“Will lifting weights make me bulky?”
This is the most frequently asked question that pops up in my inbox and the most common concern that prevents women from lifting weights.
They want a toned and defined body, but they don’t want to look bulky and manly.
So, they skip the weights while crushing it daily with endless cardio or worse – they just follow a fad diet and avoid exercising altogether.
Does that sound familiar?
In that case, you should know that this is just a common myth that may prevent you from achieving the results you want.
Sticking to “ladylike” exercises such as yoga, pilates, or spinning may help you lose weight initially, but it won’t help you get a lean and toned physique.
So let’s debunk the “bulky” myth once and for all – with science. Lifting heavy weights won’t make you bulk up.
Yes, you will gain muscle if you lift weights. But that doesn’t mean it will cause you to look manly.
As a woman, you don’t have enough testosterone to turn into Arnold Schwarzenegger if you grab a 20-pound kettlebell – unless you compensate with the use of steroids.
Here is why weight lifting won’t make you look bulky, plus a handful of reasons to add weightlifting to your workout routine.
Women have less testosterone compared to men
It takes years, dedication, and effort to build the kind of muscle mass that bodybuilders have.
So, bulking up to look like Jason Momoa isn’t an easy feat for most men even if they have a key ingredient that helps them build muscle faster than women – testosterone.
For both men and women, testosterone plays a key role in developing and maintaining muscle mass.
But for women in particular, building muscles is even more challenging because they don’t produce as much testosterone as men.
Testosterone is the major sex hormone in males that plays a key role in reproduction and the maintenance of muscle strength and bone mass.
In men, it is produced by the Leydig cells in testes, while in women, it is produced by the ovaries. In both sexes, small quantities of testosterone can be produced by the suprarenal glands.
According to Medical News Today, the typical testosterone levels in adults (in ng/dl) are the following:
- Males – 265–923
- Females – 15-70
As you can see, there is a huge difference between testosterone levels in men and women. So, if it’s insanely hard to build muscle even for men with high levels of testosterone, imagine how difficult – if not impossible – is for a woman to bulk up and get big muscles.
Overeating after a workout can make you mistake fat gain for muscle gain
Want to know what actually makes you bulky while following a strength training workout? Overeating.
When you lift weights, it’s easy to feel ravenous after a workout and unconsciously overeat to keep up with new energy demands. In addition, many people tend to reward themselves with large portions of food after exercising.
After a workout, it makes sense to feel hungry – not to mention that having a post-workout protein snack is essential for restoring energy and repairing muscle.
This happens because after 45 minutes of exercise, your glycogen stores – a single sugar molecule that your body uses for energy – are depleted. As a result, you feel hungry because your body needs to renew its glycogen stores.
So, even with the right workout routine, you may gain weight because you’re eating too much or eating the wrong foods for your body. That’s why it’s easy to mistake fat gain for muscle gain.
Don’t get me wrong – a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy is essential in maintaining physical and mental health.
However, mentally, it can feel like you can pig out on burgers and pizza just because you’re working hard at the gym.
This means that it’s fat that you need to worry about and not the muscle.
A healthy diet paired with strength training won’t make you become bulky. Instead, it will help you build lean muscle mass, lose fat, and get a chiselled physique.
Most women don’t lift heavy enough to get bulky
To grow your muscles, you need to progressively overload by forcing them to work harder than they’re used to.
Your body will not change unless it’s forced to.
Sure, when it comes to weight lifting, “heavy” is relative. Determining what “heavy weights” mean depends on your own personal strength level and goals.
However, most women (and even men) aren’t lifting heavy enough to trigger muscle growth. They aren’t pushing themselves out of their comfort zone in order to create enough of a challenge.
If you use the same weights for the same number of repetitions week after week and month after month you may get firmer muscles, but you won’t end up looking like a professional woman bodybuilder.
Don’t get me wrong – I am not saying that you should avoid lifting heavy.
Women won’t bulk up even if they lift heavy weights. As I have previously shared, without the extra testosterone, we ladies simply can’t bulk up like guys.
What I am trying to say is that it’s quite challenging for most women to build muscle even if they lift heavy weights.
But if you don’t lift heavy enough, don’t think that your muscles will get bigger because 99.9% of the time, they won’t.
Why Women Should Lift Weights
When you sit down and set your fitness goals, you may be surprised to learn that, unlike cardio alone, weight lifting can actually help you achieve them.
The treadmill can have its place, but it’s not enough.
Here are the far-reaching benefits of weight lifting for women:
- Allows for more effective fat loss because it enables your body to burn fat during and after exercise
- Enables your body to take a nice hourglass shape
- Helps you build lean, dense muscle and improve the appearance of the body parts you least like
- Improves your body composition by increasing lean mass and reducing fat mass
- Increases your overall strength
- Improves sleep quality
- Reduces your risk of heart disease
- Decreases the risk of osteoporosis by combating loss of bone mass
- Helps you better manage stress and boost mental health
- Improves balance and coordination
- Regulates hormones efficiently
- Increases your self-confidence
The Bottom Line
For many women, getting bulky from lifting weights continues to be a concern.
However, strength training isn’t going to take away femininity, rather it provides a wide array of benefits that you cannot get solely from cardio and dieting.
So, for optimal fitness and a lean, curvy body, weight training is essential.
Sources:
CNET – Does lifting weights make women bulky?
You and Your Hormones – Testosterone