Does Weight Training Really Reduce Breast Size In Women?

One of the most common myths about weight training for women is that weight training reduces breast size and creates a flat manly looking chest. This misconception has prevented many women from incorporating weight training into their quests to lose weight and firm up their bodies- a path that inevitably leads to failure as weight training is without question the most effective way to really tone up and develop a tight body. But what about the prospect of becoming flat chested? To answer that I can honestly say that unless you plan on starving yourself  or using anabolic steroids, women have little to worry about in terms of their breasts getting smaller from weight training. In fact most tend to see a slight increase over time!

Weight training properly executed with sufficient intensity, adequate rest and nutrition will bring about an increase in muscle size of any part of the body that is being worked.  This holds true whether it be it the pectoralis muscles of the chest (or pecs as many call them) or the muscles of your arms and legs. The way that this process (hypertrophy) works is that individual muscle fibers will get bigger (slightly bigger, that is, you won’t see mountains of muscle sprout on a woman without the use of anabolic steroids as it takes men with ten times more testosterone, years upon years to develop a muscular physique) or they will split and then get slightly bigger. The fibers of your pectoral muscles are all constituents of skeletal muscle whereas breast tissue is made up of sex specific adipose tissue (fat), ligaments, connective tissue and mammary glands. There are no skeletal muscle fibers found in the breasts as they simply sit directly over the pectoralis muscles. Weight training therefore can have no direct effect on them whatsoever.

Weight Training Doesn’t Affect Breasts Only The Muscles Underneath

Breast schematic diagram (adult human female cross section) - Legend: 1. Chest wall 2. Pectoralis muscles 3. Lobules 4. Nipple 5. Areola 6. Duct 7. Fatty tissue 8. Skin. Image courtesy Patrick J. Lynch, medical illustrator

Breasts thus cannot hypertrophy or get larger due to weight training, but by increasing the size (slightly, ladies) of the pectoral muscles under the breasts there will be a natural increase in overall chest size. It may then appear that the breasts look a bit larger as they will stand up a bit more (which, is something most women would not mind) but the actual size and composition of the breasts themselves will not change. A study conducted in the University of Arizona back in 1985 confirmed this phenomenon in a 21 day study that used concentric and eccentric contractions with a specialized chest exercise machine. After the three week program researchers found no changes whatsoever in the size, shape or volume of the breasts of the women participating after extensive scientific measurement.

So what about those flat chested women in the magazines with thickly developed chest muscles and no breasts? First off all the female bodybuilders that we typically see use drugs to develop unnatural degrees of muscular development and body fat reduction and do not represent in any way what a regular woman would look like if they weight trained. The size and shape of breasts in a healthy woman is fairly resistant to change as long as there are normal conditions of hydration and food availability, but in cases of extreme under nutrition (for example the type of starvation diets that bodybuilders undergo to get that lean and vascular look or someone with an eating disorder like bulimia or anorexia) where there is a severe reduction of body-weight and overall body fat the breasts which have a high proportion of fat, will shrink. In the case of the female bodybuilders- you see the dense muscle tissue in their chest area and no breasts and the assumption is erroneously made that somehow the weight training made their breasts go away whereas the truth is that the shrinkage came from the reduction in body fat and nothing else.

Weight Training Can Help You Look Better All Round!

That being said, natural female bodybuilders who don’t aspire to have 3% body fat levels (and can’t without the use of potentially dangerous male hormones, growth hormones, insulin and thyroid drugs) don’t tend to have the same flat chested look as their drug using counterparts, nor the thickly muscled pecs that many find a bit off putting. There is some reduction as they diet down, but most of the size lost in their chest area comes back when they resume eating normally. The other factor that can cause breast size to change is obesity- in which case the breasts become larger as body fat increases past healthy levels. Some women who are overweight look positively on this increase in breast size and are reluctant to exercise or diet for fear of reducing their bust size. For someone who is overweight to trim down to a really toned body, there will be some loss of breast size- from the loss of body fat. But keep in mind that weight training can help lift what remains and make you look better all round!

Kevin Richardson is the creator of Naturally Intense High Intensity Training 10 Minute Workouts™ and one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City. Get a copy of his free weight loss ebook here.

