As trainers and coaches we hear it all the time from women who are just starting to lift weights. 

“I don’t want to get bulky.” or “I just want to tone.” 

I will never forget watching an exercise video in my late teens and the female instructor said, “relax your neck! No woman wants a muscular neck!”. Flash forward ten years and if someone compliments my big traps I’m genuinely flattered. 

Before we talk about the reality and the science, we first need to address this: the idea that you will bulk up day 1 of lifting a moderately light weight is a little silly. Muscle and bulk are two very different things. Bulking is HARD to do. It requires you to be in a HIGH calorie surplus and lift heavy AF. Most of the time, when you are starting out with weight training, you couldn’t get bulky even if you tried. As someone who has both bulked (tried to gain body fat to help increase strength) and cut (tried to shed body fat while maintaining the strength built), I can 100% say bulking was WAY harder to do than cutting.

The reason for this misconception surrounding weight training is simply the lack of education and the stigma that comes with women lifting weights. Society has conditioned us that if we work out like men (i.e. lift weights) then we will look like them. This could not be further from the truth. Lifting weights will help you get fit, lose weight, keep up with your kids, be self reliant, feel empowered and so so much more. 

Here is why muscle is your friend, not the enemy: 

1. Muscle helps change your body composition and burn more body fat. While the misconception that adding muscle on top of body fat will give you a “bulky” look, on the contrary. A muscular body burns more calories, even at rest, than a body without muscle or higher body fat. This means that not only will you be revving your metabolism by lifting weights, you will also be burning additional calories even when you aren’t working out. This is a huge reason why women notice major shifts in their body composition when they start lifting. 

2. Getting stronger gives you more freedom. Have you ever felt powerless because you weren’t physically strong enough to do something? Imagine being a Mom who couldn’t pick up her child, or being unable to help someone who has fallen over because you were “too weak”. By strength training, you are able to rely on yourself. 

3. Lifting weights makes your joints and bones stronger. This decreases your risk of injury and helps you avoid health issues like osteoporosis or increasingly bad posture. This will also decrease the likelihood of aches, pains and nagging injuries.  

4. Weight training can help improve your mental health. If you are looking for a new challenge and to feel a new sense of fulfillment, lifting weights could be the challenge you are looking for. The sense of fulfillment that comes with lifting heavier than you thought possible can help improve your self confidence, body image and in turn, your mental health. 

5. Having muscle actually helps you live longer. Those who weight train actually have improved cardiovascular health as well, therefore are less likely to develop heart disease, diabetes or other chronic diseases that are responsible for the deaths of much of the population. 

So instead of fearing the weights, let’s teach the next generation that muscle is a good thing! Being strong means you are self sufficient and healthy. Having muscle means that you work hard and prioritize your health and fitness. Let’s be more afraid of being frail and weak than being bulky and manly.