“I don’t want to get big and bulky. I just want to tone the muscle I already have.”
— Molly Galbraith, circa 2002
Yes, those words have actually come out of my own mouth, in complete and utter seriousness.
I remember saying them to my former high school teacher who saw me working out at the YMCA and asked why I wasn’t using more than 90 pounds on the Leg Press machine.
To be fair, this was in 2002, a full two years before I became immersed in the world of strength training. I fully believed that lifting anything heavy would pack on the bulk, and that instead, I could “tone” the muscle I already had.
At the time that I was worried about heavy strength training packing on the pounds, I was actually good 35+% body fat and terribly unhealthy. But that’s neither here nor there.
Today I want to tackle this idea (one that many would call a “myth”) about how lifting heavy weights makes women bulky. I want to lay it to rest, once and for all.
What Is “Bulky” Anyway?
Before I can discuss whether or not lifting heavy weights makes a woman bulky, I should first define what bulky is.
The problem? I can’t define it. “Bulky” is subjective.
In 2009, Leigh Peele took a poll of over 2000 women, and in that poll, she asked them a number of questions about weightlifting, women, and what they perceive as bulky. Interestingly, over ⅓ of the women polled (36%) said that of the women listed, Jessica Biel was the body that came to mind when answering questions about a muscular/bulky body for this poll.
Of course, this poll was taken six years ago. It seems that a lot has changed since then, in terms of our culture’s perception of women and muscles, but my point here is this:
“Bulky” is completely subjective. When it comes to our bodies, it’s up to us to decide what level of muscularity we desire for ourselves.
I, for one, love having muscles and looking and feeling strong, but there is absolutely a body type and level of leanness that is beyond what I’d want for myself. That’s OK. It doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with that body type. It’s just not for me. Similarly, my body type might not be someone else’s preference. It might be considered too “bulky,” too lean, too curvy, too soft, or too firm for someone else. That’s all OK. We don’t determine what someone else should want their body to look like.
Generally, when women talk about getting “bulky,” the one thing that word has in common for all of them is that it’s usually an undesirable appearance. However, the actual definition of what “bulky” looks like to each of them can be very different. What one woman finds bulky, another might find still too slim, or just right, or perhaps downright beautiful.
Therefore, it’s impossible to define what “too bulky” means.
Gaining Muscle Mass
Many women are afraid to lift weights because they are afraid of getting bulky, and by that, they generally mean gaining a significant amount of muscle mass. The argument here is always that “women don’t have the same hormone profile as men, and therefore cannot gain enough lean mass to look bulky.”
While the gist of this statement as applied to the general population is correct, there are two major things to consider:
Some women are capable of gaining appreciable amounts of muscle mass.
It’s not up to us to determine what “bulky” looks like for someone else. They might feel bulky if they add just 5 pounds of lean mass.
While it’s true that gaining significant amounts of mass doesn’t happen overnight, if a woman prefers a lightly muscled look, at some point, she may have gained enough lean mass for her personal preference, and transitioning to a maintenance plan with both her training and her nutrition, would be a good idea.
When trying to find exact numbers regarding how much lean mass a woman can expect to gain when she starts a “proper” strength training program, every single expert I asked said the same thing: “it depends.”
And it’s true. It does depend. It depends on the woman, her individual biochemistry, body type, previous training history, what type of strength training she is doing, how often she is training, how much she is eating, etc.
Because most of the studies done on hypertrophy have been on men, post-menopausal women, or women with health conditions, it’s impossible to state with certainty how much lean mass a woman can expect to gain when she starts strength training. What I can tell you is that not a single expert guessed that it was greater than .5 – 1 lb. a month for the first 6-12 months, and that it slows considerably the longer you’ve been training. And this is in women who are making a conscious effort to gain lean mass, and eating to support these goals.
Point being? It’s doesn’t happen overnight, and women who carry a lot of muscle have likely worked very hard for it.
In a moment, I’ll discuss more about what types of training work well for lean mass gains.
Everyone Responds Differently To Training
Take a look at these three women. Which of them do you think lifts heavy weights?
The one in the middle, maybe? The one on the right? Surely not the one on the left?
The answer? All of them.
The woman on the left is Melissa Hartwig, co-founder of Whole9 and Whole30, and co-author of the New York Times Bestseller It Starts With Food.
