How to avoid building bulky muscle...

Ahhh, the fear of the bulky muscles.

It's kind of like the black jelly bean...

Keep that bulky muscle away from me!

I want that leeeeeaaan muscle.

Give me those green and red jelly beans.

I remember the first time I started lifting weights and I'll never forget what happened...

I picked up the weight, put it down, looked up into the mirror and...

Poof!

My neck disappeared into my chest. My arms looked like tree trunks with no definition. My belly somehow grew uncontrollably.

I was infected with the "hulk bulk"! Ohhh no!

Ok.. none of that actually happened.

Eventually I realized the importance of building muscle.

And the jelly bean analogy is actually a terrible one.

Black jelly beans are real...

Bulky muscle is not.

It's a myth.

A better analogy would be the boogie man.

Bulky muscle is like the boogie man.

If you're afraid of it.. you're afraid of something that doesn't exist.

Muscle is muscle.

There's no such thing as lean muscle vs bulky muscle. (However, muscle helps you get leaner). Stay with me here...

Now, an individual can get bulkier or leaner...

But the difference is in body fat.

The idea of bulky muscle originated from bro science.

Gym bros who never wanted to pay attention to their nutrition decided to start calling their fat gain a "bulk" or my favorite - "bulking season". 

"Bro, look at how jacked I'm getting! I've gained 10 lbs in the last month!"

Sorry, my friend, like 8 of those lbs are fat.

Even still, when a bro goes on a bulk and gains a bunch of fat (with some muscle).. the muscle they build is just muscle.

It's not bulky muscle.

The fat they gain is what makes them look bulky.

Don't want to look bulky? Don't gain fat.

Pretty simple.

However, the fear of building muscle continues to plague people from achieving the bodies they desire.

Shelly: "I want lean muscle tone!"

Cool. Grab a crayon and color your muscles. That's muscle toning.

Note - I hate the word "toning".

What Shelly means is she wants to get leaner.

She wants muscle definition.

She does not want to be infected by the hulk bulk.

What she fails to realize is that her lack of muscle definition is due to her lack of muscle. Period.

And she's certainly not going to fix that with pink dumbbells or getting on the elliptical for an hour.

She needs muscle. She needs to eat to build muscle and train to build muscle.

It's not lean muscle vs bulky muscle. It's just muscle.

I get it, I get it.. Shelly doesn't want to get bulky in the process.

Which won't happen unless she gains a bunch of body fat. Which isn't necessary.

She also doesn't want TOO much muscle.

Good luck trying to build too much muscle.

There are MEN who desperately want to build muscle that are struggling to put on one lousy pound of muscle. 

Women can realistically build about .5-1lb of muscle per month.

And that's if they actually train smart enough and recover well enough and eat smart enough to accomplish that.

It's not easy and it doesn't happen quickly.

Gaining 5 lbs of muscle would help Shelly out tremendously.

Not only would she look better, but her metabolism would be in a better spot as well.

She'd be able to eat more without gaining fat.

She'd be improving her hormone profile, health, and longevity.

It would take her 5-10 months to accomplish that.

So are we really worried about being infected with the bulk?

Or are we simply afraid to lift more and eat more?

If you can get over that fear and actually commit to the process of eating and training with the intent of building muscle...

Your whole world will change.

It will be the single greatest gift you give to yourself this year and beyond.

Don't believe me?

Just try it.

What's the worst case scenario?

You decide you don't want to look better, feel better, have more confidence, get stronger, and be a better role model...

Cool. Then you can stop.

No harm, no foul.

Worst case scenario - you decide you don't want to do it anymore and stop

Best case scenario - you improve your metabolism and hormonal profile, you get stronger, look better, feel better, and have more confidence

Ready to claim the best case scenario?

I have it mapped out for you here in Thrive, a 12-week training plan to help you build muscle and lose fat.

Later tater,
Coach Mike