Long gone are the days when only men were supposed to have killer six-packs, rock-hard abs, and bulging triceps and biceps. Today, our world embraces and celebrates women who work hard on their strong, muscular frames by engaging in muscle building workouts. Thanks to celebrities such as Brie Larson, Gal Gadot, Evangeline Lilly, and countless others, women have finally started showing an increasing interest in building their muscles and turning into stunning wonder women in their own right.
The best way to work on your muscles for a lean, muscular body is to engage in strength training, which comes with a wide array of benefits, including lean body mass, boosted metabolic rate, and decreased risk of injury. There are many exercises that you can perform for strength training. These workouts will target different muscle groups in your body and improve your strength, which will enhance your quality of life.
So, without further ado, let’s take a look at some strenuous workouts that will raise your heart rate and help you build some impressive muscles!
10 Intense Muscle Building Workouts
Here are ten intense strength training exercises that will help you build your muscles and become stronger:
1. Overhead Squat
The overhead squat is one of the best muscle building workouts as it targets your entire body. It has a major impact on your quads and targets your hamstrings, glutes, shoulders, lower back, abdominal muscles, and triceps. All you need to perform an overhead squat at home is a barbell or a heavy gym bag.
Stand up, grip the barbell or gym bag from its ends, and hold it over your head. You will have to maintain this position during the workout. Make sure that your feet are slightly wider than the width of your shoulders and your arms are straight.
Thrust your hips back and bend your knees to perform a squat. Make sure that your back is straight during the squatting position. You might be tempted to slouch, but that will take away from the impact of this workout.
Continue squatting until your hips have reached the height of your knee joint and are parallel to them. Hold this position for a second and then go back to your starting position to complete the rotation.
If you want to build your endurance and muscles, perform at least five repetitions of this movement, but don’t exceed twelve rotations. Once you can perform twelve rotations seamlessly, add some weight to the bag.
If you’re just starting out and can’t bring your hips parallel to your knee joint, you can begin practicing with wall squats. They will help you build your strength until you’re ready to squat without any support. If you continue to squat without ensuring that your hips are in line with your knees, you will put unnecessary stress on your joints, which might lead to a knee injury.
1. Kettlebell Swing
The kettlebell swing is an excellent muscle-building workout for your lower body. It targets your glutes, hamstrings, calves, and shoulders. It might also help you develop your abs. All you need to perform this exercise at home is a full water jug. If you’re working in the gym, you can simply use a kettlebell.
To do a kettlebell swing, hold the handle of the kettlebell or water jug with both your hands. Put the equipment below your pelvis while keeping your arms straight. Slowly lean down while bending your upper body a little frontward.
Keep your back as straight as possible, and then push your butt out. Your posture should resemble squatting. However, instead of bending your knees completely, you need to bend them slightly to take the starting position for the kettlebell swing.
Use as much force as you can exert, thrust your pelvis forward, and stand up. Keep your arms straight, and don’t use your arm strength to lift up the kettlebell. Your thrust and the force you exert to move your body will propel the kettlebell forward. Make sure that the kettlebell reaches chest level.
Hold this position for a second and then lower your body and push out your butt to take the starting position. This will complete one repetition of the workout. Unlike most strength training exercises, you can aim for a higher rep with kettlebell swings. Doing about twenty repetitions in one circuit will help you boost your endurance.
2. Deadlift
Deadlifts are an incredible workout for your lower body as they work most of your back and your quads, hamstrings, and glutes. If you want to perform a deadlift at home, you can use a heavy gym bag. Alternatively, you can head to the nearest gym and use a barbell for this workout.
Put the barbell or gym bag in front of you. Stand with your feet firmly planted close to each other. Bend your knees, push your hips back, and take hold of the barbell. Make sure to keep your back straight to prevent any risk of injury. Flex your posterior and brace your stomach.
Pick the barbell off the ground while straightening your legs and back to stand up straight. It might help to press down the heel of your feet into the ground until the barbell passes your knees. Then, thrust your hips forward to stand up. Stick out your upper body and contract your shoulder blades. Revert to your starting position until the barbell is on the floor. This will complete one repetition of the deadlift.
You can do about five reps of the deadlift to build your strength and muscles. Once you can seamlessly perform these reps, you can add more weight to the barbell.
1. Single-Leg Split Squat
A single-leg split squat targets your glutes more effectively than a regular squat. This muscle-building workout also works wonders for your hamstrings and quads. You can perform this exercise with two dumbbells or weighted water bottles and a knee-high chair.
Hold one dumbbell or water bottle in each hand and keep your arms by your side as straight as needles. Face away from the chair while propping one of your feet on it so that your knee is bent and your toes are resting comfortably on the surface. This will be your starting position for the exercise.
