How can I get toned with strength training without looking bulky?

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  • hattie419
    hattie419 Posts: 10 Member
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    I heavy weight lift and love it, it really gets me feeling better afterwards and I like to do it most days - I've kept tone and built up a little on my thighs but I'm not 'bulky' at all, but I'm not a typical 'skinny' looking girl, by lifting weights you'll find you'll be a good middle :)
  • galgenstrick
    galgenstrick Posts: 2,086 Member
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    SezxyStef wrote: »
    TillMann1 wrote: »
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    TillMann1 wrote: »
    Hey sunny!
    You don't need any weights for training, actually all you need is a couple of books, a backpack, a chair, a table or whatever you can find at home. In the words of my mentor Mark Lauren "You are your own gym", I'd highly recommend buying "Body by you" by Mark Lauren, which is aimed especially at women, or get the App from Mark Lauren on your iOS or Android, of course just in case you have a smartphone. Do not check it out, do not consider buying it, buy it and use it, throw away your weights cause you don't need them! I can only talk from experience, I'm very toned and not bulky at all and I work out everyday with his exercises at home. You will love it and ask yourself why you ever used weights. Good luck!

    Until you injury yourself...

    weights were designed to be lifted etc...a back pack with books is fine but not long term.

    But no weights are not required resistance training, body weight workouts etc.

    Injury yourself? I mean if you're clumsy enough that might happen but then that's not the fault of your equipment, I wasn't talking about lifting chairs, tables and books with your hands, in case you maybe thought that's what I meant lol. You're right of course, I'm using real weights that I put in my backpack because I can't put enough books in mine to be heavy enough, I also got a chin up bar for my doors but I've worked out with only what I had at home for months and nothing ever happened to me. I understand, you don't know the exercises I mean or haven't seen them yet but I can guarantee and promise you that every single one of them is injury free, if of course you execute them correctly. :smile:

    carrying a book bag/back pack around with weights/books is going to injure a person.

    there will be constant pressure on your shoulders and back.

    this coming from someone who did it for years in the military...it puts undo pressure on a lot of areas on your body that can and eventually will cause issues.

    +1

    My backpack f'ed up my shoulders and posture in college. Im still paying for it.
  • Shandajh
    Shandajh Posts: 57 Member
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    My cousin's wife looks very muscular from lifting weights and I don't think she takes steroids - I can't figure out how you all are adding photo attachments here (?), so Google Jessica Rinaldi, because apparently, yes, it does happen that women bulk up - especially if they have more male type hormones in their system, which I have been tested to have - too much androgen and DHEA and testosterone. So, I agree w/ you, @sunnydays851 - Cathe Friedrich is another one - I don't want to be that bulky either. My thigh muscles get bulky, so I try to avoid leg weights, which are the main things that are supposed to thin your legs - in normal women i guess. When I used to work out, my arms would get a little too muscular too, without trying very hard. People would comment I was buff or looked like I could kick their *kitten*. Now you see, in my photos with my saggy arms I have now - it's either that or a buff fest!
  • OwynDinsdale
    OwynDinsdale Posts: 11 Member
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    im going to suggest something here, running\cycling, my legs are super skinny and toned from running, and it also works your core. (planks and cycles are also worth looking at for your stomach)

    To do your arms have a look at diamond pushup and a pull up bar might be worth investing in, but have a look online for bodyweight exercises reddit is a good source of advice
  • ar9179
    ar9179 Posts: 374 Member
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    Jessica Rinaldi image, I don't see "bulk".
    http://www.universeweekend.com/beta/wp-content/uploads/JESSICA-RINALDI.jpg

    Cathe Friedrich, not bulky.
    http://cathe.com/should-you-train-your-abdominals-every-day

    You have to train and diet rigorously to get that really muscled look. It's not going to happen by accident. Ok, I'll add the caveat that it won't happen to most. We are a species of rare exceptions.

    I second the "Body by You" or "You are Your Own Gym" recommendations for your circumstances.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    edited May 2015
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    Shandajh wrote: »
    My cousin's wife looks very muscular from lifting weights and I don't think she takes steroids - I can't figure out how you all are adding photo attachments here (?), so Google Jessica Rinaldi, because apparently, yes, it does happen that women bulk up - especially if they have more male type hormones in their system, which I have been tested to have - too much androgen and DHEA and testosterone. So, I agree w/ you, @sunnydays851 - Cathe Friedrich is another one - I don't want to be that bulky either. My thigh muscles get bulky, so I try to avoid leg weights, which are the main things that are supposed to thin your legs - in normal women i guess. When I used to work out, my arms would get a little too muscular too, without trying very hard. People would comment I was buff or looked like I could kick their *kitten*. Now you see, in my photos with my saggy arms I have now - it's either that or a buff fest!

    And with that Google search now comes the debate over what is bulky. Sorry, but one does not just wake up one day and go "oh crap...I'm bulky ". Growing mass takes an on point surplus of a diet, and months to years of hard...hard work. Growing mass doesn't happen on accident from lifting heavy, one must actually be concously trying to grow in order for that to happen.
  • barbiereynolds701
    barbiereynolds701 Posts: 98 Member
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    I'm confused on why you would pick Jessica Rinaldi as a bulky pic.....yes. she has some pics that show bulk....her BODYBUILDER COMPETITION pictures....where she specifically trained and ate to change her body and bulk.......smh.
  • evileen99
    evileen99 Posts: 1,564 Member
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    Shandajh wrote: »
    My cousin's wife looks very muscular from lifting weights and I don't think she takes steroids - I can't figure out how you all are adding photo attachments here (?), so Google Jessica Rinaldi, because apparently, yes, it does happen that women bulk up - especially if they have more male type hormones in their system, which I have been tested to have - too much androgen and DHEA and testosterone. So, I agree w/ you, @sunnydays851 - Cathe Friedrich is another one - I don't want to be that bulky either.