Nuts Will Not Make You Gain Weight 

You can’t have your cake and eat it as the expression goes, but you can have nuts and not worry too much about weight gain even thought they are high in calories and fats! One of the most interesting observations that I have made over the years is that people are able to eat peanuts and tree nuts in significant quantities and still lose weight in spite of the significant amount of calories that come with every handful. Nuts of all kind (what we categorize as nuts are not actually nuts at all- almonds, walnuts and pecans are technically fruits, cashews are seeds as are candlenuts, pistachios and pine nuts, macadamias are kernels and peanuts are actually legumes) are high in many valuable nutrients and have tremendous health benefits. Many nuts are rich sources of vitamins E and vitamin B2, and are rich in high in protein, making them quite popular among those who choose to avoid or limit their meat intake. Nuts are also high in folate, fiber, and vital minerals such as magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, and selenium. Nuts are also very high in fats namely essential fatty acids linoleic and linolenic and most of the fats found in nuts are unsaturated and include monounsaturated fats which are extremely beneficial. Studies have found that people who consume nuts on a regular basis are less likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease¹ and that certain nuts such as almonds and walnuts can lower LDL cholesterol levels (the bad cholesterol)^2,3. In addition to their heart friendly benefits, nuts are also recommended foods for individuals with Type 2 diabetes thanks to their very low glycemic index. The problem is that because of their high caloric nature, many are afraid to add them to their diet for fear of gaining weight. Interestingly enough there are several studies that have validated what I have seen for several years now, namely that you can ingest a significant number of calories from nuts and not gain weight.

Studies On Nuts And Weight Gain

During a thirty week study of fifteen healthy normal weight adults at Perdue University participants added approximately 2000 kJ worth of peanuts to their regular diet for eight weeks and then for the next eight weeks peanuts replaced an equal amount of other fats in their diet. Researchers found that the subjects compensated for 66% of the energy provided by the nuts and body weight gain was far lower than expected with an average gain of only 3.6 kg. However when customary dietary fats were replaced with calories from peanuts body weight was maintained perfectly. Resting energy expenditure was increased by 11% after regular peanut consumption for 19 weeks and more importantly the high consumption of peanuts did not turn them off to its taste or lead them to consume other snack foods during the study. The study concluded that despite being high in calories, peanuts have a high satiety value and chronic ingestion evokes strong dietary compensation and little change in energy balance.⁴ Another study found similar findings with almonds. This study’s aim was to determine if adding 1440kJ (about 343 calories) of almonds in a daily diet would elicit positive energy balance and body composition change. For the duration of the 23 week study with twenty women there were no changes in bodyweight from daily almond consumption, but an inefficiency in absorption of energy from almonds was noted. The study concluded that a daily 340 calorie serving of almonds enough to brig about positive cardiovascular effects could be added to the diet with a limited risk of weight gain.⁵

Why Nuts Don’t Make Us Gain Weight

Why is it that nuts seem to defy the laws of thermodynamics that do not apply to other foods? We don’t exactly know why you can ingest more calories than the body needs to maintain an energy balance from nuts and still not gain weight but some data points to the fact that eating nuts increases the amount of energy our body expends and there seems to be evidence that our bodies do not absorb calories from nuts very efficiently. In either case these mechanisms seem to offset most of the calories ingested or the weight loss studies conducted all found that dietary compliance was improved when nuts were permitted. I personally include in all weight loss dietary recommendations for my clients for the health benefits and the fact that it does provide a welcome guilt free treat that actually helps you stay on your diet as well. Just be sure to get the unsalted variety!

Kevin Richardson is the creator of Naturally Intense High Intensity Training 10 Minute Workouts™ and one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City. Get a copy of his free weight loss ebook here.

Being Skinny Doesn’t Mean Being Healthy

In today’s society, especially for women, being skinny is the ultimate goal of most people interested in weight loss.  The media not only bombards us with a constant barrage of ultra thin models to advertise everything from clothing to cars while medical experts continuously tout the reduction of risk of metabolic related disease by being thin. But the question remains, can you be on the larger side and still be in good health? The reality, outside of selling fat burning supplements diet pills, tummy tucks and liposuction is that getting fit is far more effective at reducing the markers for type 2 diabetes, hypertension and heart disease than by just being thin. 

You Can Be Overweight And In Better Health Than Someone That Is In A Healthy Weight Range

According to a study conducted at the University of Exeter in the U.K., longevity and good health comes far more from your activity levels than by simply being thin. The study observed the health of four groups of adult males, those who were thin and in good physical condition, those who were thin and in poor physical condition, those who were overweight but in good physical condition and those who were overweight and in poor physical condition. What was important for the relevance of this study in the real world is that everyone in the fit groups were long term exercisers and not just a group of people put on an exercise program for the purpose of the study. Blood sampling revealed an interesting fact: that both groups that were in good physical condition had significantly higher hdl (good cholesterol) levels than the unfit groups. 

