculpted body without compromising health.

Muscle toning for both men and women is based on the principle of controlled caloric deficit. The aim is to burn as much adipose tissue as possible, i.e. to draw on reserves. To achieve this, athletes must reduce their calorie intake by 300 to 500 kcal per day in relation to their daily energy requirements, and expend more calories than they consume.

So far so good, but to achieve the desired result and avoid losing muscle during the dry period, you need to increase your protein intake.
For example, general recommendations for quality protein intake for non-athletic women are a minimum of 0.83 grams per kilo of body weight. On the other hand, for sportswomen who want to lose weight while avoiding muscle wasting, we recommend an intake of 1.6 to 1.8 g per kilo of body weight per day.

In terms of other macronutrients, the recommended daily intake of carbohydrates (5-6 grams per kilo) and lipids (1-2 grams per kilo) for a regularly active athlete is 5 to 6 grams per kilo.
In the case of dry weight training, since the calorie target is relatively low and the protein intake is to be maintained at around 1.6/1.8 g, carbohydrate and fat intake will have to be reduced.

Calculation of macronutrient and calorie requirements adapted to your practice and your goals

Weight (kg): Age : Height (cm): Gender : Objective: Level of work-related activity : Today's sport : Duration of this sport (min), put 0 if not practised today :

Macronutrient requirements for the day :

Important: these values are for guidance only, not to be taken literally, and should be adapted to individual physiology and specific needs.
To be consumed as part of a varied, balanced diet and healthy lifestyle. These data are adapted to athletes athletes with no underlying illnesses.

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While it's tempting to dry quickly, drying too drastically is counter-productive.

And then there's hydration. Drinking enough water helps eliminate toxins and transport nutrients.

In muscle leaning, if a woman is aiming for gradual weight loss, she should not exceed about 2 kg each month.

How much protein per day?

Discover our free online calculator

Protein requirements :

...

Please note Please note: these values are for guidance only, not to be taken to the nearest gram, and should be adapted to each individual's physiology and specific needs. To be consumed as part of a varied, balanced diet and healthy lifestyle. These data are suitable for healthy athletes, with no underlying kidney or liver disease, who engage in regular, sustained physical activity, and who hydrate properly.

Sources :

Protein "requirements" beyond the RDA: implications for optimizing health - Phillips et al - 2016
Protein Recommendations for Weight Loss in Elite Athletes: A Focus on Body Composition and Performance - Hector et al - 2018

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Foods to lose body fat

It's hard to come up with a typical diet program for each day, as a dry period is bound to be a long one. To maintain a diet over the long term, the most important thing is to eat good products that we enjoy.

Here are a few recommendations to follow to optimize fat, carbohydrate and protein intake: for foods rich in lean protein, we like recipes based on white meats and oily fish. Be careful about the source and avoid eating them every day, for environmental reasons in particular. Eggs are also interesting for their versatility, because as well as providing protein, they supply the body with good lipids in the form of omega 3 and vitamins.

When it comes to carbohydrates to be consumed in the dry season, complex and low-GI forms are preferable, as they provide energy in a diffuse way, as well as vitamins and minerals. Green vegetables, oat flakes, brown rice or quinoa, for its mineral content, are carbohydrates to add to the plate.

Fructose and other simple carbohydrates are often hunted down. But fruit is an exception, and a good source of simple carbohydrates, along with fiber and vitamins.

Nutrition needs to be adapted to individual caloric requirements and to the type of activity of the subject in order to be relevant during dry periods. In the case of women, there may be specific cyclical factors at play, such as iron deficiency during the early follicular phase at the time of menstruation. To avoid risks and optimize caloric intake, a coach or dietician-nutritionist specialized in sports is a good approach.

Dietary supplements: useful or not?

There are many dietary supplements available in sports nutrition, but when it comes to weight loss, whey has an advantage. This supplement, rich in protein and amino acids, optimizes the ratio between fat mass and lean mass when consumed in conjunction with strength training.

More generally, whey supports muscle development and aids recovery. With its high protein content, whey reduces the sensation of hunger (known as the satietogenic effect) when it comes to weight loss. Its rapid assimilation makes it an ideal post-workout snack, but a word of caution: whey is not a dish. It does not provide the body with the essential vitamins and minerals found in a balanced meal. It should be used as a complement to a varied, balanced diet, to help you achieve your protein goals healthily and easily.

