I May Have Just Learned What "Bulking Up" Means

I just read an extremely eye opening article by Leigh Peele called Defining Bulky, Once and For All.

In her introduction, Leigh states her purpose as, "to finally give a definition of what the average population believes to be bulky." In actuality, that should read "the average female population" because she didn't include men in her poll. Nonetheless, her findings really have me looking at this topic with a fresh eye.

I believe that when most women say that weight training "bulked them up" it's because they incorporated strength training without proper nutrition and ended up adding muscle without stripping away the fat beneath it.

When woman would tell me they didn't want to "bulk up", I had no idea that many of them considered almost any muscle definition to be "bulky". In her article, Leigh has pictures of Angela Bassett as Tina Turner, Hillary Swank, Jessica Biel and Linda Hamilton - all of whom ended up in the "bulky" category.

I can understand people who think these women are more muscular than they themselves would want to be but "bulky"? If most of us had the body fat percentage of the women in those photos, this country would not be in the midst of an obesity epidemic.

Does it really boil down to semantics?

And if Leigh's poll and corresponding definition is correct, how does that explain the number of women now telling their trainers they want "Michelle Obama's arms?"

Leave a comment and let me know what you consider "bulky."

Afraid of Bulking Up? Want Long, Lean Muscles?

I came across this myth again the other day. You see it a lot on some of the fitness forums. It's related to the "low weight, high reps to tone" B.S. that too many women still believe.

So, I was channel surfing recently and saw part of an infomercial for some fitness product. The hawker was touting the idea that its use would give you the long, lean muscles that women want (as opposed, of course, to the Hulk-style bulk you'd get from picking up anything heavier than a 5 lb. dumbbell).

Where's an eye rolling smilie when you need one?

It makes no sense. Many women lug around purses that weigh 10 lbs.; moms carry 20-25 lb. kids without a second thought. Yet these same women panic at the thought of using 10 pound dumbbells. How many moms do you know who busted out of their blouses from all the muscle they built from lifting their children?

Anyway, Here's a great blog post I just ran across.

The Myth of "Longer and Leaner"
by Geralyn Coopersmith, MA, CSCS

Fit and Female blog

Have you ever heard someone tell you they know of a workout that makes you "longer and leaner"? Did you believe them? If so, I have some prime real estate in Florida that you might be interested in. Yeah, sure there's a few gators scrambling around amidst the reeds...and a bit of a stench, but its really not that bad once you get used to it.

Seriously though, the truth is exercise can make bodies "leaner", but it can't make them"longer". "Lean" means that you have proportionately more muscle tissue and less fat tissue. That is certainly a realistic goal to have with any consistent workout routine. But "length" is another matter all together. Muscle length is a function of your limb length. Folks with longer bones (such as the femur in the leg and the humerus in the arm) have longer muscles strung across them to make them move properly.

No matter what you may read on the cover of a magazine -- no exercise program will make you "longer"...although there was that medieval torture "the rack"...hmmm...maybe they were on to something... could be the next Thigh Master...but I digress. The truth is if you are an adult then your limb length is set. So unless your limbs happen to be made of salt water taffy -- they won't get LONGER from exercise.

I am particularly sensitive to this subject because I think a lot of exercise professionals deliberately distort the science to get people to sign on to a particular program. Let me say here that I am a big fan of both yoga and Pilates. Moreover, I think they each have their own significant contributions to make as part of a well-rounded fitness program. But I think that many times women gravitate towards these types of workouts (in lieu of weight training) because they are afraid of developing "big, bulky muscles" from weight training. Nothing could be further from the truth.

When many women think of "lifting weights" they call to mind mental images of enormous female body builders who make Lou Ferrigno look like Gwyneth Paltrow. But these women are not the norm -- not even in gyms. Look around you. It is very unusual for a woman's body to look that way. Women bodybuilders are doing this as a full-time job, doing far more volume and intensity then "normal" women would working out 3 times per week for an hour. These women are trying to look that way for a certain look needed for competition in their "sport" -- and they train for hours and hours every day. And sadly, many of them use anabolic steroids on top of that to achieve the results they're after. Because it's still hard for a woman to develop "big, bulky muscles" -- even when want to!!

Women simply lack the testosterone levels that men have that allow them to experience significant "hypertrophy" or an increase in muscle size. Study after study has shown that women experience significant increases in strength (similar in relative terms to that of men) without significant increases in muscle size. And weight training has benefits beyond creating "lean" sexy muscles.

* It promotes bone strength and can reduce the chance of developing osteoporosis
* It strengthens joints and connective tissues It helps prepare the body for the physical challenges of everyday life
* It increases metabolism helping the body burn more calories per day
* It can improve posture and correct imbalances
* It increases self-esteem and self-confidence

If you think you might be ready to start a weight training program, I strongly suggest that you get some guidance from a Certified Personal Trainer. There is a lot to know in getting started and developing a safe and effective plan. Just a few sessions in the beginning will set you up so that you use your time wisely, efficiently and get the results you want.

Geralyn Coopersmith, MA, CSCS is an exercise physiologist, certified personal trainer and the creator of The Best Me Ever, a comprehensive weight loss and wellness system just for women.
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I Don't Want to Bulk Up

On Thursday, I wrote about online fitness forums and the attitudes of some of the posters. One of the threads that started my little rant began as something else but morphed into a "heavy weights bulk me up" debate.

The poster insisted that using heavy weight to strength train bulked her up. I am not one to say that it's absolutely impossible for a very few women to get bigger than they'd like using heavy weight. However, this would be a tiny minority of women who have higher levels of testosterone than the average female.

I think that for the vast majority of those who think that heavier lifting makes them bulky, it's a matter of diet. No one will lose weight without a calorie deficit. If you continue to eat the same amount or more while lifting weights, you will build muscle but retain fat.

It's not that the muscle makes you look bulky. Because of your poor nutrition you haven't gotten rid of the layer of fat that's covering your muscle.

Although the poster who got this all started credited her current "toning" (as opposed to her previous "bulking") with using a 4 lb. weight, she also casually mentioned that she was now paying attention to her nutrition by increasing her protein intake and cutting back on junk food.

She's lost inches and is seeing muscle definition. However, although she is determined to attribute her current physique to using light weights, I'm just as sure that it's her current nutrition that's made the difference.

The following article is written about athletes but the information is relevant to any woman.

Top 10 Reasons Heavy Weights Don’t Bulk Up the Female Athlete

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