Many women believe that resistance exercise causes weight gain and a “bulky appearance.” Yes, strength training can lead to weight gain. You can almost certainly count on that. That is, nonetheless, totally acceptable.
If the gains you’re seeing are in Lean Body Mass, your weight may stay the same or even rise, but you’ll appear more lean and toned.
To begin, let's be clear about how muscle is gained. Muscle growth occurs when the rate of muscle protein synthesis exceeds the rate of muscle protein breakdown.
In other words, you can only gain muscle through a process in which resistance training breaks down muscle fibers and then repairs them with enough nutrients from diet and rest. As a result, the muscles will grow in size, resulting in [muscle hypertrophy](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6950543/#:~:text=Muscle hypertrophy occurs when muscle,muscle protein breakdown [8].).
It is important to note, however, that muscle hypertrophy occurs at different rates for different people. Building "bulky" muscles take time and effort, and it is not a common result able to be achieved through weightlifting for the majority of women.
It's understandable that seeing selfies of men in the gym with massive muscles while scrolling through social media can be frightening. And you might worry that working out in the gym will only lead to a bulky appearance.
Contrary to popular belief, women do not have the same level of testosterone as men, which is the primary hormone responsible for muscle hypertrophy. In general, women's bodies only contain 10% to 20% as much testosterone as men's bodies. As a result, women are much less likely to gain significant muscle mass from weightlifting.
You might have to eat more calories than you needed to in order to appear "bulky.” This is due to the fact that gaining muscle requires a calorie surplus.
Several studies%2C%20respectively%3B%20Figure%20%E2%80%8B) have shown that women tend to have low-calorie diets and, worse, low protein intake. This dietary habit was strongly linked to sarcopenia or progressive muscle loss. Instead of being concerned about gaining too much muscle, the problem of muscle loss should be prioritized among women.
Aside from that, muscle building requires progressive overload in weightlifting. This is because muscle gain will adapt to the same weight carried during your exercise routine. To achieve greater muscle gain, you must gradually increase the weight lifted.
Learn how much muscle you can gain in a month
