Women and 'bulking' up

I have heard several times that women are afraid to lift weights because of the fear of putting on muscle and getting 'bulky'. This is simply not true and there are several reasons as to why this is not the case. Of which I will go over the biggest of those reasons here and explain that muscle growth actually is a great aid in losing weight.

The first and most important reason that women will not get huuuuge lifting weights is based on the simple fact that a womens' chemical makeup is different than her male counterparts. Men have higher levels of testosterone and lower levels of estrogen. Testosterone is one of the most important elements of putting on muscle and bulking up. Since women have higher levels of estrogen and lower levels of testosterone, the propensity for a woman to get rather large muscles is very unlikely without some sort of an aid that boosts their testosterone, namely a steroid.

Sure, you see the old Eastern bloc women athletes and how big they are and have probably read that their workout regime consisted of volume training with serious weights. If you have not read about that, do a google search. But what you don't know and could probably guess is that most of them 'probably' were on some sort of anabolic stimulant raising their testosterone levels to those that have not been seen since neanderthal times. What about those women bodybuilders who look so big? Well, that depends on your perception. Firstly, they are so toned and lean that just a little oil and the tanning booth adds some perceptive size. And it could also be there were 'blessed' with higher levels of testosterone.

Where does this leave you? If you were a client of mine, I would assure you that getting huge, no matter how much weight you throw around in the gym, just is not very possible without the help of some outside stimulants as mentioned earlier. There are soooo many benefits of lifting weights for a female. We all want the results of our training to include being healthy and looking good. Lifting weights will help you lose fat which makes your muscles appear to be bigger, but in actuality, they are more defined and lean which equals looking fantastic. Plus, the more muscle we have increases our metabolism turning our bodies into fat burning machines even at rest.

So, the next time you may be hesitant going into the weight room, don't be! Head into that weight room with your head held high and your goals set and ready to be met, just using the cardio equipment is not enough.

Good Luck.