Viktoria Hogan is a personal trainer and online nutrition coach who runs Tori Training, an online solution to your health and fitness goals. She lives in the U.S., but is originally from Sweden. She played soccer up through college and has always had a passion for training and nutrition.
One of the most common things I hear when training clients, women especially, is that they are afraid to lift weights because they believe that they will get bulky. I hear worries about lifting too heavy and being unable to “tone” their body. Is there any truth to these concerns or is it a myth that lifting weights will make you bulky?
Why people think you become bulky when lifting heavy
When people think about weight lifting and strength training in general, there is a common misconception that everyone will turn into a bodybuilder. Yes, bodybuilders do lift weights to look the way they do, but simply grabbing a weight in the gym is not going to make you the Hulk. This seems to be more of a concern for female clients than for male clients, in my experience, most likely because having a more muscular physique is more wanted by men (by societal means). Not to say that there aren’t women who are who are bodybuilders or who are striving for a muscular physique. There definitely are, and I believe that we are moving into a phase where being more muscular can also be feminine, in contrast to how femininity has been portrayed in previous decades.
Another reason why people might think that lifting weights makes you look like an action figure is that that is often what we have seen. When the media portrays someone working out at a gym, more often than not, there is going to be a buff man doing bicep curls. With social media and influencers, this misconception could either end soon (with more females showing their workouts in the gym), or get worse (filters and editing making people look bulkier than they are). Let’s hope for a positive outcome.
How to become bulky
So how do you actually get bulky? To gain muscle mass there are several things needed to be done. The misconception that you can walk into the gym, lift a 15lbs dumbbell, and turn into a bodybuilder is not true. Bodybuilders, power lifters, strong man athletes, and similar competitors, all put in an immense effort of work both in and out of the gym. Their mealplans go from an extreme surplus to put mass on, to a high deficit when they are cutting before a competition. If you are not eating at a surplus, you will not be building muscles or gaining weight. If you eat at a deficit (fewer calories than you burn), you will lose weight.
Your body needs consistent training to build muscles. When you work out, you break down your muscles and when you rest and eat, it will build and repair muscles. Now, this is a simplified explanation of how it works, but strength training could make you build muscles. On its own, it will not add muscle mass, but in combination with a higher-calorie diet consisting of enough protein, it could. It is important to note that carbs are also important to have enough energy to pursue the workouts. Another factor that goes into building muscle is making sure you are increasing intensity (weights, reps, time) to create overloading when working out which causes your body to create more muscle mass. Think of it like this: if you break your leg, that bone is going to become stronger than it was before once it is healed. Building muscle mass works similarly. Staying in what is called hypertrophy is important for muscle mass building. Hypertrophy is a stage in which your body will build muscle mass, commonly suggested to be between 8-12 reps for a certain amount of sets, but this could slightly vary depending on research.
If you are new to working out or starting back up after a longer break, chances are you will build some muscle mass even if you are eating fewer calories than you burn because the added stress on your muscles will cause a response that builds muscles to prepare you for when you work out next time. However, this will usually plateau fairly quickly and is not going to make you bulky.
Why lifting heavy does not make you bulky
The main reason whether you will gain weight, lose weight, or stay the same is nutrition. If you are not eating enough, you will not gain mass. If you are not eating fewer calories than you burn, you will not lose weight. Eating at the same amount of calories as you burn, will put you at a maintenance and you will sustain weight. Therefore, simply “lifting heavy” won’t bulk you up unless you add the required calories. Sometimes clients come in and will lift a 15lbs dumbbell and be afraid of getting bulky, and as much of an achievement it is to work up to being able to lift that, it is important to remember that you need overloading and calories to build muscle. Even doing a goblet squat with 30lbs will most likely not make you bulky unless part of a rigid regimen. For reference, competing females might squat 1.5 times of their own body weight.
Why adding muscle mass is still important
Regardless of your goals, having a sufficient amount of muscle mass is important for several different reasons. Even if you are trying to lose weight, strength training is not only helpful to get stronger and have more energy, but it will also help you keep muscle mass and lose fat mass if you eat enough protein. Your body needs amino acids (proteins) to work. As mentioned earlier, when you work out, you are breaking down your muscles, and your body needs amino acids to repair that breakdown. If you are not getting enough protein through your food, your body will simply break down your own muscles to retract amino acids. So if you are working towards losing weight and are eating at a deficit, it is very important to make sure you have enough protein in your diet or you will likely be losing muscle mass instead of fat mass.
Another benefit of having muscle mass, outside of getting the “toned look,” is that muscles burn more calories at rest. Meaning, the more muscle mass you have, the more calories you will burn when doing nothing.
Conclusion
I hope that this article gave you some valuable insight into how to become bulky and if you are one of the people who are afraid of lifting weights because you think you will become bulky, I hope this made you realize that you don’t have to be worried. If you are a beginner, I would suggest starting with a fitness professional who could also help answer any other questions you might have, but more importantly, make sure that your form is good so that you are safe while training.
Viktoria Hogan, Personal Trainer and Online Nutrition Coach
Viktoria Hogan is a personal trainer and online nutrition coach who runs Tori Training, an online solution to your health and fitness goals. She lives in the U.S., but is originally from Sweden. She played soccer up through college and has always had a passion for training and nutrition. As a trainer since the beginning of 2020, she has trained a multitude of clients and gained several specialization certifications within her field. Her main mission is to improve people's quality of life.
Related article:
