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I’m a huge fan of barbell workouts and want to quickly dispel the myth that women will get bulky with typical strength routines. She obviously can do any type of exercise she likes, but hate to see ladies fear the barbell as it can be incredibly empowering (and give you a great shape!) We have to work extraordinarily hard and with intention to get “bulky” since we don’t have the hormones to support that kind of muscle growth :)
Sorry I don’t have any real recommendations for you, I just bought a fantastic booty building program but it does have some deadlifts and hip thrusts
NASM certified personal trainer here 🙋🏻♂️
That’s a very common myth that women have! The thought that lifting weights of any kind will make them “bulky” or “too muscular”. It’s very important to realize that in fact, food and nutrition are the real drivers of getting “bulky” and “muscular”.
I work with some female clients who tend to automatically associate weight lifting with masculine muscles and weight and muscle again.
One of the first things i have to explain is that there is absolutely no way to build muscle unless you eat more. You can lift 7x a week, but if you aren’t EATING more calories, you will not gain muscle.
At the end of the day, lifting weights is your body producing force, which requires your body to burn calories. Therefore if you keep your diet relatively the same, it is almost impossible to gain “too much muscle”.
That being said, here is a very simple weight lifting workout that I usually start my clients with:
Day 1: PUSH day
1) 5 minutes of treadmill walking (or other cardio)
2) barbell squat 3 sets of 10 (if she’s just starting I would recommend just the 45 lbs bar
3) bench press 3 sets of 10 (again just the bar) or if she can’t do the she, use dumbbells!
4) dumbbell shoulder press 3x10
Day 2: PULL day
1) 5 mins of treadmill walking (or other cardio)
2) Leg curl machine 3x10
3) machine cable row (back) 3x10
4) dumbbell bicep curls 3x10
Day 3: Cardio and abs
1) 20 mins treadmill walking
2) ab workout (really anything will do) 3x10
2) 20 mins of cardio
This Is a very simple 3 day workout schedule that will introduce her to some of the most basic weightlifting exercises. If she’s a beginner it’ll give her more than adequate time to rest and recover!
There’s plenty of non “bulky” fitness instagrammers that can dispel that myth asap. If she’s willing to try, she can check out one of the Strong Curves programs. There’s a subreddit for it. She can also check out xxfitness as this question has been asked regularly there
You have to eat a lot and lift a lot to get bulky. Try CrossFit. I love my bae because (among other things) she works a lot being a C herself and worksout with weights. She’s hot.
Women will have to do a lot of workout with very heavy weights and eat a lot to bulk. We don’t have that high testosterone levels.
Your so can get some paid plans from Ashley Horner. They are paid and bit expensive but get on sale sometimes.
She can also get free plans with little research. Since she is just starting, learning the correct form is very important and hiring a trainer for first few months would help in this case
You all rock! I’m aware that women have a much more difficult time getting that “bulky” look without a dedicated effort, but, as most of you have pointed out, it seems to be a belief that is permeated amongst the untrained.
I’ll suggest FA1s protocol, since she’ll enjoy the well defined plan + a dedicated cardio day. Thanks a bunch!
One other thing, do you think hiring a trainer for a beginner is a good approach in general? Any certifications that carry more weight than others?
I do feel confident that I could give her the right direction regarding form / general fitness, but I can definitely see advice coming from an SO as being interpreted differently, especially since I primarily powerlift and have a different set of goals than her.
I use Strong Lifts and love it!