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“Every time I’ve tried lifting weights I’ve just gotten bulky. I want to get leaner. What am I doing wrong?”

There are many ways of “lifting weights” and many of these ways result in bigger, stronger muscles. For most people who are lifting weights to get bigger and stronger, this is a good thing. But for those who are lifting weights to achieve a lean athletic look this is not a good thing. Here’s the deal: Most trainers, like myself, initially learn about working out by doing it themselves. Most men begin lifting weights to get bigger and stronger by using a bodybuilding lifting style. When these men become trainers, this is usually how they teach their clients to workout. Good for clients looking for big muscles, not good for clients, particularly women, looking to be more athletic and “toned” looking. 

In the pursuit of a streamlined and toned athletic body it is important to take whatever is good for building bulk and do the opposite. To start with, most machines were designed with bodybuilders in mind to allow the bodybuilder to isolate only one muscle at a time and overload it with lots of stress so it can grow to an unnatural size. So for athletic development, stay away from machines. Instead, use primarily free weights, cables and bodyweight exercises that use multiple muscles at one time. 

The other way to build big bulky muscles is to do lots of exercises and sets for the same muscle group in the same workout. A bodybuilder looking for large arms will typically do 3 to 4 sets of 3-4 different exercises in one workout all for just the arms. You need to do the opposite. Do only 3 sets of 1 or 2 exercises per muscle group during any particular workout. Your workouts should be full body workouts so the muscular stress is spread out over a larger group of muscles. 

Much of what is perceived as bulk is what bodybuilders strive for and is known as “the pump.” “The pump” is an accumulation of blood and fluid in the muscle that engorges and swells the muscle to above normal size. Continuously performing a high volume of exercises that pump the muscles over a period of time will lead to an increase in size and bulk of that muscle. That is generally the difference between nice defined muscles and bulky puffy looking muscles. Defined and solid muscles are built by hard work and good nutrition without the puffiness of fluid retention that is created by bodybuilding methods. 

In a nutshell, for an athletic looking muscular physique without bulk, perform full body workouts in a circuit fashion, moving quickly from one exercise to another. Circuits can consist of anywhere from 3 to 10 exercises, with 3-4 being the most popular. Use enough weight to make 10 -15 reps challenging and go through each circuit 3 times. Circuits should be built with exercises that use large muscle groups and have a high core involvement. The following is an example of a circuit workout for a lean and athletic look. 

Muscle without bulk. 
• Push ups with feet on stability ball 
• Alternating dumbbell rowing 
• One legged skater squats 
• Bicycle crunches 
Peform all four exercises in a circuit for 10-20 reps per exercise with little or no rest between exercises and repeat the circuit 3x. We would do another 1 or 2 circuits like that to complete the full body workout and do this 2 or 3x per week. Come in and try one of our Athletic Fat Burning Circuits for free!

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