Monday, October 1, 2012

The big and bulky myth... BUSTED!

There is a huge misconception out there that women who lift heavy weights are going to get big and bulky.  I attribute this to some waif celebrity being interviewed by a “fitness” magazine, telling them that she does lunges with two-pound dumbbells to keep her legs from getting bulky.  Come on, really?  Just because you lift heavy weights, doesn’t mean that you are going to look like this. 


While this woman is beautiful in her own way, I certainly don’t strive to have her physique.  Also, orange isn’t really my color.  I think it should be reserved for Oompa Loompas and Halloween.

Seriously, do you know how difficult it is for women to put on body mass?  I didn’t think so.  Hormones are the key.  Why do men get big and muscular as a result of heavy weight training?  Testosterone.  Women produce a fraction of the testosterone that men produce.  In fact, men have 20 times or more the amount of testosterone in their bodies that women have (1).  According to JC Deen of JCD Fitness, “Since testosterone is the main determinant of the ability to grow in size and strength, it only makes sense that someone with much lower levels (women) will never achieve the same size as someone with much more of it (men) (2).”  Women who do look like men have taken some drastic steps in that direction that have little to do with lifting heavy weights (3).

Ladies, what does this mean for you?  Unless you are injecting synthetic testosterone on a regular basis or you have naturally high testosterone levels, you are NEVER going to get big and bulky as a result of heavy weight training.  Just an FYI, the number of women who have naturally high testosterone levels are few and far between.  In fact, I know women who’s testosterone levels are so low that their doctor’s have prescribed them testosterone to make their bodies function normally.  

Here’s another piece to the puzzle.  Since testosterone is the main determinant of the ability to grow in size and strength, why aren’t all men big and muscley?   Um… because it is HARD to get big and muscley, even as a man with loads of testosterone.  Not only is it hard, but it takes time i.e. years and years.  It also takes a perfectly clean diet full of dense protein, great genetics, more than eight hours of sleep a night in a completely dark room, and a repetition scheme of 8-12 for 10 sets with a maximum rest period of one minute between sets.  Sounds like a fun Saturday night to me!  You have to be willing to work past the point of discomfort (physical and mental) to achieve a super muscular build, and most people are unwilling to get off the couch. 

Let me ask you this, what in the world is wrong with women looking muscular?  I again attribute this to society.  Not all women want to look like skinny Hollywood actresses.  I certainly don’t.  I like muscle definition, strive for it, and want to look like these women. 


I am hoping to look half as fit as these ladies at the end of my journey.  If you think they are big and bulky, then I guess I’ll be big, bulky, and so proud of it!

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