There is a huge urban legend that has been around for years. This legend has been scaring many people who want to lose weight off from the weight room. So the legend goes that if you pick up a weight to workout, you will get so big that you will never lose weight, ever. Thus, the "I don't want to bulk up" legend is born and probably running rampant in your town right now.
This hasn't been the first time I dispute this urban myth and it won't be the last, but just because you work out with weights, does not mean you will bulk up. There are a couple key factors why and I will discuss those right now.
1. Testosterone Levels - If you are a female this is a big reason why you won't bulk up, you don't have the testosterone levels to pack on the muscle the way your male counterparts do. So all those lovely pictures you see of female bodybuilders with no bodyfat and bodies bigger than middle linebackers are not created because they just lift weights. They take something called "steroids" that makes them look the way they look. I lift harder and heavier than just about all of my clients and in my prime, I was 190 pounds. I'm a lean 182 right now, but according to this lifting theory I should be 250 and that just isn't the case. But, I'm a male you may ask, I have testosterone, so why am I not bigger. This leads me to point #2.
2. You Don't Eat Enough - You have probably heard me say people don't eat enough to lose weight effectively. If they don't do that, then they sure as heck don't eat enough to create the caloric surplus needed to put muscle on. I have worked with two football players - one trying to lose weight and one trying to gain. The one trying to lose weight did my metabolic nutrition program and because he is so active we found out he had to eat 3200 calories a day to lose weight. He had to make sure to compensate for all the energy he is putting forth for his practices, then he would be able to lose fat. The other football player wants to gain weight. If he is putting forth all that energy (practicing and lifting), then he needs to eat that much more just to gain muscle. Probably around 5000 calories. So, yes you can add muscle lifting, but you have to combine it with eating huge quantities of food to allow your body to create that muscle.
I wish there was more in depth analysis than that, but it is really that simple. I have females that are training with us that are eating anywhere from 1800-2200 calories a day, lifting three times a day, that are losing weight. Trust me, I know they are lifting hard because I'm putting them through their workouts. So, help me try to debunk this awful urban legend. Lifting weights alone will NOT bulk you up.
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