Oh no.... I don't want to be bulky and butch....

Yep that's right ladies I'm aiming this at you!!! (Okay and some men?!) Nearly every week I have about 5 out of 10 clients tell me they don't want to get bulky or butch, always a different one each time. Lets all just take a minute to sit and think about this..... Done??

First things first, you will not get big and butch by lifting weights, well yes you will but thats with a different training style, High Volume - Low Reps combined with a appropriate diet to bulk! Yes to shift some weight you may have to lift a big heavy weight or two. Do you know why? No you don't well why the hell not?? Let me explain...

Strength training for women has been shown to decrease body fat percentage by 3% in just a matter of 10 weeks for those lifting twice a week for an hour each time. That's because you get more calorie burning pump for your time, and after you have finished your workout. A study in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that women who did an hour of strength training burned about 100 calories more the day following their workout than they did when they didn't lift weights. That amounts to about four and a half pounds of fat burned per year for women who lift weights three times a week! When you replace 10 pounds of fat with 10 pounds of lean muscle, you can effortlessly burn up to 50 calories a day. I mean who doesn't want that?!

Strength trying also decreases the risk of several things such as Arthritis, Osteoporosis, Weight Gain, Muscle Dystrophy etc. Healthy I know!!!

The Fear- That awful fear of looking like a bloke...

It;s common for women to fear looking manly and bulky as that is a typical thing to happen to the men during training. But due to those awful female hormones and the high presence of Oestrogen in the majority of women it will not effect the density of muscle and the size, so thus will not cause that butch look. For women to train with weights, their muscles will more be inclined for more tone, endurance and strength in stead of size. As you will hear what those female body builders go through to get in the shape of their lives, they will miss certain things that our hormones bring along due to their low body fat percentage, as their body is unable to produce oestrogen quick enough for them to be able to function as a female which is why you will see more of a definition in their muscle structure. 

So lifting a heavy weight will not make you big and bulky if the exercise is right for what you want to achieve. 

Training techniques are key when it comes to training with weights. Best exercises the enhance the female body are:
Squats (OH YEAH)
DeadLifts (Big boy stuff)
Pull Ups (Assisted of course)
Core work (That does not mean ab workouts girlies*) 

So how about giving those 4 exercises a go and see how it can change your body. 

Cheers then, see ya. 

Beth xoxo