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The best way to dry off as a woman

Should you prioritize weight training or cardio?

Both!

Sport is one aspect that should not be neglected if you want to achieve a toned figure while you're drying out. The best training plan is one that integrates strength training, to maintain muscle volume, and endurance efforts, to burn more fat. Be careful not to make the mistake of overdoing cardio, at the risk of losing muscle.

As for muscle strengthening, the aim is to maintain volume, not necessarily to gain muscle. The body in caloric deficit will deplete its reserves, and if it's tired, it can recover energy by consuming proteins and accelerating proteolysis. This is what you want to avoid when you're drying out, and weight training is one way of preventing muscle wasting.

To optimize your weight training session and make it effective, you'll want to work at maximum strength with loads (such as dumbbells or weights). To do this, reduce the size of the sets and the number of repetitions to increase the difficulty of loading the bar. On the other hand, the rest time between sets will be lengthened to give the muscles sufficient time to regain the energy they need for the next set.

As for cardio, there's no need to put on your sneakers and go for a jog. Other activities or workout methods stimulate cardio and are just as effective at burning calories, such as cycling, swimming or rowing, which are complete activities.

Here are 3 good reasons to add cardio training to your weight-loss program:

it's the metabolic pathway that uses lipids as the main source of energy;
Practised at low intensity, cardio can becombined with strength training exercises;
theafterburn effect, or the burning of calories after exercise, is really greater after HIITS, for example.

High Intensity Interval Training (HIITS) maximizes the amount of fat burned in a short space of time.

Exercises for a transformed body

The choice of exercise type should not be overlooked, because it's this kind of detail that makes or breaks the success of a lean programme.

As all bodybuilding experts will tell you, polyarticular exercises should be integrated into a sports activity designed to help you lose weight.

The body's silhouette relies on over 600 muscles, so to optimize their strengthening, we're going to focus on those that are polyarticular, i.e. linked to several joints. Among the most famous are the biceps (-bi for "two" and -ceps for "chiefs"), the femoralis longus, which makes up the hamstrings with the semitendinosus and semimembranosus, and the quadriceps with the rectus anterior.

Polyarticular movements are energy-intensive, meaning they consume a significant amount of calories in a single movement. Women who are dry tend to want to build up their lower body, for fear of looking like an ice-cream cabinet if they build up their upper limbs. Don't worry: their testosterone levels and different physiology from a man's won't give them superman pecs. On the contrary, overall bodybuilding (upper and lower body) will help them achieve a transformed body more easily, whether at bodyweight or with equipment.

In general, therefore, the following polyarticular exercises can be found in dry weight training programs:

hip thrust with barbell to strengthen the buttocks
the romanian deadlift for hamstrings
the squat in all its forms for the quadriceps
bench press for pectoral muscles
pulling exercises for the back
pull-ups for biceps
military shoulder press
arm-to-arm push-ups for the triceps
the moutain climber for abs

Here again, using a professional coach to define the training program is a good strategy. He or she can determine the distribution of exercises in relation to the objective and the number of sessions planned.

Conclusion for successful muscle toning for women

Muscle leaning for women is based on abalance between a dietary plan and a training program that takes menstrual cycles into account, all underpinned by rigorous evaluation and monitoring. Everything is important: drying out requires more than just a caloric deficit: it also calls for an optimal cardio-muscular training ratio, a balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle.

The diet plan includes protein-rich meals, particularly during certain phases of the menstrual cycle when deficiencies can occur. The diet also incorporates complex carbohydrates and sources of good fatty acids in more limited quantities than for maintenance, to optimize recovery and preserve muscle mass.
On the training side, it's the variation of exercises and the mix of strength training and cardio that make the difference. Multi-joint movements such as the squat or bench press are favoured for maximum fat loss.

Last but not least, the success of a weight-loss phase depends on follow-up. It's essential to regularly measure your progress, adjust your daily calories and carry out regular check-ups to ensure progress or adjust your program. For lasting results, professional guidance is essential to optimize your weight loss program.