A lot of people, especially females, believe that if they lift too many weights, then they will get bulky. As a result, many people skip the weights completely when they are looking to lose weight and tone their body. The reality is that those people are missing out on some essential pieces to aid in their weight loss efforts.
Depending on the type of program that you’re on, there’s a great chance that lifting heavy weights will not make you bulky. We will go into detail as to how you can accomplish that feat and give you tips to help you reach your goals.
1. Have a Low-Calorie Diet
The main reason why people gain weight and get bulky when lifting weights is because they also have a high-calorie diet. When you lift weights, you are going to build more muscle mass, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you are going to look like a power lifter. Having a balanced diet with a mix of proteins and good carbs will go a long way in ensuring that you don’t get bulky when lifting weights.
Foods like eggs, green vegetables and fish are great to eat before and after workouts. They are filled with essential nutrients that you need to stay healthy and they will help your body recover more quickly from your intenseworkouts.
2. Add in Some Cardio
If you only lift weights, but you still want to lose body fat, then you will probably struggle. Mixing in a little cardio with your weight lifting routine will help accelerate the weight loss and also keep the bulkiness off.
And the best part about it is that you don’t necessarily have to do a lot of cardio. Start off with just running or jogging twice per week for 30 minutes or so each time. You can eventually work yourself up to doing cardio more frequently and for a longer period of time. Just remember that since you are doing weight training as well, that you don’t want to overdo yourself and actually cause more harm than good.
3. Change Your Workout Routine
When you keep your muscles guessing, you will reduce your risk of getting bulky when you don’t want to. Work on your arms one day and your legs the next day.
If you want to lose weight in your legs, then working them on a daily basis will gain muscle, but also give them the appearance of being bulky. This is also where a mix of cardio will help as well. Your muscles need some time to relax after they’ve been stretched out. The more you work them on a consistent basis, the better the chance of them looking much larger.
4. Change Up Your Weights
Some people think that lighter weights with more reps will prevent their muscles from getting too bulky. That is only partially true.
The truth is that you can get bulky whether you lift heavy weights or lighter weights. It all depends on the diet that you have to go with it. If you keep your body guessing and do heavy weights sometimes and light weights other times, you will actually be working different parts of your muscles, so a certain area won’t be receiving all the attention.
So What Should You Do?
The key to losing weight without getting bulky comes down to balancing a good diet with your exercise. A lot of weightlifters don’t like to mix in cardio with their workouts, and they tend to look a little bulkier as a result. If your main goal is to lose weight, then you really don’t have a choice but to do some sort of cardio a few times per week.
It is true that if you want to have more strength, then you need to eat more food so that your body has enough nutrients to get through an intense workout. That could lead to unwanted weight gain, but as long as you switch it around and eat lighter when you aren’t lifting heavier weights, then you shouldn’t notice much of a gain in muscle mass.
It’s important to mix in heavy and light weights into your workout routine, so don’t be scared of doing either. There are plenty of ways that you can lift weights without getting bulky, and my advice would be to try them all.
Consistency is key, but so is variety. As long as you follow these few tips, you will be on your way to losing weight, being healthier, and looking exactly how you want to over time.
Nancy Lang