Melissa’s Stats:
Height: 5’10”
Weight/clothing size: 130-135 lbs., size 0-4
Heavy lifting prowess: 215-pound Deadlift, 7 dead-hang Pull-Ups
The woman in the middle is me, Molly Galbraith, co-founder and owner of Girls Gone Strong.
Molly’s Stats:
Height: 5’10.5” (the .5 totally counts)
Weight/clothing size: 162-167 lbs., size 6-10
Heavy lifting prowess: 341-pound Deadlift, 275-pound Squat, 165-pound Bench Press
The woman on the right is Cara Turnquist, co-founder of Movement Duets.
Cara’s Stats:
Height: 5’9”
Clothing size: 14
Heavy lifting prowess: 275-pound Deadlift, 28 kg/60-pound Kettlebell Turkish Getup
As you can see, all three of us lift heavy weights. And all three of us have very different body types and respond differently to training.
Melissa is very tall and lean, and has a harder time gaining strength and mass. I have a curvy, athletic build. I gain muscle, strength, and fat more easily than Melissa. Cara has a curvier athletic build, as well. She also gains muscle, strength, and fat more easily than Melissa.
What about these three women? Any heavy lifters here?
The one on the right? Or possibly the middle? Foiled again! They all lift heavy things.
The woman on the left is Melody Schoenfeld, owner of Flawless Fitness.
Melody’s Stats:
Height: 5’0”
Weight: 104 lbs.
Heavy lifting prowess: 229-pound Deadlift for 3 reps, 190-pound Squat (she also bends steel bars and tears phonebooks in half. Seriously.)
The woman in the middle is Amber Leonard Thome, Founder of AllFit Lifestyle Solutions.
Amber’s Stats:
Height: 5’2”
Weight: 126-130 lbs.
Heavy lifting prowess: 225-pound Deadlift, 10 Chin-Ups
The woman on the right is Neghar Fonooni, Owner of Eat, Lift, and Be Happy.
Neghar’s Stats:
Height: 5’1.75” (she believes the .75 counts, too!)
Weight: 130-135 lbs.
Heavy lifting prowess: 295-pound Deadlift, 24-kg/53-pound Weighted Pull-Up, 36-kg/80-pound Kettlebell Turkish Getup
Three more women. Three different body types. All of them rockin’ sexy, strong bodies that have responded differently to heavy strength training.
I’m not even going to ask the question again, because I think you know the answer.
Yes. All of these women lift heavy things.
The woman on the left is Nia Shanks, leader of the Lift Like A Girl Revolution.
Nia’s Stats:
Height: 5’6”
Weight: 125 lbs.
Heavy lifting prowess: 300-pound Deadlift for 3 reps, 10 Towel-Grip Pull-ups
The woman in the middle is Jen Sinkler, Owner of Thrive with Jen Sinkler.
Jen’s Stats:
Height: 5’6”
Weight: 151 lbs.
Heavy lifting prowess: 369-pound Deadlift, 320-pound Squat, 36 kg/80 lb. Bent Press
The woman on the right is Jennifer Vogelgesang Blake (JVB), Owner of Strong Is Fun.
JVB’s Stats:
Height: 5’6”
Weight: 170-175 lbs.
Heavy lifting prowess: 315-pound Deadlift, 275-pound Squat, 160-pound Bench Press
Three more women with different body types and shapes, who all lift heavy, and who all respond differently to strength training.
Sure, we have different athletic backgrounds and training histories, and it’s unlikely that we have trained exactly the same, but we have all lifted heavy weights with gaining strength as our goal. Check out these stats:
Of these 9 women:
5 have competed in Powerlifting
3 are certified in Kettlebell Training
5 have Deadlifted double their body weight or more
4 have Bench Pressed their body weight or more
5 of them have achieved Pull-ups or Chin-ups in the double digits
I think it’s safe to say that we have all been successful in our quest for strength.
The X Factor – Body Fat
Another important factor that is often ignored in the “bulky” discussion, is body fat.
Over the years I’ve had a number of female clients who started strength training for the first time when they began working with me. Within just a few weeks, they would complain about feeling “bulky.”
