Elena Voropay – Natural Health and Fitness Blog

By Elena Voropay

Weight training for women is not new. In fact, in more gyms now you can see as many women as men mastering their techniques on the resistance machines. But some women are still skeptical about pumping iron. Some are scared of becoming big and bulky, others find it too hard and heavy, and then there are others who just don’t feel quite right lifting, pushing and pulling. Then there is another breed of women who are scared that weight training would increase their appetite making them so hungry that they wouldn’t be able to stop eating and end up gaining weight instead of losing it. After all, why some women do become quite muscular and big while others drop sizes and become more feminine after a few weeks of resistance exercise?

So, what’s the real story behind all the myths circulating around? If experts say that women can’t get bulky, why some women build big muscles? Here are some potential reasons.

1. Training Program

When it comes to the workout, same rules applies to both men and women – lifting heavy weights with as few as 4-10 repetitions stimulates muscles to grow stronger and bigger. On the other hand, challenging muscles with lighter weights for more than 15 repetitions is likely to simply tone up and shape your muscles without much increase in size. You also have to remember that, as everywhere else in life, results you get from weight training depend on the amount of effort you put into it. If you work out on a regular basis, push yourself beyond your comfort level, constantly increase the resistance or the weights you lift, you will progress.

In order to bulk up, you will have to train 5 times per week to stimulate muscle growth, eat three times the amount of food you eat plus take supplements to provide sufficient energy for growth, sleep at least 8 hours every night and reduce the stress level in order to give your body the optimal environment for recuperation from exhaustive training. In other words, growing muscles is an extremely difficult task and requires a lot of attention and effort.

2. Genetics

We all know someone or have heard of someone who can eat anourmous amounts of food without watching their diet and never gain weight. Others, on the other hand, count every calorie they put in their mouth and seem to gain weight by the hour. Why is it happening? Without blaming all the injusticies in the world, the answer may be found in our genes. What we have inherited from our parents plays a huge role in how our bodies respond to various stimuli.

Our genetic makeup determines what types of muscle fibers we have and where they are distributed. It determines our ratio of testosterone to estrogen and where we store body fat. And it also determines our body type.

3. Body Type

Both men and women can be classified according to their body type. There are three general body types – Mesomorphs, Endomorphs and Ectomorphs. While the classification is an easy and convenient way to differentiate between various predispositions, every individual is likely to have characteristics of more than one body type.

Mesomorphs usually have a muscular and lean physique, tend to be athletic and have high resistance to disease. This type responds to weight training more favourably and builds muscle mass faster than endomorphs or ectomorphs. Typical bodybuilders are mesomorphs and are blessed with fast metabolism.

Endomorphs are predisposed to being more rounded and voluptuous, even overweight and obese. People with this type tends to be slower in actions and more sedentary than the other two types. Endomorphs can build some muscle mass with weight training, but the importaint positive impact of weight training for this body type is increased metabolism resulting in decreased body fat.

Ectomorphs tend to be slim, have high metabolism, low body fat and less muscle mass than their counterparts. The effect of resistance training is expressed not so much in building size, but rather in making muscles stronger and denser. Ectomorphs can be found among runners, skiers, and other endurance athletes.

A good weight training program should be written depending on your body type and your goals. For example, if you are an endomorph, higher repetitions with lighter weights followed by cardiovascular exercise will help you lose body fat while shaping a strong dense and slim physique without adding unnecessary bulk.

4. Hormones

This fact has been around for quite a while now – women don’t have the hormones to build large amounts of muscle mass. Even when following the same weight training program, men can grow huge bulky muscles while women show only slight increase in volume but greater increases in density of muscles. The reason is in male hormone testosterone which is responsible for building muscles. While women have some testosterone circulating in their systems, mostly they don’t have nearly as much as needed to bulk up with weights.

Evolutionary, men were blessed with this hormone to be strong hunters and provide for the family. Women were blessed with all the child-bearing hormones to give birth and nurture future generations. The traits remain to this day. What should be considered, some women naturally have higher testosterone levels and tend to respond to weight training by building muscles faster than others. Interestingly, some men may have higher levels of estrogen, a female hormone responsible for additional fat on your hips and around your belly.