Bend your straight leg into a squat slowly so that you don’t lose your balance. Make sure that your knee doesn’t go past the foot propped on the chair. While you bend into a squat, the leg that you had propped on the chair earlier will also bend and lower with the rest of your body.
Continue to squat until the knee of your propped leg is about to touch the floor. Hold this position for a second and then return to your starting position by straightening your front leg. This will complete one repetition of this exercise. You can do about five reps of a single-leg split squat in one workout circuit.
2. Overhead Press
An overhead press targets your traps, deltoids, and triceps, making it an excellent workout for strengthening your back and arms. When done correctly, an overhead press will also tighten your core. Stand straight and position your feet at least as wide apart as your shoulders.
Hold a barbell and put it across the front of your shoulders so that it rests on your collar bone. Puff out your chest and maintain your position. Squeeze your glutes to stabilize your body, and then push the barbell up with your arms in a straight line. You might have to move your head back a little while pushing the barbell upward to ensure that it goes up in a straight line.
Straighten out your arms above your head with the barbell and hold this position for a couple of seconds before lowering the barbell to its original position. This will complete one rep of an overhead press. If you have the core strength, you can take it up to twelve reps per circuit.
3. Hammer Curls
A hammer curl is an incredible muscle building workout for your arms as it helps you build killer biceps. To perform a hammer curl, you will have to hold a dumbbell or weighted water bottle in each hand while keeping your arms straight by your side. Make sure to keep your wrists straight in line with your arms.
Contract your biceps and use your forearm strength to bring the water bottles or dumbbells upward in a curling motion. Continue this movement until your hands almost come into contact with your arm. Hold the position for a second while squeezing your biceps. Slowly lower the dumbbells back into the starting position to complete one rep of this workout. Test your endurance by completing twelve reps in one go.
4. Jump Squat
This workout targets your quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves. Stand straight while keeping your feet at least as far apart as the width of your shoulders. Bend your knees and stretch your butt backward while keeping your back as straight as possible. If you slouch or your back is rounded, it will lessen the impact of the workout.
Once your hip joint is parallel to your knees, jump as high as you can while straightening your body. You should channel most of the force through the balls of your feet. Once you land straight, squat down immediately by bending your knees and bringing your hips back. This will complete one rotation of a jump squat.
You can complete about five to ten reps of this workout. If you want to increase the intensity of this exercise, you can carry dumbbells or weighted water bottles in both your hands and keep them at your sides when jumping.
1. Chair Dips
This muscle-building workout will primarily target your triceps and also impact your deltoids and pectorals. All you need to perform this exercise is a sturdy chair. Put the chair behind you and face away from the chair seat. Put your hands on the edge of the seat and space them at least as far apart as the width of your shoulders. Make sure to keep your arms as straight as possible. Bend your knees so that you are almost in a seated position in front of the chair. This will be your starting position.
Bend your arms to a 90-degree angle slowly while lowering your entire body. Once you have reached this angle, hold your position for a second before straightening your arms and reverting to your starting position. This will complete the first repetition. You can perform about five to twelve repetitions per circuit.
2. Pushups
A pushup targets your chest muscles and also works your shoulders and triceps. It’s a well-rounded upper body exercise. To perform a pushup, you will have to get down on all fours. Put your hands a little further apart than the width of your shoulders, with the fingertips facing forward.
Put pressure on your arms and legs to straighten them. Hold this position and then lower your frame until your torso almost touches the ground. Hold this position for a second, and then straighten your arms again to return to the starting position and complete one rep. You can start with five to ten reps and then increase the number gradually.
3. Crunches
Crunches are the ideal muscle-building workout for killer abs. To perform crunches successfully, lie down on a smooth, hard surface with your back pinned to the ground. Put your hands on your chest or behind your back and keep your legs bent. This is the starting position for this workout.
Contract your abdominal muscles as much as you can while raising your shoulder blades. Keep your neck dead straight, and don’t use your hands to support your neck or to move it forward. Hold this position for a couple of seconds or until you feel a slight burn in your abdominal muscles. Gradually lower your back down into the starting posture to complete one repetition.
You can perform about twelve repetitions of this workout in one circuit. If you want to increase the intensity of this exercise, you can hold something heavy, such as a weighted plate, kettlebell, heavy textbook, etc., in your hands and put it on your chest.
The Bottom Line
There is a wide array of muscle building workouts for women. The workouts mentioned above fall under the umbrella of strength training. When done correctly, these exercises can help you boost your body’s endurance and develop a muscular frame. You can mix these exercises with body weights to truly test your limits. Perform them at least three times a week for quick results. It’s best if you combine these exercises with some cardio workouts to improve your heart health and lose weight while building your muscles.
Good luck!
