I’m a woman. Will lifting heavy weights make me bulky?

By Eric Johnson
Personal Trainer
VIDA Fitness Metropole

This is one of the most common questions that I get from the ladies that I work with at VIDA. While most men’s goals in the gym lean towards building muscle size and strength, most women’s goals are more along the lines of losing fat and toning muscle, while maintaining a smaller physique. Plain and simple, women can increase the size of their muscles by lifting weights, but it is very difficult to become “bulky.”

The reason it’s difficult for women to actually “bulk-up” from lifting heavy weights is due to simple biology: women have much lower levels of the muscle-building hormones, HGH and testosterone, than men do. Here’s a list of 6 reasons why lifting heavier, more challenging weights is beneficial for women:

1) Your rate of metabolism will stay raised for a longer period of time than it would from cardio exercise alone.
2) More fat burning takes place (when you build muscle, you burn fat)
3) You will have increased muscle definition (think sculpted and toned legs, butt, and arms).
4) Your strength will increase faster.
5) It can prevent injury by building up the muscles surrounding your major joints
6) You will be at a lower risk of osteoporosis as you age due to the fact that weight training produces increased bone density.