They’d report that their clothes were fitting more snugly, and that the number on the scale was going up instead of down. When I asked about their nutrition, they would admit that it hadn’t been great, and that they’d actually been eating more, because the training had increased their appetite.
In this instance, of course they were going to gain size. They were eating more calories, and gaining something without losing anything else.
What’s generally happening in this type of situation is that the client is gaining some muscle, as well as some fat, increasing their glycogen stores, and holding onto more water as well. Yes, their overall size has increased. I promise, however, that they are not “hulking out” of their clothes within a few short weeks because of muscle gain! Instead, their caloric surplus is the reason they are getting bigger, and that’s a very simple fix.
To be clear, this is quite rare in my experience. More often than not, when a client starts strength training, that activity in combination with the increase in lean mass over time, raises caloric expenditure enough to encourage body fat loss. So even though the client is gaining muscle, she is also losing body fat (not simultaneously, but within the same time period). She ends up leaner, firmer, and smaller, even if she hasn’t altered her diet much.
That experience, and the experience that I had personally are much more common. Below are two sets of pictures of me, taken 10 years apart. On the left (when I was afraid that heavy lifting would make me “bulky”), I weighed 185 pounds, and wore a size 12. On the right, after 10 years of heavy lifting, I weigh 162 pounds and wear a size 6-8.
As you can see, what was making me “bulky” in the first picture, was excess body fat, not too much muscle. In fact, in the photo on the right, I am carrying approximately 10-15 lbs. more muscle than in the photo on the left.
It’s also important to note that 1 pound of lean mass takes up approximately 20% less space than 1 pound of fat. So if you lose 5 pounds of fat and gain 5 pounds of muscle, the scale will look the same, but you will be smaller.
Maintaining Your Mass
As I mentioned earlier, muscle mass gains do not happen overnight. Training for strength gains and training for lean mass gains are different. There is overlap of course, but it’s entirely possible to train for strength while keeping muscle gain to a minimum.
If you’re happy with the amount of muscle mass you have, you can still train heavy and train for strength gain and muscle maintenance, as opposed to muscle gain. Your nutrition will play a big role here, of course. Eating at or slightly below maintenance calories will also be very beneficial here.
There are more schools of thought on gaining mass and gaining strength than I can cover in this article, but here are a few basic principles of training for hypertrophy (muscle gain) and strength.
Training for hypertrophy
High volume (volume = sets x reps)
High TUT (time under tension)
High frequency of training (often 5-6 times/week, 1-2x/day)
Special techniques employed such as drop sets, rest-pause sets, slow eccentrics, cluster sets
Combination of compound and isolation exercises
Short rest periods (generally 30-60 seconds)
Strategically training to muscle failure
Focus is on the muscle rather than the movement
Varied weight and rep ranges, but generally moderate weight, medium to high rep range (usually 6-12, occasionally 15-20)
Training for strength
Low to moderate volume (volume = sets x reps)
Short TUT (you want to be lifting the weight as fast as possible)
Moderate training frequency (generally 3-4 days/week)
Use of ladders, partial reps, bands, chains, specialty bars
Mostly compound exercises, occasional isolation exercise for weak areas
Longer rest periods (90 seconds to 3 minutes)
Avoiding training to failure
Focus is on the movement rather than the muscle
Varied weight and rep ranges, but generally heavy weight, lower reps for main lifts (1-5 reps), and medium weight in medium to high rep range for accessory work (usually 6-12, occasionally 15-20)
Again, neither list is exhaustive, nor are they mutually exclusive. There can be plenty of overlap between training for size, and training for strength, but if you’re satisfied with the amount of muscle mass you have, stick with strength training 3-4 days a week, with heavy weights, in lower reps ranges, with longer rest periods, avoid training to failure, and keep your calories at or slightly below maintenance most of the time.
The Takeaways
“Bulky” is relative, and it’s no one’s place to push a particular body type on anyone else. We all get to choose what type of body shape, size, leanness, and muscularity level we strive for.
Gaining lean mass doesn’t happen overnight, but it does happen for some more quickly and easily than others.
“Lifting heavy” doesn’t give you one particular body type. Lifting heavy will give you a strong, sexy, fit, kick-ass version of the body you were given.
Don’t mistake excess body fat for “bulk” from strength training. Body fat takes up more space per pound than lean mass does, so if you lose 5 pounds of fat and gain 5 pounds of muscle, you’ll weigh the same, but you’ll be smaller.
