Will weight training make me bulky?
Firstly, for both males and females, muscle takes a reasonable amount of time to build. It’s not something that happens overnight and you certainly are not going to wake up bulky after a couple weeks of training. Building muscle takes increased stimulus, a good diet and hard work.
As this question is most likely to be asked by women then let’s talk about them first. Women do not have the same hormones or the same genetic capability to build muscle as men. So are therefore much less likely to every look bulky from weight training.
This concern quite often comes from seeing professional bodybuilders on TV. The professionals, both men and women, are living a lifestyle devoted to competing. Their diet and training is on a level no average gym goer is ever going to match. Most importantly, to get to that size, they are taking a list of supplements longer than you could imagine. Likely including hormones & drugs. This is why they look bulky & then this is associated with the weight training only. Which puts lots of women off. Clearly this is not something that we would ever recommend to our clients who’s main goal is to look & feel better.
However, women can of course build some muscle, and we believe they should. There are many benefits to increasing your lean muscle mass which we’ll address in a separate FAQ.
Other things to consider.
Muscle weighs more that fat and sits underneath the fat tissue. As you burn more fat and build some muscle, you will appear smaller overall because you have lost the size from the body fat. Plus, you will have a more defined and toned physique.
Adding muscle to your frame will not cause you to lose your feminine curves. As you build muscle onto your glutes & legs and lose fat around your waist, you will likely develop more of an hourglass shape. Now that weight training has become more popular and normalized amongst women, developing these areas has become a main focus and desire for lots of women.
More muscle equals higher metabolism. Muscle requires energy to function and even to just exist. So adding some muscle to your body is going to increase the amount of calories you burn. Not only while training, but also at rest. An added bonus is that resistance training also causes your body to continue burning energy at an elevated rate for some time after your training session. So that gym session and the resistance training is going to really help you lose body fat.
So what about men?
Men still must work incredibly hard and make some dietary changes to build a significant amount of muscle. However, they will find it easier to add muscle to their frame than women. It will still require them to follow a good workout program and remain consistent. Men still will not be able to reach ‘pro bodybuilder’ size without a long list of colorful supplements, but they can develop a good (and more natural looking) V shape physique without them.
