Will I get "too big" from lifting weights?

[ripitupbaby]

I'm pulling some discussion from another thread to start a thread about this topic. 
I think that it is a common mis-conception by many women that lifting weights will make them look "too big" or "too muscular."

Whether trying to drop body fat, look more toned, look more "fit," get stronger, feel better, or just live healthier, resistance training is a critical element. 

Seriously, all these girls that look at the contest condit Women BBers and say... "I don't want to work out 'cause I don't want to get all muscular looking..."  They don't understand HOW MUCH ABNORMAL SUFFERING IT TAKES GET RIPPED LIKE THAT!

It ain't gonna happen to 'em from working out.

I like to encourage ALL women to lift weights, and to go heavier than they think they can go in the gym. 
It's a common misconception that lifting weights will get women all muscular, bigger than they want to be, etc.  Lifting weights does great things to all women's physiques, no matter how big or small, lean or fat.  And being stronger also comes with a greater sense of empowerment and overall well-being.   

[ripitupbaby]

I definitely agree about convincing women to lift heavier.  I do some personal training, and one of my biggest pet-peeves is seeing the women in the gym do 500 bicep curls with the little 2 lb. dumbbells. 
Personally, I love lifting heavy, and really enjoyed my off-season when I could really push with the amount of weight I was lifting.  If it wasn't for a pretty extensive gymnastics background, I would probably do bodybuilding.

[ripitupbaby]

The AFTERBURN effect of resistance training is important for women to keep in mind when putting together a training regimen designed for fat loss.  Cardio is not always the best answer and should not be the ONLY exercise incorporated into the regimen.



*FROM
Lift Your Way to Weight Loss
by Laura Seuferling, Valley Medical Center*

The key to successful long-term weight loss is to maintain or increase your RMR by increasing your lean mass. This is most effectively achieved by lifting weights, or resistance training. Traditionally, exercise programs for weight loss have focused on cardiovascular exercise such as walking, jogging, swimming, aerobics, etc. This type of activity is an effective way to burn calories, but it will not raise your metabolism on a long-term basis. In fact the “afterburn” effect of a typical workout usually only lasts 30 minutes to 2 hours. Aerobic exercise also does not maintain or significantly increase the lean mass, so even regularly active people will have the age-associated reduction in metabolism. Therefore, to burn more calories 24 hours a day, seven days a week, you should add a weight-lifting program to your cardiovascular regimen.

...

A weight lifting program to help increase your metabolism should focus on muscle hypertrophy—meaning an increase in muscles size. For those of you concerned about developing big muscles, most women don’t have enough testosterone to get very bulky unless they do a hard-core regimen of lifting 1-2 hours every day.
Your program should include exercises for all of the major muscle groups: chest, back, shoulders, arms, and legs. Ideally, you should lift 3 days a week, but 2 days will still bring results.

[ripitupbaby]

*FROM Burn More Fat - Secrets of Exercise Physiology*

Muscle burns more fat. Weight training is increasingly recommended as a fat-busting tool because some experts say extra muscle burns more energy than body fat at rest, so if you develop more muscle and have a higher muscle to fat ratio than before, you must burn extra energy and more stored fat as a result. This is true and has been shown in metabolic studies. However, the differences are not that dramatic; perhaps less than a few tens of calories per day for each pound of muscle increased, for most people.

Does that mean you shouldn’t worry about weight training? Certainly not, because weight training has many other benefits for health and performance, not the least of which is extra muscle. It’s just that this advantage has been somewhat overstated and we need to get this fat burning thing right in order to develop the best weight loss and performance programs.

Getting the afterburn. Okay, so extra muscle does not provide that much advantage, but what about the afterburn? The 'afterburn', or the amount of energy you use after you stop exercising, has been promoted as an important slimming idea. If you can get afterburn, which is really another way of saying your metabolism increases for several hours or longer after a particular exercise, then that’s a bonus because you burn fat during the exercise and after you cease as well.

[ripitupbaby]

*FROM Boosting Your Metabolism (Fitness Forum)

Does aerobic exercise also give you an afterburn?
Yes, but it probably doesn't last as long as the weight-training afterburn- unless you work out intensely or do interval training. Most studies have found that mild to moderate exercise elevates metabolic rate for only a few minutes to a few hours. If, for instance, you jogged at 70 percent of your maximum heart rate for a half-hour, you probably wouldn't experience an afterburn for more than an hour. "For most people it'll be less than that," Melby says, burning no more than 15 to 30 calories. On the other hand, highly trained athletes who can run for, say, 90 minutes at 75 percent of their maximum heart rate, might have significant afterburn for several hours. The bottom line: Focus on burning calories during your workout, not after.

