Does Lifting Heavy Make Women Bulky?
NO! I'm going to give you the quick, down, and dirty on muscle. This is the total easy to follow version. Then I will link you to pages that give you the "scientific" talk that a lot of you are interested in reading.
1. Except during the first six weeks of lifting for a complete novice who is totally out of shape, you won't build muscle unless you are consuming more calories than you need each day. As long as you are eating in calorie deficit, doing your cardio, and lifting heavy you will NOT GET BULKY.
2. Ladies, unless you are a genetic freak or buying steroids from Barry Bonds' trainer, you don't have the chemical juice pumping in your veins to build loads of size. At best your program is going to help you be shapely once you LOSE THE FAT.
3. Building muscle is HARD WORK. I eat 140+ grams of protein DAILY, drink two gallons of water DAILY, strength train heavy (and my heavy and your heavy are probably in different categories), take a couple of supplements like creatine and Nitric Oxide to get better muscle tissue, and I am far from bulky. With all of this effort I have barely gained much muscle over the past six months. Maybe 4-5 pounds of muscle and I'm still wearing the same sizes and such.
To be honest, when you are lifting heavy and trying to lose fat you are doing two things: you are preserving muscle tissue so that you will burn as many calories as possible when you hit goal, and you are igniting your fat burning mode by taxing your body in a way cardio will never do.
Muscle is like a five year old; it never gets tired and consumes all your energy. It has high energy demands and unless you are really challenging it with sufficient amount of weights it's the first thing in your body to throw a fit! When muscle isn't challenged enough it is the first thing your body will waste away...way before those ugly fat cells you are sporting.
Fat is like Jabba The Hut. It just sits there barely doing anything, looks like crap, and is hard to move. Your body is going to hold onto fat before and above all else. That's why when you eat in a calorie deficit you HAVE to strength train heavy or you lose more muscle and the ugly fat just sits there proud as a peacock.
Women who usually experience a "bulking phase" and I say that loosely, are typically in one of these modes:
1. New to lifting. Their body is storing water and fluids excessively in response to the new stress. It can take 3-6 weeks for the body to quit overcorrecting. That's fine. Just don't weigh during these weeks and use your mirror as an indicator of success.
2. Eating like Jabba The Hut on top of lifting. Remember, eat like a five year old - you eat just enough and then it's time to play! Just because you workout doesn't mean you get a green light to eat extra. When you eat more calories than you need your body will build a little muscle and pile on some fat with it.
So, get out there and lift heavy if you want to be thin, sculpted, and tight. Here are some other links you can read to give you even more info on why women need to lift heavy.
Josh Hills Site
Weights Will Make Me Bulky
About.com Bulky Article