So often I hear women say that they want to lift weights but they just want to tone up. They don’t want to get big! Well I would like to say that getting big isn’t that easy! Let’s start off with the fact that women do not have enough testosterone in their bodies to achieve that huge bodybuilder, metal pipe eating, manly look women think of when they think that weight training will make them big. Most likely many of those women are taking something to allow this growth. For the other 99% of women that are not taking a growth hormone, steroid or testosterone the likelihood of you getting big is almost a big fat zero.
What will happen then? Well, if you lift heavy enough (like to fatigue) you will build muscle, speed up your metabolism and speed up your fat loss. All of which contribute to that toned look! Along with many other health benefits that come from weight lifting like increased bone density, increased memory (yes, it has been proven), increased balance, increased coordination and increased self esteem! Pretty cool!
Now why do some women get more muscular than others? This is due partially to genetics and partially to frequency and intensity that someone lifts! We are all different! I am much more of a mesomorph and build muscle fairly quickly. BUT, fat loss can be slooow sometimes! On the other hand there are girls at the gym lifting super heavy doing no cardio and can’t seem to build muscle. They have metabolisms so fast that their bodies need more food than they can get into their system so their bodies use their muscles as fuel. These differences are why no one program is a one size fits all program. It’s all about figuring out what your goals are and how your body responds to different exercise to decide what kind of program is right for you! Either way, don’t worry! You won’t get big! :)
