Will Lifting Weights Make Me Bulky?
In the spirit of not burying the lead, the short answer is “no, lifting weights will not make you bulky.”
There’s a longer answer and if you want to learn a bit more, then read on. If not, you have all the information necessary to make your choice and yes, you should be lifting weights as it’s so good for so many things.
Does Muscle Weigh More Than Fat?
It’s pretty commonplace for people to have the understanding: muscle weighs more than fat. This is NOT actually the case the way it’s commonly stated. Muscle is more dense than fat SO…
- 1lb of fat does not take up the same amount of space as 1lb of muscle
- However, if we filled up the same amount of space with both tissues, muscle would [in fact] be heavier. This is what people are referring to
All this to say, if you weighed exactly the same, you gained skeletal muscle, and your body fat dropped a good amount, you would probably not fit in your same clothes (but for the good reasons)!
A Beginner’s Guide To Make Yourself Bulky…
- Eat like you’re trying to gain a bunch of weight
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- This is not to say that eating at a little bit of a calorie surplus will make you bulky (especially if you’re eating the right stuff). Rather, eating way more like a bodybuilder going through a building/bulking phase.
- They say the hardest part of gaining a bunch of muscle is the “eating enough food” part. The sheer quantity of food you need to eat is quite ridiculous and way more than you think, so you probably need not worry about the eating too much part.
- And that’s pretty much it!
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- Can lifting weights, in any capacity, add muscle to your body? You bet it can! And this is NOT a bad thing, by the way
- It’s what you’re doing with your eating that will net the result you’re looking for or not looking for because as we talked about: muscle density does not equal fat density.
- In fact, you will be smaller as you lose fat and gain muscle (even if your weight stayed exactly the same)
Don’t Shy Away From The Weights
There are too many benefits to lifting weights to stay away from them:
- Improved metabolism
- Improved insulin sensitivity
- Better hormone balance and [thus] feeling better
- You’ll be stronger and able to handle yourself
- Improved longevity (hey, can you get up off the floor on your own and through ALL years)
- Perhaps sleeping better is important to you?
- More durability in your muscles and joints
- And so much more!
Happy lifting!
