The one thing that puts most women off lifting weights is fear. Fear of getting bulky. So many ladies think that if they lift anything heavier than a 5lb dumbbell they’ll end up looking like this…
Those that have been reading my blog long enough will know I’ve dispelled this myth on numerous occasions and today, I have my own photographic proof that this just isn’t going to happen without chemical intervention.
I remember, back to March 2010. Just before I started to train seriously for my half marathon, I was training at home and after I’d finished, I got my mini JAG to take a picture for me. I’d just finished training my upper body and I wanted to see how I looked when I was pumped from training. The picture was took and it became one of my favourite ever photos of myself…
Over the next 4 months I was training for my half marathon so my lower body training was changed to lifting lighter weights with less intensity as the DOMS was interfering with my running. However, my upper body regime remained exactly the same.
Once the half marathon was over, my exercise regime returned to what it was – heavy lifting, no cardio – the way I prefer it. I seriously got back into my training in January of this year. When I say seriously, I mean training consistently and lifting progressively heavier weights.
Tuesday, I took a new picture, in pretty much the same stance as my prior picture from March last year…
And here they are side by side…
Definite improvement for sure but upon checking back over my measurements from last year, my bicep is only 1/2cm bigger than it was back in March. Hardly “bulky” is it?
Over those 18 months, I’ve been lifting heavily, eating a surplus of calories for a good chunk of that time and I’ve still not morphed into a female version of Arnie!
Don’t let the fear or worry of getting big and bulky put you off lifting weights. I can promise you it’s not going to happen. Take it from me – the woman that only 2 days ago pulled a 105kg deadlift :-)
