The myth about getting "Bulky"

Since my blog on April 11th about gaining a few pounds, I have had a lot of questions regarding bulking up! Many woman are afraid of this. They feel that by lifting they are going to get "bulky". I am not going to lie, I had this same mentality for many years. I thought if I lifted anything more than an 8 lb free weight I would get huge. The reality is YOU WONT! 

Women genetically are not inclined to get big. In fact, even men have to work hard at gaining muscle. Men do have a tendency to get bulkier than women because of their testosterone levels. Women carry about 15-20 times less testosterone than men. Testosterone is an anabolic hormone which means it causes muscle gain. Women carry larger levels of catabolic hormones which causes the breakdown of muscle tissue. Therefore, making it a lot harder for women to gain muscle. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catabolism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anabolism

 <--- Not bulky    Bulky --->







For those of you that find the left picture bulky, I am sorry but I cannot help you there. To me I see a healthy and lean individual. The person on the right, well thats another story.  

Women have this perception of being bulky because all we ever see is the chemically altered bodybuilder (ie. the women on the left). These women are full of supplements and/or steroids. I am not knocking what they do, whatever floats your boat, but honestly these supplements take what makes a man bulky and put it into those ingesting it. So if you take what makes a man and put it in a women, you are gonna get a man! That's why they look big and bulky like a man. Women NOT on supplements or steroids will build muscle but without those high levels of testosterone, you wont get big, you will only get toned. The easiest way to explain it is like this, think of muscle hiding under all that fat. All you are doing when you get "toned" is stripping away layer by layer of fat to show more muscle. Essentially women look leaner when they lift. 





Any type of training, Such as Crossfit, that lasts longer than 60 seconds per set stimulates a cardiovascular response from the body and the release of glucocorticoids, a hormone that helps in the breakdown of muscle tissue. Therefore, as long as you are cautious about the reps and time frame of your workout you cannot bulk up. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glucocorticoid


I say I would rather have a healthy lean body rather than a giggly one. Do not pay attention to the myth of becoming bulky because scientifically its impossible. 






I am a women who for almost half her life worried about her weight. I currently weight the most I ever have (besides pregnancy) and I feel great. I walked into my doctor today and got on the scale. Normally, even though this sounds crazy, I would have to get on the scale facing the other way so I couldnt see the numbers. I was that crazy about weight that I couldnt bare to see it. Today, I didnt feel the need to do that. I was proud of my 5 pounds gained. That for me is a BIG win! 

Yours Truly, Crossfit toned,
Samantha