Visceral Abdominal Fat Levels Are Lower In Overweight People Who Exercise Regularly

What was also significant is that the visceral abdominal fat and liver fat, which have been shown to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (see my article on the dangers of visceral abdominal fat) was far lower in the overweight group of men in good shape than the overweight group of inactive men even though their body fat percentages were the about the same.  So although someone might be classified as being overweight because their Body Mass Index (BMI) is on the higher side and they have a higher body fat percentage as long as they consistently engage in intensive regular exercise it appears that they will not have a dangerous visceral fat distribution around their internal organs. At the end of the day a low fitness level is a far greater threat to your health even though you might be thin and svelte. 

The Biggest Predictor Of Mortality Is Fitness Levels Not BMI

Overweight but fit people are often healthier than their slimmer counterparts!

The study at Exeter University isn’t the only one that has come to these conclusions, a study here in the U.S. of 5,400 adults found that half of those classified as overweight and one third of those classified as obese according to BMI standards were found to be metabolically healthy. That means that they did not have any indicators that might suggest a predisposition to health problems. The study also found that a quarter of those that fell into the ‘healthy’ weight range had at least two risk factors for cardiovascular disease. A 12 year study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association that looked at mortality rates among 2,600 adults aged 60 and over found that while death rates were highest among the very obese (those with a BMI of 35 or higher), fitness level was always the strongest predictor of mortality risk, not BMI. Those who scored the lowest on treadmill tests were four times more likely to die in the next 12 years than those who had high fitness levels. 

Regular Exercise Is Far More Important Than Simply Being Thin

The message is simple- looking good is great but the key to longevity and good health is regular exercise. Keep that in mind the next time you look in the mirror and don’t quite see the six pack you might want to see- by exercising regularly and watching what you eat you’ll live longer and be in better shape that someone who may be skinny but is inactive. Keep training! 

Kevin Richardson is the creator of Naturally Intense High Intensity Training 10 Minute Workouts™ and one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City. Get a copy of his free weight loss ebook here.

Ultra Low Body Fat Isn’t Healthy

In today’s world being ‘ripped’ and ‘cut’ with an ultra low body fat percentage is often considered the Holy Grail of most people’s fitness aspirations. Images of fitness models, bodybuilders and other athletes with abdominals rippling and every muscle beautifully defined with ultra low body fat percentages adorn the pages of so many magazines and advertisements for health related products and services that many are led to believe that being under 5% percent body fat ( for men) and under 10% (for women) is the be-all-and-end all to their fitness dreams and aspirations. For many it also represents the quality of being super fit, and sadly few are aware that models and athletes they look up to don’t stay at such ultra low body fat levels for more than a few weeks out of the year and that in that state they are often very far from being fit and healthy.

Bodybuilders & Cyclists Aren’t Healthy At Extremely Low Body Fat Levels

As a natural bodybuilder I regularly competed at an insanely low body fat percentage of 3%. It was a grueling experience every time and in that world anyone over five percent was considered fat! Keep in mind that the average healthy young male has a body fat percentage of 10-20%!  This type of skewered perspective doesn’t only exist in the bodybuilding world, as the same rigorous standard applies for many other athletes as well. Long distance cyclists are a prime example. All the major contenders for the biggest cycling event in the world, the Tour De France, compete at just about 5% body fat or lower. Take a look at Lance Armstrong’s pictures right before a race and you’ll see that he has a bit of a gaunt look to him as opposed to what he looks like when he isn’t competing. In the cycling world the formula for winning an event like the Tour De France requires a sustainable energy output of 6.7 watts per kilogram of body weight. Increasing power is difficult however reducing body weight is a bit easier so cyclists do their best to be as light as possible by losing as much body fat as humanly possible.

Our Bodies Need Body Fat To Function

The problem is that our bodies need fat to function correctly and it might surprise you that the same athletes that look like the epitome of health don’t feel that energetic at such low body fat levels and suffer from suppressed immune systems and are extremely susceptible to colds and other viruses. Females usually experience a cessation in their menstrual cycle as a consequence of going too low as the body perceives itself to be in the throes of starvation and does its best to not get pregnant as it no longer has the capacity to carry a baby to full term with such low energy reserves. It is truly not a state that the human body wants to maintain and it explains to a large degree why it is inherently so difficult to reduce your body fat levels and why we have to go to unhealthy extremes to get ourselves at an ultra low body fat level.

