Q: Does lifting weights make women bulky?
No.
Since women have much less testosterone, it is not possible for them to get bulky unless they are taking anabolic steroids.
Having said that, the only way women may appear to look bulky or thicker than normal is if they are not doing their entire fitness program correctly.
For example, let’s say a woman starts a strength training program with her body fat percentage above 35 percent.
If she fails to do cardiovascular exercise and additionally has poor nutritional habits. Overtime her body may get bulky.
Cardio and good nutrition help stimulate fat burning and must be done in addition to lifting weights.
If both of these components are neglected, the bulkiness will become more evident because the existing fat surrounding the muscle will expand from the muscle being built underneath the fat tissue.
To avoid this, you must combine consistent cardio exercise and healthy eating to your program.
Let’s first clear up some of the misconceptions about strength training and the truth behind these myths.
This first myth is the “biggie” and it has prevented many women from strength training.
It sounds a little something like this; “I don’t want to lift weights because I don’t want to get bulky.”
Let’s explore that myth a little.
When you think of weight lifters, you probably think of body builder’s, right?
You think of the men and women on ESPN parading around in little swimsuits with big bulky muscles popping out all over the place.
There are three reasons for this:
1.These people are an extremely minute percentage of the population.
2.That is their livelihood and they spend 4 to 5 hours a day in the gym.
3.Most of them are using performance-enhancing drugs (steroids, etc.) to look like that.
So if you can get that image of the “bodybuilder” out of your head and think in terms of the average everyday person, you will see why the myth about getting bulky is just that, a myth!
What we’re going to talk about next is simple.
When you lift weights your body builds muscle.
The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn (even at rest).
The more calories you burn the less you weigh.
Let me give you an example of this that might make it a little easier to understand.
Let’s say two women are sitting on the couch watching some T.V.
Woman #1 strength-trains 3 times a week, but woman #2 does not.
After an hour of watching T.V goes by, who will have burned more calories?
The common answer to that would be that they both burned the same (almost nothing), since they were just sitting and not moving.
But the actual answer would be that woman #1 burned more calories, and I’ll tell you why for one simple reason.
THE MORE MUSCLE YOU HAVE THE MORE CALORIES YOU BURN!!
About the Author:
Kevin Valluzzi is the owner of “The Fitness Leader,” an in-home training business located in Bergen County NJ. He has helped hundreds of women lose fat and redesign their bodies through training, motivating and empowering. More information can be found on his web-sites: www.thefitnessleader.com and www.redesignyourbody.com. You can reach Kevin Directly at: 201-638-1902.
