I teach aerobic classes. A lady has been coming for 5 months, not using more than 5 lb. weights, and now isn't coming and she is saying that she is bulking up rather than toning down. Her thighs and arms are getting bigger. What do I say to her?
Tell her the truth. to bulk up or to gain any weight, lean muscle OR fat you have to consume more calories than you are burning. And there aint no way your gaining large amounts of muscle off of 5 lbs weights.
But maybe she is gaining small amounts of muscle. More muscle is good, that equates to more metabolism as each pound of muscle roughly burns 50 calories per day just to function. Gaining muscle doesn't mean your going to look like mr olympia though and that is what scares people away from weight training alot. Your bicep is roughly 5 to 6 lbs of muscle. So if you gained 5-6 lbs of muscle all over your body, your not going to suddenly wake up super bulky.
Another factor that confuses people is when you gain any muscle, but before you've burnt off alot of your fat, the muscle is going to 'push' the fat out and the result you may think you are 'fatter'. This is never more true than around the midsection.
And possibly one other scenario, she maybe just be eating more thinking she can get away with it since shes doing aerobics and simply gaining fat.
As a weightlifter, I think it's almost impossible for a woman to "bulk up" in the way that so many women fear. I would have to be consuming many more calories than I do currently, taking creatine or other supplements, and lifting super-heavy weights before you would notice any muscle-related bulk on my body. Right now, I can bench press about 75 pounds and do bicep curls with 20 pound dumbbells. Despite these weights, I'm definitely not bulky like a man. It just isn't physically possible.
You may want to take the approach with your client that increased muscle mass is nothing to be afraid of. In fact, it is very desirable in helping women combat bone and calcium loss that occurs naturally as we age. Increased muscle mass also equals increased metabolism, which means that, if she keeps eating the same amount of calories that she does now, she will be able to lose weight without having to make drastic cutbacks in her diet.
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