    The women you mentioned aren't bulky. THIS is bulky:

    bulky_zps0cz75dmv.jpg
  • bbontheb
    bbontheb Posts: 718 Member
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    lmao^^ totally laughed hysterically at that.
  • Emilia777
    Emilia777 Posts: 978 Member
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    evileen99 wrote: »
    Shandajh wrote: »
    My cousin's wife looks very muscular from lifting weights and I don't think she takes steroids - I can't figure out how you all are adding photo attachments here (?), so Google Jessica Rinaldi, because apparently, yes, it does happen that women bulk up - especially if they have more male type hormones in their system, which I have been tested to have - too much androgen and DHEA and testosterone. So, I agree w/ you, @sunnydays851 - Cathe Friedrich is another one - I don't want to be that bulky either.

    The women you mentioned aren't bulky. THIS is bulky:

    bulky_zps0cz75dmv.jpg

    Co-signed. I don’t see those two women as bulky at *all*. I guess everyone’s definition of bulky really does differ. I want all the musclez, personally. All of you who don’t, just don’t lift heavy weights. Problem solved.
  • lulucitron
    lulucitron Posts: 366 Member
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    I'm pretty muscular and I lift and heavy and with intensity. I don't think I look bad though and I'm definitely not bulky; just defined. If you strip away all the body fat and leave the muscle and muscle takes up less room than fat...
  • SpecialSundae
    SpecialSundae Posts: 795 Member
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    Even if you lift heavy weights and eat a metric *kitten*-tonne of food, you won't get bulky unless you want to get bulky. If you start getting bulky, you'll notice and can change things.

    Most female powerlifters and weightlifters in the lighter classes just look tiny and kinda athletic, and even the heavier classes don't tend to look "ripped" or "bulky" very often.

    I mean, check out Alix Newton from Australia.

    getimage.aspx?regionKey=3ytcHn4H3aM68MmpJvKWWw%3D%3D&scale=100

    Or Morghan King from the USA

    o94ehEMU.jpeg

    That isn't to say that you have to lift, yoga and bodyweight are awesome, but don't worry about getting bulky.
  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
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    Do bodyweight exercises (check google & youtube), even if you can't access a gym,
    and unless your hormones are screwed up (or you're not a natural/normal/real woman)
    you're not going to get bulky.

    Go look at Sara's profile pictures:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/user/Sarauk2sf/profile/Sarauk2sf

    She looks pretty average, right? Really nice, right? Not bulky, grotesque, etc.?
    She lifts VERY heavy things on a regular basis. She's a competitive weightlifter.
    She works hard at it. See above about looking pretty average.
  • colors_fade
    colors_fade Posts: 464 Member
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    SpecialSundae wrote: »
    That isn't to say that you have to lift, yoga and bodyweight are awesome, but don't worry about getting bulky.

    Precisely.

    Boggles my mind that in 2015 this is even still a debate for some people. Making a weird face won't "freeze" it in that position forever. Lifting heavy won't make you "bulky".

    And if you think Jessica Rinaldi is bulky, then you have the wrong definition of the word.
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
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    Oh geez! Again! I can't believe this is still an issue. Yeah, all I did was LOOK at a dumbbell and I just bulked up like you won't believe.
  • sunnydays851
    sunnydays851 Posts: 116 Member
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    47Jacqueline wrote: »
    Oh geez! Again! I can't believe this is still an issue. Yeah, all I did was LOOK at a dumbbell and I just bulked up like you won't believe.
    I am pretty new at this. I usually have more common sense and assume correctly. I'm only human. I didn't know I wasn't allowed to make mistakes or be a bit ignorant once in a while. No need to be sarcastic.

  • sarahlifts
    sarahlifts Posts: 610 Member
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    Depends on how you define bulky. People say I'm bulky I measure 34 chest 25 waist 37 hips. I weigh 140 and wear a size US size 4.

    Not bulky at all. but bc you can see my muscles and vascularity...people say I'm bulky. when in all actuality I am quite small.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,988 Member
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    sunnydays851 wrote: »
    47Jacqueline wrote: »
    Oh geez! Again! I can't believe this is still an issue. Yeah, all I did was LOOK at a dumbbell and I just bulked up like you won't believe.
    I am pretty new at this. I usually have more common sense and assume correctly. I'm only human. I didn't know I wasn't allowed to make mistakes or be a bit ignorant once in a while. No need to be sarcastic.

    Don't feel bad. My now-fiancé had the same concern when we started dating and I mentioned lifting weights at the gym.

    Don't let the snark-monsters chase you off :)
  • sunnydays851
    sunnydays851 Posts: 116 Member
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    Well I don't want visible muscles (although if they are poking out a little I won't mind) but I guess that would be a bit of an exaggeration. In case you are wondering, I don't look good with muscles so therefore I don't desire them. I just want to look toned.

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