Ok ladies, I have heard this so many times. “I don’t want to bulk up so I don’t do weights.” Wrong wrong wrong! Let’s start by saying that without the proper nutrition to bulk you will not bulk regardless of how much/how often you are lifting– Whether or not you gain or lose weight is simple math. My TDEE is 2,283 calories– The only way that I would “bulk up” is if I were eating more calories than that while weight training.
. . . It goes to show, you can’t accidentally “bulk up.”
Anyway. Men bulk a lot easier than women because they naturally have a lot more testosterone. This hormone is essential in muscle building. Therefore, if you, as a woman, want to gain mass amounts of muscle it would probably require some form of steroid, or a ridiculously regimented workout plan that will halt estrogen production long enough for your body to create testosterone.
There are also tricks when lifting that will help you to build long, strong, and lean muscles. Do lower amounts of weights but more reps. . . This helps your muscular endurance so that you stimulate your muscles while burning calories. Full range of motion is important too! (A post on this will come eventually.)
I heard a couple talking in the gym the other day and the lady said she didn’t ever do weights for her chest because she didn’t want to lose her breast size. Well, weight lifting won’t do that. She seems to think spot training exists, because this is flat out wrong– The only thing, fitness-wise, that will affect your cup size is your body fat percentage, which is typically something that will go down if you’re working out excessively. . . It has nothing to do with your weight training.