How To Lift Weights Without Bulking Up
Recognise The Benefits Of Weightlifting
“Lifting weights (also referred to as strength or resistance training) is a form of exercise that requires you to perform movements which load your muscles and challenge your strength. This can be done by bearing the weight of one’s own body (e.g. a push-up or bodyweight squat) or by adding external resistance such as dumbbells, barbells and kettlebells. People engage in resistance training to become stronger, fitter, build muscles, optimise weight-loss (by preserving muscle tissue) and to generally become more physically capable.” – Don Graham, head of fitness coaching at Goal Master Fitness
Know That Excessive Bulking Is Hard To Achieve
“If all that comes to mind when you hear the term ‘strength training’ is that veiny body builder in the gym, you’ve got it all wrong. Bulking is actually an extremely hard thing to achieve, and requires precision, dedication and training specificity, so you really don’t need to worry. If I had a penny for every client who ‘wants to tone up but not bulk up’ I’d be seriously wealthy. This fear is the equivalent of accidentally becoming a millionaire through doing well at work.” – Lucie Cowan, trainer at Third Space London
“No training plan in isolation will make you bulk up. You need to consistently and progressively lift heavy weights for a significant period of time while eating in a calorie surplus of an optimal macro-nutrient split, and also optimising recovery and sleep. You also need the particular genetic make-up to gain muscle and to look muscular. In other words, you won't look like Arnold over night or by accident.” – Sarah Lindsay, founder of ROAR
Keep Muscle Mass Low
“Testosterone is the main muscle-building hormone, and women have far less than men. This is another reason not to fear becoming bulky from strength training. Despite this, below are a few of my easy steps you can follow to stop muscle increasing dramatically.
Ensure you are consuming the right amount of food
It is impossible to bulk up from lifting weights unless you are consistently in a calorie surplus. This means that you consume more calories than your body expends. If you are consistently at calorie maintenance or in a calorie deficit you will not get bulky.
Don’t be afraid to regularly lift weights
As long as you are eating at calorie maintenance or, if you are looking to lose body fat, in a calorie deficit, you should make lifting weights the focus of your exercise programme. You won’t get bulky. You will, however, be able to develop a physique that looks firm, toned and lean, especially if you keep it frequent.
Perform compound exercises
These are exercises that require more than one joint to move, such as squats, deadlifts, lunges, hip bridges, rows, push-ups. These movements recruit more muscles than isolation or single joint exercises – such as leg extensions or bicep curls – creating greater stimulus, including calorie expenditure.
Do more work on the areas you want to enhance
If you want to focus on your bum, for instance, do more deadlifts, glute bridges, squats and lunges and consider adding in isolation exercises – such as the seated abduction machine (found in most gyms) and side-lying hip raises. Want more shapely calves? Add standing and seated calf raises to your programme. If you feel top heavy, spend more time training your lower body than upper body. Basically, distribute the wealth of your efforts accordingly.
