Scared of Bulking up if you Lift Weights?

While we often talk about the importance of lifting weights and all the positive outcomes of doing so, we realize that there are a lot of women out there that are scared of picking up a set of dumbells.

We asked Shara Vigeant, a personal trainer from Edmonton to talk about the barriers that women put up to stop them taking up weightlifting, and how they can be overcome.  

Women come to me wanting to get 'toned' (a word I dislike), but without looking 'big and bulky'. They are scared to lift weights because of this fear. Well, I am quick to tell them that the 'toned' look they seek comes from muscle. You need to enhance lean muscle to get an athletic, toned look. And that comes from resistance training - it doesn't necessarily have to come from just lifting weights.

However, I feel that most women need to lift weights at some point to work on power, because power training is very metabolic. This is where a trainer is necessary to design a program around what you need and your goals.

More muscle = slimmer you

The more lean muscle you have, the more metabolic (efficient at burning fat/calories) your body is. And lifting heavier weights at some point can boost the metabolism. It is all in program design. I have many of my female clients doing some type of power/metabolic training, and they are NOT getting big and bulky. They are losing fat and getting the toned look they seek.   

If a woman could put on 'bulk' that easy, I would have been a superheavyweight as a bodybuilder. It took me years to put on any quality muscle mass, and I was training to build muscle (hypertrophy training). Women just don't have the hormonal environment (testosterone) to build big bulky muscles.   

Embrace weight training! There is more than one way to lift a weight, it doesn't have to be for hypertrophy (muscle growth), it can be to build power (for metabolic purposes) to enhance fat loss and create a toned, athletic look.  

Too bulky? Not likely

The reason many women shy away from lifting weights is because they start to feel bulkier when they start lifting and this is simply from using the muscles that haven't been used! The muscle cells become volumized with fluid and blood and that is why there is an initial feeling of being 'bigger'. This will eventually go away as the body adapts.

The barriers that women put up to meet their fitness goals include: not lifting heavy enough (thinking that lighter weight and high reps is going to get them toned); not training with enough intensity; and jumping from one protocol to the next because the results are not coming fast enough  (inconsistency).

I believe that if you train like an athlete, you will look like one. Get off the machines, and use your body in multiple planes of motion, with multiple muscle groups.

I try to remind my clients everyday that it is hard work and consistency over time will get you LONG TERM results. Fad diets and gimmicky training systems that promise quick results will give you short term satisfaction but do not teach you to change the very habits and behaviours that got you to where you don't want to be.

Quit making excuses

And enough excuses, I hear them all the time. If you watch TV you have time to exercise. We are all busy to varying degrees. It always comes down to how bad you want it and to take action in making the changes in your life to get it done. You can't keep doing what you are doing and expect change. If you keep doing what you are doing, you will always get what you got!

I have many women who are stay at home moms, who have little time to get to a gym, so I teach them about stuff they can do at home with minimal equipment.

There are ALWAYS options. It’s just about finding what works for your lifestyle. This is again where a professional can help make a program for your life and lifestyle. Cookie cutter programs try to make the person fit the program, not the other way around. That is why so many fail on these types of programs.

If a woman is unsure of what to do, SEEK A PROFESSIONAL. Stop wasting time and money and INVEST in a trainer to help you get on a program that will work for your NEEDS and goals.

Shara Vigeant, BA, NSCA-CPT, (IHP) MMA-CSCC

www.sharavigeant.com