CAROLINE BRAGG, MASTER TRAINER AT STYLIST STRONG

“People think of bodybuilders’ physiques, but they’ll be taking lots of different supplements and their nutrition will be different. Some people might say “I’ve done some spin classes and now my thighs are bulky,” but that’s probably because you haven’t stretched them out properly, or you’re not doing anything on the hamstring, or there’s just a build up of lots of lactic acid. When you’re building strength you will be building muscle, which might increase ‘tone’. But it’s just muscle adaptation, not bulkiness. That’s what it is.”

TESS GLYNN-JONES, TRAINER AT STYLIST STRONG

“On Instagram, a lot of things are edited so people may look a little more defined or bulky than they actually are. It’s always important to bear that in mind. A lot of people who compete in bodybuilding, if they’re not using any kind of steroids, which a lot of people don’t, they have got the most restricted lifestyle. They don’t really socialize, they live out of Tupperware boxes. To look like that requires a hell of a lot of effort. To get that big you have to really, really change lots of things about your lifestyle, not just start training heavy. For the average gym-goer, there’s just there’s no need to worry about it because you’d have to be very drastic with the changes that you make to look like that.”

Why is it hard for women to gain muscle?

EMMA OBAYUVANA, TRAINER AT STYLIST STRONG

“‘Bulking up’ comes from a combination of heavy, heavy weight training and excess calories. Now, if we take an average woman that is just doing weights at the gym, I doubt that she will be consciously having a massive excess in calories. And I doubt that she would be also pushing the ridiculously heavy weights in combination. Secondly, and this is the more scientific reason, is simply that women have much less testosterone than men and testosterone is a human growth hormone, so if you have more of it, you’ll be able to gain more muscle. Women simply cannot biologically build big muscles like guys.”

CAROLINE BRAGG, MASTER TRAINER AT STYLIST STRONG

“Women aren’t made the same as men, we have different hormonal balances, our makeup is different. While your genetics might make you slightly bulkier, that won’t be because of the weight that you’re doing. That just might be your body type. You won’t be big unless you pump yourself full of testosterone. Hormones will make you bulky, rather than what the exercise you’re doing.”

Does weight training make women bulky? Fitness trainers answer the most Googled questions