Flat abs and lean legs are great and everything, but come spring, the thing most people are coveting are sculpted shoulders and arms. After all, short sleeves and warmer temps mean bearing our arms, but it’s never fun to feel self-conscious about them. Often women find themselves wanting a strong, sculpted upper body but are afraid to do what is necessary to achieve such a goal for fear of “bulking up."
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It’s a common misconception that lifting heavy weights—especially for the upper body—will make a woman bulk up and look more like a man. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Why? Bulking up comes from three things: hormones, calories and LOTS of time in the gym working out. Of course, good genetics help too. Let’s take a look at how each of these plays a part in making bigger muscles.
HORMONES: First, women do not have enough natural testosterone to make big, bulky muscles. The women you see in bodybuilding competitions have likely used anabolic steroids or other hormone injections to give them the needed substance to increase their muscle to that size. Also, most women with large, sculpted muscles have that type of body built into their genetics. That, coupled with a strict training regimen gets them to where they are. It does not happen by accident. And of course ANY growth in your body—whether fat or muscle—requires extra calories.
FOOD: Bulking up can only happen when enough calories are added to your diet to support muscle growth. A skinny high school boy who goes to a trainer to put on muscle mass is told one very important thing: EAT! I’ve seen boys told to eat as much as 7-8,0000 calories a day or more to gain any weight at all. Gaining any mass on your body—muscle or fat—must be accomplished through extra calories. If you keep a healthy, moderate diet, you will not bulk up by weight training. You will simply remove some of the fat that covers up your muscle below.
TRAINING: Finally, those big bulky muscles you see are not achieved without spending many, many hours in the gym lifting very heavy weights. Lifting weights for 30-45 minutes, 2-3 times a week will not make you bulk up. It will only help you achieve a more sculpted, fit appearance.
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Now that your fears of bulking up are allayed, let me remind you of one important fact about achieving a sculpted and shapely upper body: you need to lift heavy weights. Tiny little dumbbells are great for recovery from injury or to keep older adults in a functional fitness program. And sure, some moves that take the weight farther from your body (like side or front shoulder raises) might require something lighter. But if you are interested in making changes to the shape of your body and in losing fat, you need to lift weights that challenge you.
So pick up those weights—those HEAVY weights—and let’s get started. The following workout covers all upper body muscles and takes you through something called “supersets.” It means you will work two different exercises in a row for the same muscle group. This will push you more swiftly to the results you are looking for! How do you know what size dumbbells to choose? Remember, if you perform 12-15 repetitions and could keep going for more, your weights are too light. However, if you can’t even get to 8 repetitions without muscle failure, the weights are too heavy. Choose something challenging but doable. Exercises pictured are the first exercise in the set; for photos for all exercises, simply click on their name to be shown a visual demonstration.
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Original article and pictures take www.verywell.com site
