Often when I am working with a client I am their first introduction to proper weight lifting. I encourage all of my clients to keep an open mind and almost always they are open to the idea of lifting weights. A lot of female clients' first question is "How do I get a bigger butt?" I almost always give them an immediate response of "Lunges!" Very rarely am I ever met with any resistance, but more often than not I get this response in one way shape or form, "I don't mind lifting weights, but I don't want my legs to get too big!"
They will usually reference a body builder or someone in the gym who has massive quads as what they want to avoid. I can completely understand that most people don't want the kind of legs that make it difficult to find pants that fit and force you to go everywhere in sweatpants and shorts. However, the reassuring statement I always give these clients is the same. "Do you think it is easy to be a bodybuilder?"
They of course respond with a simple "no." This is where I remind them that bodybuilders have to work EXTREMELY hard to get to where they are. It is not something that just happens on accident. They have to train day in and day out, coordinate their diets and meal times properly to get muscles that big and more often than not train twice a day. They eat excessive amounts of calories and have to invest a lot of money into buying the proper supplements.
If just by doing a few lunges your legs could balloon up to that kind of size, then everyone could be a bodybuilder! I explain how the amount of reps and the amount of weights you use play a key factor in the results you obtain. Nine times out of ten, after I introduce a client to weight lifting, they began to seriously enjoy it and keep it as part of their personal repertoire for the rest of their workout journey.
