Alright ladies…it’s really time to quit being afraid of lifting heavy. Just today alone, I have read so many blog posts and entries online about women not wanting to lift heavy because they’re afraid of bulking up. In order to seriously gain weight and get bulky muscles like the professional bodybuilders, you’d have to do a lot of strength training and a whole lot of eating. You DON’T have to stick to 3 and 5 pound dumbbells for your workouts.

Think of it like this…bodybuilders who have tons of muscle mass also have crazy high metabolism levels and are constantly eating. Even those who are professional athletes have to eat a ton of food to just maintain what they have, not to mention if they actually try to put on more muscle.

I’m very open with my fitness – I include all of my daily workouts right here and I post pictures too. I have done overhead shoulder presses with 15 pound dumbbells, I’ve bench pressed 100 pounds and I’ve done squats with 75 pounds. You’ve seen the pictures here…I am not “bulky” at all.

You can’t be afraid to challenge your body, that’s the only way you’re going to see the results you want. A 3 or 5 pound dumbbell (or no dumbbell use at all) is perfect for beginners, but eventually your body will get used to it and stop responding as well as it did before.

It makes me angry when women think they’re going to get huge if they lift heavy. It takes a lot more than lifting heavy to get bulky. My husband is right around 200 pounds and he struggles to put on muscle. It’s NOT easy. If a person is after a toned, muscular body, lifting heavy can get you there. I’m not saying a person needs to lift heavy all the time, but people shouldn’t be afraid to in fear of getting bulky.

Sometimes it’s fun to really push yourself and see how much you can really lift. You’ll probably surprise yourself! I did!