If you’re satisfied with how much mass you have, you can still lift heavy, without gaining appreciable size, as long as you plan your training and nutrition accordingly.
Now that we have cleared up any misconceptions about heavy strength training and gaining 50 lbs. of muscle overnight — let me quickly remind you of why heavy strength training for women is such a good idea.
Improved confidence levels. Every single woman I’ve ever spoken with about the benefits of strength training has mentioned improved confidence as a side effect. There’s just something about picking a heavy weight up off ground that makes you feel like you can tackle anything.
Your focus is on positive, performance-based goals. If your main focus at the gym is constantly on not being enough, not lean enough, not thin enough, not small enough, you’re going to have a consistent negative dialogue playing in your head. However, if your focus is on positive, performance-based goals like adding 10 lbs. to your squat, or nailing 5 Chin-ups, your focus and inner dialogue will be much more positive.
Gaining lean mass. Gaining lean mass is beneficial in maintaining a healthy body weight and body fat levels because muscle is metabolically expensive tissue (read: it burns a lot of calories). In addition, because we lose muscle mass as we get older (a condition known as sarcopenia — which can be significantly reduced with strength training) gaining lean mass puts you “ahead of the game” so to speak. Sarcopenia can lead to loss of strength and mobility as we age. If you have more lean mass to begin with, and continue with strength training, you can greatly reduce the negative side effects associated with sarcopenia, and stay strong, mobile, and healthy for a long time.
Increased bone density. Heavy strength training also increases bone density, and prevents bone loss as we age. (In fact, I had a Dexa scan done in 2012, and it shows that my bone density is more than 3 standard deviations above average. Yay!) Low bone mass increases your chance of breaking or fracturing your bones, which is no fun when you’re young, but can devastating as you get older.
Improved patience. Ask anyone who has been strength training for more than a couple of years. Lifting heavy weights and reaching strength goals over the long haul takes patience. When you first start strength training, you’ll likely notice somewhat rapid gains in strength as your body figures out how to perform movements more efficiently. But after a while, your strength gains will be smaller, and you’ll likely experience some plateaus in strength. This is all part of the journey. Use it as an opportunity to practice patience.
Remove self-imposed limitations. This is similar to #1 (improved confidence) but slightly different. Often times women categorize themselves as “un-athletic” or “weak” or “clumsy” before they start strength training, and once they get started, they begin to realize that they aren’t any of those things at all. In fact, they realize that they are strong, athletic, and move beautifully. Then they start to wonder, “what other self-limiting beliefs am I holding?”
Promotes fat loss. As mentioned above, the lean mass gain that comes from heavy lifting increases your metabolism, which in turn, promotes fat loss if your nutrition is on point. In addition, the heavy strength training itself burns a significant amount of calories not just while you’re training, but afterwards as well as the body tries to return to homeostasis.
To take care of others. As wives, mothers, business owners, sisters, nieces, doctors, grandmothers, and teachers…we wear so many hats and take care of so many other people in our lives. And unfortunately, we often sacrifice our own health and well-being to do so. Lifting heavy things not only allows you to be physically capable of caring for others, but it allows you to be mentally and emotionally capable as well. Plus, because it’s super effective, you don’t have to slave away at the gym for hours every day, and you’ll have more free time to spend with loved ones.
Because it’s awesome. Yes. Lifting heavy stuff off the ground, pulling yourself up over a Chin-up bar, pressing something heavy over your head, hoisting your 70 lb. black lab into your car, changing the 5 gallon water jug at work, and moving your own furniture without asking for help? All of this is awesome, and it’s all a side effect of heavy lifting.
Ultimately, I hope that through this article I have solidified these 5 truths for you, and given you a number of reasons to start lifting heavy if you aren’t already. All of us at GGS encourage you to dismiss any fear you may have of getting bulky and step into the gym with confidence and respect for your body — and all bodies.
And if you need help knowing where to start with a lifting program, or you’ve been lifting for a while and want to know how to take it to the next level, that’s what The Modern Woman’s Guide To Strength Training is for. We have 4 levels of programs from beginner to advanced, and each program contains 16 weeks of strength training workouts designed for your specific ability level. Learn more here.