What does it feel like to be under five percent body fat? I can tell from my experience that it isn’t pleasant at all. When I was competing the second my fat levels dropped below 5% the lethargy set in. I hardly had the energy or desire to do very much and my face had the sunken look of someone that hadn’t eaten in several months. It seemed as if someone so much as sneezed in my direction I would get a cold and I felt cold all the time (your body uses a layer of fat as a form of insulation to keep in your body heat- take that layer away and you lose heat very quickly and will have trouble staying warm in a cold environment.)  Above all I would have difficulty staying asleep- the body perceives such low fat levels as a famine response and forces you to stay awake longer in the hopes of finding food. When I filmed my workout DVD I had already made the decision that I would never again follow any type of extreme diet nor would I ever let myself drop under 5% body fat. Not only is an ultra low body fat level unnatural but we know now that fluctuations in weight can result in an increased risk of cardiovascular disease  and at the end of the day being healthy is more important than trying to achieve a low body fat percentage. The key is to find your own level and not use the calipers as part of a race to see how low you can go. Interestingly enough I can naturally maintain a level of 6 to 7 percent just by eating well and feel fantastic. But that relatively small dip of only two or more percentage points to under 5% makes a huge difference in terms of energy levels and overall health.  It just goes to show that there is a fine line between being superfit and super unhealthy.

Kevin Richardson is the creator of Naturally Intense High Intensity Training 10 Minute Workouts™ and one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City. Get a copy of his free weight loss ebook here.

High intensity training can help reduce visceral abdominal fat.

High Intensity Training Reduces Visceral Abdominal Fat

There is an irony to our current health situation here in the United States and in developed countries. At a time in our history when more people than ever before are overweight the exercise and fitness industry is a multi-billion dollar giant that continues to grow even in times of economic contraction. We spend more money on exercise programs than ever before- most do little and some are so extreme that any weight loss derived cannot be realistically sustained so waistlines are not going down and staying down. The conventional approach to losing fat around the abdominal area has always been primarily aerobic exercises and most can attest that you don’t exactly get a six pack from running or being on the bike/treadmill/StairMaster/Elliptical Machine for hours and end. What has been proven time and time again by those in the trenches for reducing abdominal fat and creating the elusive toned and sculpted physique is weight training or more precisely high intensity training.

High Intensity Training As A Time Efficient Solution To Reducing Visceral Abdominal Fat & Improving Your Health

With an obesity rate of nearly 34% here in the United States and with most of those individuals suffering from the cluster of metabolic syndromes associated with a high body mass index and high visceral abdominal fat levels such as hypertension, Type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease, society as a whole need simple and long term solutions to being able to help people lower their body fat levels. The small time commitment of high intensity training is certainly a major part of the solution and more and more studies are pointing in that direction. High intensity training for a long time has been associated solely as a means toward increasing strength and muscle mass, but as more and more studies are conducted, researchers are discovering that high intensity training can not only help increase your endurance but also have a significant effect on the reduction of your body fat- specifically that layer dangerous layer right around your midsection. Read our article- The Dangers of Visceral Abdominal Fat.

Effects Of High Intensity Training On Body Composition & Visceral Abdominal Fat

A study published in Medicine & Science In Sports Exercise- the  journal of the American College of Sports Medicine found that high intensity training was far more effective than conventional prolonged low intensity training programs in reducing overall body fat and quite importantly- reducing abdominal visceral fat. It has been firmly established that high visceral abdominal fat levels not only present a cosmetic problem, but significantly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and hypertension.

The study examined the effects of exercise training intensity in middle aged obese women with metabolic syndrome. The women were split into three groups-

• Group One maintained their regular levels of daily activity with no exercise added and served as a control for the experiment.
• Group Two engaged in a conventional low intensity prolonged exercise program five days a week similar to recommended protocols.
• Group Three engaged in brief high intensity training sessions three days a week.

To accurately determine body composition changes, researchers used single slice computed tomography scans to observe abdominal fat and thigh muscle cross sectional areas. Body fat percentages were calculated using air displacement plethysmography.

Conclusions: High Intensity Training Is More Effective At Reducing Visceral Abdominal Fat

The findings from the study: The high intensity training group significantly reduced their total abdominal fat and subcutaneous abdominal fat whereas there were no statistically significant changes in any of these parameters in the control group or the low intensity exercise group.

Conclusions: Data from the study found conclusively that body composition changes are indeed affected by the exercise intensity and that high intensity training is far more effective at reducing visceral abdominal fat and subcutaneous abdominal fat.

So if you are serious about getting your midsection into shape and improving your overall health, you might want to give high intensity training another look!

Kevin Richardson is one of New York City’s most sought after personal trainers and the creator of Naturally Intense High Intensity Training 10 Minute Workouts. Get a copy of Kevin’s award winning free weight loss ebook here and visit his official website at www.naturallyintense.net.