As for why strength training has more of an afterburn than moderate aerobic exercise, scientists aren't sure. One possible explanation, Melby says, is that anaerobic exercise, such as weight training, might elevate levels of the hormone epinephrine, which stimulates metabolic rate. Another theory: The repair of microscopic tissue damage caused by weight lifting might expend more energy.

[ripitupbaby]

*FROM Weight Gain for Women


1) Women have the false impression that weight training will make them look masculine.
A remarkable number of the emails I receive from women looking for weight gain advice always think to tell me either "I don't want to look like a bodybuilder" or "I don't want to look like a man."

Fortunately, women simply don't naturally possess the hormone levels (primarily testosterone) that will allow them to become huge muscular creatures. No amount of weight training is going to change that.

Women see a photo of a "bodybuilding woman" who may not be their idea of beauty and these photos lead to an irrational fear of free weights.

...

If you felt you were becoming "too big," if your boyfriend started hiding behind you at the first sign of trouble, you could simply stop.  Muscle is easy to lose.
Weight training does not start you on an irreversible path towards becoming a female Shwarzenegger.

...

You have to venture outside of your comfort zone, skip right past the machines and head directly to the free weights. Your goal is to inspire muscle gain and nothing will inspire muscle gain like free weights.
Learn how to effectively and safely squat and you'll possess one of the greatest skills for lean muscle weight gain known to woman.

[ripitupbaby]

Weight Training Helps Women
Long-Term Training Ups Growth Hormone Used for Stronger Bones and Muscles

By Daniel DeNoon
WebMD Medical News

Dec. 1, 2006 -- Women who undergo long-term weight training have more active forms of bone- and muscle-strengthening growth hormone.

That finding comes from a detailed study of different forms of growth hormone seen in young women who underwent various weight-training regimens.

The study, by researchers from several U.S. sites, was led by William J. Kraemer, PhD, of the University of Connecticut at Storrs.

In the study, women who underwent six months of moderate- or high-intensity training and aerobic exercise had increased levels of various forms of growth hormone.

Moreover, the types of growth hormone were more biologically active than growth hormone variants found in women who did not regularly exercise.

The conclusion?

"Women need to have heavy-loading cycle workouts in their resistance training routines, as it helps to build muscle and bone," Kraemer says in a news release.

The findings appear in the December issue of the American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism.

Growth Hormone Important for Women

The pea-sized pituitary gland at the base of the skull makes growth hormone.

This molecule has the remarkable ability to break down and reform into more than 100 variants.

Researchers are only beginning to understand that these variants can have very different actions.

For women seeking to build and maintain bone and muscle, growth hormone plays a more important role than it does in men.

That's because men's bodies rely more on the male sex hormone, testosterone.

In the study, Kraemer's team looked at 74 healthy women who had not worked out regularly for at least a year. On average, the women were 23 years old, just under five-and-a-half feet tall, and weighed just under 141 pounds.

A third of the women did not enter an exercise regimen and served as a control group.

The remaining women were divided into four exercise groups.

One did moderate intensity, whole-body weight training to build strength. A second group did high intensity, whole-body weight training to build muscle.

The third and fourth groups did only upper-body training, either at moderate or high intensity.

All the training groups also did 25-35 minutes of aerobic exercise three days a week.

After six months, the different exercise groups had different kinds of increases in different growth-hormone variants.

It's not yet clear what these differences mean. But overall, weight training significantly increased the women's biologically active growth hormone levels.

"This study shows that not every form of growth hormone responds in the same way, but is dependent upon the exercise protocol," Kraemer said.

"This may forever change the way we look at growth hormone in the circulation with exercise and training," he says.



Published December 1, 2006.

[ripitupbaby]

One more for now...there are just so many good reasons for women to train with weights.   

*FROM The Many Benefits of Weight Lifting For Women


Despite the overwhelming benefits of weight lifting for women, why are so many women scared to lift weights?

Because they're fearful of turning into raging hulks or gaining the muscle of an Arnold Schwarzenegger.

But this simply does not happen and should not prevent women from using resistance training in their fat loss plans.

Men and women need to train and work out similarly if they want to see results.

Much like a man and woman will get a sunburn the same way (light or sun) a man and woman need to train the same way to get leaner and more toned.

Human beings lose fat and gain lean muscle in the same manner. Physiologically, they have to.

