The claimEvidence B · meta-analysis
Lifting weights makes women bulky
The evidence
Men's blood testosterone is more than 15 times women's; with the same strength training women gain muscle at a similar relative rate, but from a much smaller base, so the result is lean and defined, not a bodybuilding-stage look.
The mechanism, in brief
Strength training will not give a woman a bodybuilder's bulk. What is missing was never training hard enough; it is that hormonal environment.
Sources (5)
- Morton, R. W., et al. (2018). A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 52(6), 376–384.
- Schoenfeld, B. J. (2010). The mechanisms of muscle hypertrophy and their application to resistance training. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 24(10), 2857-2872.
- Handelsman, D. J., Hirschberg, A. L., & Bermon, S. (2018). Circulating testosterone as the hormonal basis of sex differences in athletic performance. Endocrine Reviews, 39(5), 803-829.
- Roberts, B. M., Nuckols, G., & Krieger, J. W. (2020). Sex differences in resistance training: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 34(5), 1448-1460.
- Bhasin, S., Storer, T. W., Berman, N., Callegari, C., Clevenger, B., Phillips, J., Bunnell, T. J., Tricker, R., Shirazi, A., & Casaburi, R. (1996). The effects of supraphysiologic doses of testosterone on muscle size and strength in normal men. The New England Journal of Medicine, 335(1), 1-7.