The Fear of Getting Bulky from Strength Training.

Sep 11

Let’s chat about a concern that many women who come to work with me express when they are getting started: “I want to strength train but I don’t want to get bulky.”

Many times on the inter-webs, the response to this query is all the ways that it would be just so hard for women to get bulky, how dedicated a woman would have to be to build the amount of muscle that the trainers assume the person asking the question is avoiding, the surplus of calories the woman would have to consume to be “bulked up.”

Everyone wants to address all the reasons it is just ludicrous for woman to be concerned about this because “it would never happen because of x,y,z..” but no-one is actually addressing the must larger question.

First, what does “bulky” actually mean?

By definition it means “taking up much space, typically inconveniently; large and unwieldy.”

So, why are so many women afraid to take up space? To be bigger.

Why are so many women actually afraid to build muscle? Why is it so terrifying to get bigger?

We’re taught to not want to look “bulky.” The same way we’re taught to not want to “look chubby.”

We’re taught to fear having a muscular body type by diet companies pedaling the “ideal” body type that is rooted in diet culture, the patriarchy, and yes, racism.

These companies convince us that we should want “long lean muscles”because having bulky muscles is “manly”. And that a woman should never want to be too masculine looking because that’s not desirable or attractive. That the image of the thin, white, blonde barre instructor is what we should be seeking - (this is not to shame the body of that thin, white, blonde woman but to put into perspective how the images that we are shown as ideal)

This fear of appearing too masculine is based on systems of the patriarchy that teach us that our bodies’ purpose and worth are based on the male gaze and how desirable we are. They aim to keep us small and weak so we take up less space and are easily controlled.

And we run ourselves ragged trying to shrink ourselves trying to fit this ideal.

Muscle is lean, period. And muscles don’t actually get longer. That’s all marketing.

Lifting weights in a progressively overloaded way and eating enough food consistently is going to help you build lean muscle. Your genetics as well as how you train will play a role in how this looks on your body. This might mean your muscles look different than mine.

Continuously eating too little and not lifting over 5 lbs is most likely not going to build lean muscle. And doing that will very likely leave you feeling like you’ve failed when you do not see the results you’re seeking.

Strength training has a myriad of amazing benefits for women, especially over 35. And so many of us are missing out on those benefits because of this culturally-instilled fear.

Now I believe in body autonomy. So if you choose to seek intentional weight loss or choose not to strength train, you do what you want to do.

But I want you to be able to make these choices actually knowing what you are choosing and why.

So when we’re talking about the fear of becoming bulky let’s first ask ourselves why we are so fearful of that type of body aesthetic.