Worrying About “bulky” Muscles in Women Is Sexist Bullshit

There are code words about strength training for women. It is assumed that we are afraid of becoming “bulky” and instead want to build “long lean muscles.” The kids are told in no uncertain terms that lifting weights will make them big, muscular, horny; women will somehow be only “in good shape.” This is patriarchal nonsense that hides how our body actually works.

This is not new nonsense either. Just look at this article by powerlifter and historian Ian Todd about one of the greatest strongwomen in history, Katie “Sandwina” Brumbach. Over and over again, people praised her for being strong, yet beautiful and, most importantly, not muscular. Typical quote: “The female Hercules has a beautiful figure, full of symmetry and not tainted by the display of muscles.” She was literally a strong woman. It was her job.

It is impossible to walk the tightrope of femininity / muscularity to everyone’s satisfaction. You will have one visible muscle and there will be people in your life saying ignorant things like the ones listed on Instagram @ you.look.like.a.man (which overlays these nasty comments on nature photos so we can estimate how absurd). On the other hand, if you look too feminine, there will be people who think you cannot be strong. Can’t a girl just pick up some things calmly?

I mean, there are obviously suitable women with every body type imaginable. Workout can give you Michelle Obama’s arms , or it can make you fucking torn apart . Where you end up on this spectrum is more or less under your control, but you have to understand how things really work.

You Can Increase Muscle And / or Decrease Fat

That’s all. That’s all.

If you work a muscle and work it harder over time (for example, lifting heavy weights), it will get bigger.

If you consume fewer calories than you burn, you will lose weight. If you do it responsibly, you will lose most of your weight from fat. (Do it responsibly: Eat a lot of protein, continue strength training, and don’t push your calorie deficit too much.)

Losing fat is a whole-body affair: you can’t choose where to lose fat, you just have to wait and see.

However, you can control muscle growth a little. If you want to increase the size of muscles in a specific area of ​​the body, work on them more and more often.

What are “bulky” muscles?

I asked fitness trainer Sohee Lee to clarify what people mean when they talk about their ideal body. She has a refreshing science-based approach to fitness, focuses on strength training for her audience and clients, and works with many people who have very specific aesthetic goals for their body. Here’s what the code words usually mean:

Long and lean: “They’re probably looking at someone like a Victoria’s Secret model.” Lee recalls a 5’2 “client sending her a picture of a 5’9” supermodel. This body type includes a little muscle and very little fat, but no amount of workout will make you long and tall. “You need to lengthen your limbs somehow.”

You cannot change the length of your muscles because they are attached to your bones. (She also notes that you’re looking at someone who’s become a model because they have unusual genetics in many ways; you don’t necessarily have to be lucky to get fat distribution or whatever.)

If we eliminate the long from the equation, we are left with lean, which simply means low body fat. This is something you can work on, mainly through your diet. However, reaching the level of supermodel skinny isn’t for everyone either. But you can lose some fat if you have that goal.

Bulky: “Usually what people mean when they say ‘I don’t want to be bulky,’ they mean when you have a lot of muscle on your body, but you also have a good amount of fat covering it. … “

You won’t get bulky by accident. To get this type of physique, you need to exercise a lot and eat a lot. This is a body type that is often suited to powerlifters and other athletes who need a lot of strength and who are not overly concerned about overall body size.

I’ve found that sometimes when people talk about women who seem big to them, they think of someone like a bodybuilder with a lot of muscle. These competitors also have ridiculously low body fat percentages; they exercise a lot, build muscle, and then in the months leading up to the show, they’ll go on a diet and dehydrate themselves to get that extremely torn look. Once again: not by chance.

In good shape: the muscle “tone” in the technical sense means how tense the muscle at rest. It’s not what you’re training for, but sometimes people use it to refer to muscle without a lot of fat on it. (“Tinted” arms can look and feel firmer than arms with more fat or less muscle, which is why I assume the term has come to be used that way.)

So if you want to look fit, you need to build muscle, and depending on how much fat you get in the beginning, you might want to lose fat. That’s all! You don’t need any exercises to get the job done; you can lift tiny dumbbells or heavy iron. And, despite what you can hear, the number of reps you do – five heavy biceps curls versus 50 lungs – won’t affect what happens to your body.

“These days, social media influencers say, ‘Well, this is a tonic workout,’ says Lee. “Toning workout is the same as muscle building workout!”

So what happens if you just … practice?

“If you eat right, you can fully gain muscle mass and keep fat gain to a minimum,” says Lee. This seems to be a common factor in what most people want. She says that if one client wants to look fit and another wants to be really muscular, she will recommend similar exercises but different diets.

In this context, smart nutrition means eating enough protein to support muscle growth while maintaining a reasonable amount of calories. Too many calories and you gain fat too; too little and it will be difficult for you to build muscle.

People who are new to serious exercise or who need to lose a lot of fat can burn fat and build muscle at the same time. This process is known in fitness circles as “rearranging”, but you may also know it as “oh hey, my clothes fit better now.” This is a thing that sometimes happens by accident, just because you exercise more and eat well. If you’re starting a new exercise program, consider measuring your body so you can keep track of how your body is changing – your weight on the scale may not change if muscle gain and fat loss balance each other out.

To get more accurate results, you can talk to a professional who will advise you on how to exercise and what to eat (these can be two different people; most trainers are also not dietitians). But to answer the paradox we started with: yes, you can build muscle. And you decide how much you want.