Do not confuse inflammation with muscle gain
Lifting weights causes your muscles to become engorged with blood; a temporary effect sometimes referred to as ‘the pump’. It also creates micro-tears in your muscle fibres. This and the repair of these micro-tears is the physiological process by which your body adapts to the stimulus of strength training. There may be occasions when your muscles are sore and appear bigger after training, but this is an inflammatory effect, not a sudden increase in muscle mass. Don’t be freaked out and trust that this effect will subside as you get used to strength training.” – Don
Don’t Skip The Cardio
“Combining strength training with regular cardio sessions (such as walking, cycling, or swimming) helps burn fat while maintaining muscle. This keeps your body lean and toned without adding bulk. HIIT workouts are also a great way to burn fat while preserving lean muscle. Short bursts of intense activity followed by rest periods help keep your heart rate up, leading to increased calorie burn without adding bulk, making it perfect for a lean, toned look.” – Rachael Sacerdoti, PT & nutritionist
Work Both Ends Of The Scale
“Plan your workouts around two training systems: strength and endurance. Strength is purely strength with rep ranges of no more than two to six reps for three to five sets. Endurance does exactly what it says on the tin – think 12-20 reps for two to three sets. By leaning towards the endurance training system, you can burn more calories, resulting in fat loss.” – Lewis Paris, founder of Lewis Paris Fitness
Learn The Basics To Notice Weight-Loss Benefits
“Strength training makes up a crucial part of our overall fitness, with a huge range of physical (and mental) benefits for those of all ages, including weight loss and boosting metabolism. As muscle tissue is denser than fat, it occupies less space, meaning that by increasing your muscle mass, you may appear leaner – not larger. If that wasn’t enough, muscle burns more fuel than fat (up to three times the amount) even at rest, which can lead to an increased resting metabolic rate.” – Lucie
Don’t Overdo The Heavy Lifting
“Try not to spend too long in a hypertrophy phase (lifting heavy for 10-12 reps). What occurs in the body is never as exact or simple as that, but you are less likely to keep gaining muscle in a higher range (15+ reps) than a lower one (3-6). For a low rep range to have an advantage, you need to be lifting heavy so you must already be well trained with solid technique.” – Sarah
Learn The Correct Form
“Learn to retract the shoulder blades properly when working out. When people start doing big compound exercises such as deadlifts, pull-ups, lat pull-downs, rows and chest press, they can often use bad form, which encourages the upper traps to take the load. This engagement causes you to build big traps which are not aesthetically pleasing and can appear ‘bulky’. Avoid this mistake by contracting the lower traps instead. T-prone raises, shoulder external rotations and hanging scapular depressions will help build muscular strength in this region which will improve your lifts, avoid unnecessary trap building and decrease the likeliness of any shoulder injuries.” – Lewis
Focus On Balanced Nutrition
“As long as you’re maintaining a balanced diet with a slight calorie deficit or at maintenance, you won’t gain excessive muscle mass, even if you lift heavy weights. Controlling your intake is crucial for staying lean while building strength. Make sure your diet supports lean muscle growth by incorporating plenty of high-quality protein, but avoid overconsumption of calories.” – Rachael
Run Through This Mental List Before You Lift
“As much as we’ve identified weightlifting as playing an essential role in our health, if done wrong, it can lead to injury and imbalances fast. Because of this, you should always make sure you have a full biomechanical assessment and get yourself a good bespoke programme to follow. I also always tell my clients that they shouldn’t start lifting heavy weights before mastering proper technique with lighter weights. Finally, remember that heavy lifting all starts with a strong core. Through engaging the core and learning how to adopt the canister position, we can build a strong foundation from which to safely increase the weight selection. Remember, it must be a gradual increase, rather than just starting with a heavy weight. Make sure you know how to execute each move correctly with perfect technique using only your bodyweight, before attempting to lift with heavy weights.” – Lucie
Finally, Know Your Limits
“Train for intensity rather than volume, and avoid lifting for hours on end every week. A 45-minute strength session three times a week really is enough. Lift the heaviest weight you can lift, while maintaining good form, and incorporate multi-joint, compound exercises wherever possible. If you can do 12-15 repetitions and find that you could keep going, your weights are too light.” – Lucie
SL’s Favourite Strength Training Classes & Services In London…
Romans at F45, classes from £25, F45Training.com
Strength, Cardio, Tone at Good Vibes, from £25, GoodVibesFitness.co.uk
PT training at Third Space London, ThirdSpace.London
Strength Conditioning at Sweat By BXR, from £30, BXRLondon.com
The Yard at Manor, from £19 per session, MyManor.London
Visit THIRDSPACE.LONDON & follow @ROARFITNESSGIRL; @ITSSOSIMPLE_RS; @LEWISPARISFITNESS
DISCLAIMER: Features published by SheerLuxe are not intended to treat, diagnose, cure or prevent any disease. Always seek the advice of your GP or another qualified healthcare provider for any questions you have regarding a medical condition, and before undertaking any diet, exercise or other health-related programme.
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