TOP FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS #12
“I don’t want to get big muscles, I just want to get toned. How do I do that?”
This has to be the #1 question asked by women (don’t worry guys your question comes up next time in FAQ #13). In some respects the fear is unfounded, it literally doesn’t happen like that.
Bodybuilders work *extremely* hard to get bigger muscles and leaner physiques. Their diet for getting lean and growing muscle may consist of protein powder, chicken breast, fish, eggs, lean red meat, nuts, limited complex carbs, vegetables and an occasional fruit. Only. And ongoing.
That’s right, no dairy, no pasta, no bread. No soda or cheeseburgers, no ice cream or sauces. It’s also planned out ahead of time so they know exactly how many calories and macronutrients they are getting at regular intervals.
On top of that, they work out daily and often twice per day. They struggle every workout to push for more weight on each rep. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t. They typically go for lower reps but more sets.
They know exactly what they should be doing because they track everything. It may be an app (ex. https://www.jefit.com) or it may be a generic pen and paper notebook (https://amzn.to/419pUVW).
This takes years. It’s not like you go to the gym all out for one week and you look like a bodybuilder. Doesn’t happen. Not to mention that the average person doesn’t have the time or desire to work out this hard and eat this clean every single day for several months.
At your basic workout of 3 sets and 12 reps with average difficulty weights, you won’t be building enough muscle to look like a bodybuilder. Even at a harder difficulty weight for 4 sets and 10 reps, you probably won’t.
The great thing is, if at any point you feel like a muscle is getting too big, you simply back off with the weights and do more reps! But for most people, especially women, it won’t be an issue.
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Have more questions? Check some of the answers out here: https://innerathlete.us/frequently-asked-questions/
Sources: Bored Panda