Afraid of The Incredible Bulk?

We have heard it from women more times than we can count, "I don't want to bulk up".  If lifting heavy weights meant looking like the picture above, we would be saying it too.  But one of your trainers can bench press well over 100 pounds and perform a seated row with over 150 pounds, and the other can push 400 pounds on a leg sled when training to do so.  And the last time we looked in the mirror neither of us saw anything approaching the above photo. 

So what gives?  Testosterone, anabolic steroids, and supplements give women a body that is "bulked up".  Women simply do not produce enough testosterone to develop bulky muscles.  On average, men naturally produce about 18 times more testosterone than women.  And even men who train to develop bulk typically take anabolic steroids and supplements. 

Women should actually be more concerned about losing muscle than gaining muscle.  From a fitness standpoint, our bodies are already starting to go downhill by our mid-30s.  According to Michele S. Olson, PhD, a FITNESS advisory board member and professor of exercise science at Auburn University at Montgomery in Alabama, "Starting at around age 35, women lose 5 to 10 percent of their lean muscle mass per decade.  So when you're 45, even if you weigh the same as you used to, you've probably lost about eight pounds of muscle and replaced it with eight pounds of fat."  That decrease in lean muscle mass leads to a 48-calorie-a-day decrease in your resting metabolic rate. That may not sound significant, but it adds up to about five pounds of fat gained a year.

We can't turn back the clock but we can significantly slow the aging process by maintaining a well rounded fitness program.  Part of that program includes lifting weights.  And ladies, we are not talking about 5 pound dumbbells unless you are just beginning a weight training program.  Lifting heavy weights using compound, functional movements will give you a strong, functional body.  It will also enable you to be more successful at achieving the other thing that we hear time and time again from women, "I want to lose the belly fat".

In spite of all the benefits to be realized from lifting weights, a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that a mere 19 percent of women weight-train twice a week or more. We are glad that if you are one of our Warrior Women you are part of that 19 percent and don't be afraid to increase the weight you are using.  The only thing to be gained is a lean strong body!