Now, some of the RESULTS will be different for men and women, but the approach should be the same.

The reason the results may differ is that weight lifting for women cannot build as much muscle as men can.

Women do not have enough testosterone in their bodies to pack on a lot of muscle.

So they tend to lose fat and tone up, where as men will gain more bulky muscle.

But again, the approach for men and women must be the same if any results are to be achieved.

In fact, weight lifting for women is one of the best ways to prevent against bone diseases.

Weight-lifting exercises monitored by University of Arizona researchers showed that women can maintain and build their bone mass and muscle strength in the hip and spine areas, where most fractures occur from the brittle bone disease of osteoporosis.

The study also showed these exercises help build and preserve the muscle mass lost during aging.

The more stimulation the bones receive, the denser they will be.

Without a doubt, weight lifting for women should be top priority when it comes to losing weight, toning up, or just plain getting into shape.

A few other benefits of weight lifting for women are:

*** It helps directly in weight loss because the more lean muscle a women has, the more calories she burns even at rest!

*** Weight training can also help improve a person's mood.

*** People who begin weight training can expect substantial increasing in strength.

*** Weight training also will increase muscle endurance, making aerobic exercise easier.

Bottom line...weight lifting for women is a must for overall great health!

[corinth]

This is a great topic for a thread.  I've had this exact conversation with many women who are hesitant to add resistance training.

Too many women are under the impression that all they have to do is pick up a weight and they are going to gain 20 pounds of muscle.

If only it were that easy!!

Everyone, any sex, any age, should take advantage of all the amazing benefits of resistance training.

The only caution I would give to women who are concerned about gaining too much muscle is to keep an eye on pressing movements for legs. I know quite a few women who's legs really seem to respond quickly to squating and leg pressing. They just seem to grow every workout. If that happens, just go easy on the pressing and stick more to exercises like extensions and hamsting curls.

Other than that, Just do it!!

[ripitupbaby]

The only caution I would give to women who are concerned about gaining too much muscle is to keep an eye on pressing movements for legs. I know quite a few women who's legs really seem to respond quickly to squating and leg pressing. They just seem to grow every workout. If that happens, just go easy on the pressing and stick more to exercises like extensions and hamsting curls.

I have this problem for sure, and that's why I do a lower body workout that involves lighter weights and higher reps when I am not trying to add size to my lower body. 

There are definitely plenty of ways to train with weights and capitalize on the benefits of resistance training without putting on alot of size. 

[trab]

Having more lean mass on yur frame, is like blowing on a fire. It speeds up calorie burn.
Lots of big Dudes prob is eating enough to fuel all that lean tissue. Gets to be a vicious circle.
Build more, needs more Kcal's.

[ripitupbaby]

Having more lean mass on yur frame, is like blowing on a fire. It speeds up calorie burn.
Lots of big Dudes prob is eating enough to fuel all that lean tissue. Gets to be a vicious circle.
Build more, needs more Kcal's.

True...I kinda wish I had that problem...I can always manage to find a way to over-shoot my daily caloric needs

[BuffGoddess]

I love it when I see others post this subject. As a personal trainer, I get women who come to me all the time and say they want to get toned, but they don't want to "get big like me"...I try to explain to them in a calm and rational voice that they won't. Coming in 2 or 3 times a week and lifting moderate weight is not enough to put on mass. It requires immense dedication to diet and training to get a show winning physique. Thanks for posting one of my favorite "soap box" subjects!!!

[Luv2Hurt]

A female friend was gonna start working with a trainer and she asked me some advice on what to seek in her goals.  I said tell the trainer you wanna get as big and muscular as you can!!....that is your goal. 

[Hedgehog]

I'd love to have these women's potential for putting on mass.

Apparantly, they can grow into freaks just by looking at weights.

[parsnip1965]

Will I get "too big" from lifting weights?

Let's hope so.

Seriously, what I tell women who say that is "not unless you have a special genetic gift for getting big without a lot of effort, and you probably already know whether you have the gift or not.  And if you think you're getting too big, stop lifting.  It takes years of unbelievably hard work to look like [fill in the blank, whoever]."

[freespirit]

I'm pulling some discussion from another thread to start a thread about this topic. 
I think that it is a common mis-conception by many women that lifting weights will make them look "too big" or "too muscular."

Whether trying to drop body fat, look more toned, look more "fit," get stronger, feel better, or just live healthier, resistance training is a critical element.

Like this for example:           Warning, contains nudity!

http://fc02.deviantart.com/fs11/f/2006/212/f/1/standing_flyaround.gif