Upper body feeling bulky? Advice from someone with your body type
If you feel like yours The upper body gets bulky from weight training — you can’t imagine it. And you are definitely not alone.
The disappointing part? Everyone around you is probably telling you that you look great. This muscle is cool. That you should be proud. And maybe part of you appreciates that, but something just seems about the direction your body is going.
I was exactly where you are. When I first started weight training, my upper body got so fat I couldn’t button a dress. So when I say I understand this experience inside out — I mean it.
The truth is, the dominant message in the fitness industry is that women “won’t get bulky from lifting weights.” And for many women, that’s accurate. But it is does not apply to everyone. If you’re naturally muscular, you have to be much more strategic about how you train – because the standard advice wasn’t written for your body type.
As a personal trainer and nutrition coach, I’ve spent over a decade helping women build strength without adding size where they don’t want it. In this post, I’ll walk you through the three biggest mistakes in weight training that can increase your upper body and what to do instead.
Why does your upper body look bulky? (Fat vs Muscle)
Before we get into the mistakes, it helps to understand What it actually makes your upper body look bigger because the answer changes the solution.
Your upper body can feel and look bigger, bulkier or fatter for a few different reasons:
- Muscle hypertrophy – When you lift weights, your muscles grow through a process of micro-tears and repair. For many women, this is average. But for naturally muscular body types (often called mesomorphs), muscle can grow quickly and noticeably. If you develop muscle in certain areas, you may feel fatter.
- Body fat distribution – Some women carry fat on their upper body, especially around the arms, back and chest. This is largely genetic and hormonal. and can make you feel bulkier.
- Combination of both – If you tend to store more body fat in the upper body and you start training without also taking steps to reduce your body fat percentage, you may feel even fatter. In this case, it is important to deal with your diet as well.
Regardless of why your upper body feels bulky, the way you train can either enhance that appearance or help you create a more balanced figure – which is why it’s so important to avoid the following training mistakes. If you want help with all of this, my online training programs I offer a more personalized approach because I adapt the program to your body type and goals. If you work with me long-term, we can regularly assess your progress and make the necessary adjustments to make sure you’re changing the way you want to.
Prefer to watch? I cover it all in the video below.
The 3 Weight Training Mistakes That Make Your Upper Body Bulky
Mistake #1: Overly Focused Training (The “V” Taper Effect)
The first mistake is doing too many lat-focused exercises — especially wide-grip variations. Lat pulldowns and their variations appear in almost every well-designed strength program because traditionally bodybuilders want to develop a “v taper” where they are wide under the armpits and then taper to the waist.
For many women, this is perfectly fine. But if you’re naturally muscular, building your back this way can add significant width over time.
I learned this the hard way. After a few years of lat heavy training, my lats were so developed they literally spilled over the sides of my racerback tanks. Some might call this flashy, but it wasn’t the look I was going for. She didn’t feel feminine to me.
Here’s the thing: it’s entirely possible to build a beautiful, strong back without adding width if you’re careful about your exercise selection. I have seen this with my own clients. One of my favorite client transformations involved a woman who was building muscle very quickly. Looking at her before and after pictures, you can see that she has put on a lot of muscle. But because of the way we approached exercise selection, it is not wider at all.
6 month client transformation showing significant muscle growth but no added bulk or thickness.
What to do instead: Check your current program and see how much lat work you’re doing. Limit lat-dominant exercises that could enhance the “v taper” (like pull-ups and lat-down pull-ups) to one per workout, then fill the rest of your back workout with exercises that build your lower back and posture. Over time, this approach can help create a more balanced flashback without adding extra width. It’s how I managed to reduce the appearance of width in my own very muscular back and how I help clients build strong, beautiful backs without the bulk.
If you want to learn more about training for your body type, you can take the free body type quiz here.
This isn’t one of those quick ‘you’re square’ answers. Once you’re done, you’ll receive a comprehensive ebook that outlines how each body type responds to training, nutrition, and recovery, including how to shape strategically without building unwanted bulk.
