Whether you have stepped into a gym before or not, I think we can all agree it can be a pretty intimidating place. The weights section of gyms have a bit of a stereotype for being masculine and scary.

Even Mark felt like this the first time he went to the gym...

“I remember (my first time) at the age of about 16 when I first went to my local leisure centre. Now the gym was predominantly male oriented, with muscle Mike throwing his weights around and if i'm honest the atmosphere wasn't overly welcoming. So what did I do... I pretty much stayed out of the ​'​big boy​' ​room and kept to the machines and treadmills. Which is great.. To a certain extent.”

However, over the years, there really has been an awesome shift in the kind of person who is in the weight area of the gym. It is much more likely nowadays that if you were to walk into a gym, the number of females training at the squat rack would equal or even out the number of males.

But, what's changed?

A barrier that we frequently encounter with our new female clients is the belief that weight training is going to result in them looking big and bulky. You know, like muscle Mike from earlier.

It's becoming more widely known that this isn't actually the case. To understand why, we need to look at the differences between the male and female bodies.

In males, the primary hormone responsible for muscle growth and strength is testosterone. Males have approximately 10-30 times more testosterone in their bodies compared to a female.

When females use resistance training as the main method of fat loss, your muscles will become stronger but for the general population it is unlikely that your muscles will grow significantly in size.

If though, as a female, you were to increase the level of testosterone in your body and eat more calories than you are burning then there would be the prospect of increasing muscle size.

For example, female bodybuilders will have a strict diet and strict training regime which enables them to grow their muscles.

Here at MHR Fitness, we tend to focus on resistance training coupled with a calorie deficit for our female clients. This is the sure fire way to help the muscles become stronger and

denser, it burns the layer of fat that covers the muscles and creates the lean, sculpted look that some of our female clients strive for.

So in summary, no, resistance/weight training will not make you look big and bulky! We pride ourselves on a welcoming and friendly atmosphere, ready to help you reach your goals so come down and let's work together!