Most of the weight lifting and workout related emails I get from women sound exactly the same. They tell me how they don’t want huge muscles. They don’t want to get big and bulky like a guy or like those big female bodybuilders.
They just want to be slim and toned with a flat stomach and lean defined muscles in their arms, shoulders, back, legs, etc. instead of being huge and bulky or anything even remotely close to that. This of course is the most common goal among women doing any form of weight lifting workouts.
So, what these ladies usually tell me next is that to avoid getting big and bulky like a guy, they always work out with lighter weights for higher reps. They say that this will stop them from becoming a huge manly looking bodybuilder and make them “toned” instead.
Some women use this light weight with high reps “toning” approach, and some don’t even include any form of weight lifting in their workouts at all for fear of becoming huge like a guy. They are scared that they may one day wake up and look huge and bulky with big muscles like a man or one of those huge freaky female bodybuilders.
So, all of their workouts are aimed at “toning” instead.
Now, I must admit, all of the above actually sounds like a great plan… except for one thing. It’s bullshit!
What I am about to explain is how women can and SHOULD do the types of weight lifting workouts they fear the most, and why it doesn’t matter if you use lighter weight with higher reps, heavy weights with less reps, machines or free weights, or any type of weight lifting there is… you will NEVER EVER get big and bulky like a guy or a freaky looking female bodybuilder.
Here’s Why You Ladies Have Nothing To Fear
Here’s the secret word that should ease your fears… testosterone. Say it with me… testosterone. This is the magic ingredient that allows guys to get “huge” and prevents women from getting that same type of masculine body.
Why? Because while both men and women produce testosterone, men just produce WAY more than women to the point where the whole idea of females getting too “big” from weight lifting is just laughable. Men are genetically capable of building WAY more muscle WAY faster than women ever can, even under the best possible circumstances.
That means it’s only us guys who can get that “huge” and “big” and “bulky” looking body most females are scared of getting. On the other hand, women just don’t have anywhere near the amount of testosterone (and other genetic factors) needed to make it happen themselves.
What I’m trying to say is… stop being so afraid of weight lifting! You will NEVER just wake up and look like a huge bodybuilder. You will never get “manly” muscles or develop a bulky masculine body.
You can work out just like a guy, with big heavy free weights and low reps, and do big manly exercises like the bench press and squats and deadlifts and pull ups and any other exercise most women purposely keep out of their workouts.
You can train like this for years and years and set up your diet to support as much muscle growth as possible, and you still won’t be able to get as freakishly big as you fear you will. It just can’t happen. Don’t get me wrong, you ladies certainly can build muscle and get strong.
However, no matter how hard you try, your bodies just lack the physiological requirements for getting as big and muscular as many women are scared of getting.
So, you know those toning workouts you’re doing instead? Those are just wasting your time, because while you’re doing them to avoid building big bulky muscles, they’re actually just causing you to avoid building ANY muscle, period.
My article about the many silly myths surrounding Tone & Definition explains this more, especially why low weights for high reps is just a waste of time and effort.
I Know What You’re Thinking…
I’m going to do some mind reading now. Most of the females reading this are probably thinking about those huge female bodybuilders. Or maybe even some female wrestlers and other female athletes. You know… the women who actually ARE as big and manly looking as you are afraid of getting.
The ones who, if they didn’t have long girly hair and weren’t wearing a bikini top, you probably couldn’t tell they were female in the first place. Sound about right?
Well, just like I said above… women can’t get that big because they lack the testosterone needed for it to happen. However, these “freaky” females you’re thinking of are the exception… because they DO have the levels of testosterone needed.
How? Because they’ve used steroids and damn near every drug known to man to screw with their hormone levels and change their genetic makeup from girly to manly.
Add in proper muscle building workouts and a diet to support it, and their body makes a similar change from girly to manly right along with it. And that’s why THEY are able to get that big bulky look you want to avoid getting.
But take away those drugs, and take away the steroid use, and just put any typical female on those same weight lifting workouts and the same diet… and it will NEVER happen. Women in this scenario will just get more “toned” and “firm” and “sculpted” and hot.
You know, like you actually WANT to look.
Stop Wasting Your Time And Start Working Out Correctly
So ladies, unless you’re planning on taking steroids any time soon, you have nothing to worry about. Lift heavy weights. Use low reps. Do big free weight compound exercises. Do all of the things us guys do to build muscle. Why? Because those are the things that actually build muscle!
You either do them and get results from your weight lifting workouts, or you keep lifting your little light weights for your super high reps on your little girly exercises and just waste your time like most women do.
And then they wonder why their body isn’t improving the way they want it to. Well ladies… this is why. It’s time to stop letting your silly (and impossible) fears prevent you from getting the results you want.
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