Tips to Get Lean (Not Bulky) Muscles From Exercise

Having a lot of muscle isn't a bad thing. Muscle can help support overall health and quality of life, and may help you stay independent later in life, according to a review article published in Inquiry. However, if you don’t want to look big and bulky, you might be wary of weight lifting. But having lean body mass (muscle) can actually help you achieve the sleek look you aspire to.

To build long, lean muscles, you need to maneuver several different strategies into place. These include reducing body fat, striking the right balance of sets and reps for strength training, and introducing exercises to improve your posture.

Here’s a look at how to go about it.

Fitness for Life

Before getting too deep into the ‌lean muscle versus bulky muscle‌ dilemma, consider this: Weight lifting isn't only for improving your appearance — it may also prolong your life.

In a study published in November 2022 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, researchers surveyed more than 99,713 men and women ages 55 to 74, asking participants about the frequency, duration, type, and intensity of their physical activity. The study authors found the participants who routinely pumped iron were 9 to 22 percent less likely to die within the follow-up period (7.6 to 10.6 years) compared with those who didn’t exercise at all. Moreover, those who regularly combined weight lifting and cardio were 41 to 47 percent less likely to die during the follow-up period.

Having a strong body can help support quality of life by making everyday tasks easier, from hefting groceries to swinging your kids overhead. According to Mayo Clinic, strength training may also help support strong bones and alleviate some symptoms of certain chronic diseases including arthritis, depression, and type 2 diabetes. Lifting weights may even help keep your brain sharp and healthy as you age, according to the Pacific Neuroscience Institute.

Building Long, Lean Muscle

Now that it's clear that strength training should be part of any fitness plan, no matter what look you’re going for, here’s what the road map to your lifting plan should include, according to Mayo Clinic:

• Training all major muscle groups at least twice a week.
• Planning your workouts so there's at least one full rest day between strength training sessions.
• At least 1 set of 12 to 15 repetitions for each muscle group.

Additionally, you can save time and improve functional strength by doing compound exercises. While it's true that many bodybuilding experts recommend compound exercises — including squats, dead lifts, and pull-ups, according to Ace Fitness — for building larger muscles, there's a lot to make them appealing in a lean body workout, too.

They mimic real-world movements more closely than isolation exercises such as bicep curls and hamstring curls, and because they work more muscle groups at once, they get you in and out of the gym more quickly. Compound exercises also work your core muscles, which are particularly important for avoiding injury, according to Harvard Health Publishing.

More Tips for Lean Muscles

One of the key principles for staying lean is minimizing the number of sets you lift. According to the Better Health Channel, doing fewer sets with a higher number of repetitions and lighter weights is better for building sleek muscles, while lifting heavier weights for fewer repetitions is best for increasing muscle size. That said, it takes quite a while for muscles to grow, so don't be afraid to experiment a little and find a method that helps you look ‌and‌ feel the way you like.

Additionally, there's a reason that workouts such as Pilates, yoga, and barre are so popular among people hoping to achieve toned, sleek physiques. First, they place a lot of emphasis on working relatively small muscle groups, according to Cleveland Clinic, and developing those muscles can help create a lean, defined look for the rest of your body. Second, these workouts also develop muscles — and habits — that help you maintain correct posture, which may help you look longer and leaner.

Here's another tip for getting lean muscles: Work through the entire range of motion, as opposed to the reduced range of motion that bodybuilders sometimes use to target (and build) a specific part of the muscle.

Tips for Losing Excess Body Fat

There's one more important variable to consider in your quest for lean muscles: your body composition, meaning, how much body fat you're carrying versus how much muscle you have. You could have the longest, leanest muscles in the world and never see them if you're carrying too much body fat.

You may be able to lose excess weight by establishing a calorie deficit, that is, by adjusting your habits so that you burn more calories than you take in, according to Cleveland Clinic. There are two components to this.

The first is tweaking your diet, according to Better Health. Focus on eating more nutrient-rich foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats, while limiting added sugars, sodium, and saturated fat. It’s also important to watch your portion size, stay hydrated, and keep an eye on calories.

The second is increasing your activity level, according to Harvard Health Publishing. Weight lifting is a good start, but you can and should add cardiovascular activity to your workouts, too. Spoiler alert: There is no single best activity for burning calories and thus fat. Instead, focus on activities you enjoy, because you're more likely to keep them up over the long term — and when it comes to losing fat and supporting good health, consistency is crucial.