This is something I am dedicated to as a trainer myself, and hopefully this post can serve as a tipping point for anyone who’s questioned the efficacy of lifting, but especially for all my ladies out there. I think the best way to remedy this fear is to educate – teach women how muscle is built, ways to maximize their training for lean goals, and how to eat for lean goals. So now we have a population of women who are not only afraid to lift, but afraid to admit they are afraid to lift. Shut up and go lift.” Or something similar to that. You’re a woman, you don’t have enough testosterone for that. Yet so many women still cringe at the word “muscle.” While I do believe the conversation is changing drastically for the better and lifting is thankfully becoming less taboo, many women are still terrified by the common misconception that lifting weights will make them look “bulky” or “man-like.”Įven worse, I think there is a bit of shaming going on when fitness professionals quickly retort, “Lifting won’t make you bulk, that’s impossible. Muscle gives us a fit, lean look especially when eating a fit, lean diet. And carry our bottles of wine home from Trader Joe’s. But muscle also makes us look hot as hell and enables us to do really cool things at the gym.

And muscle is darn right magical when you think about it! A muscle contracts or releases in order to pull our bones closer together or farther apart, which creates movement. I don’t recommend you try to gauge your progress based on these pictures rather, use them to help guide you when to start and end cut, bulk, and recomp phases.Muscle is beautiful. The guys are all flexing (tensing their muscles). If you’re still unsure after looking at the images, consider using my US Navy Body-fat Percentage Estimation Calculator, which just requires your neck and stomach circumference measurements and height.ĥ. If you haven’t cut down to see your abs before and you are trying to estimate how much fat you have to lose, add 50%, and you’re probably closer to the truth.Ĥ. Most people underestimate their body-fat percentage. This may lead you to underestimate your body fat percentage.ģ.

You can’t expect to cut and reveal decent abs if you don’t have muscle mass. The guys below all have training experience. Bear in mind that the more muscle mass you have, the higher your body fat level you will have visible abs at. cut, it will help guide your decisions.Ģ. I have no way of knowing if the categorizations you will see below are correct, but if you pair this guide with the recommendations on when to bulk vs. I’ve always judged body-fat percentage by eye.

Bulking and cutting pictures