I get bulky from weights...

Matt_Wild

But how can you say it's the food? No change in diet, just what exercises you're doing.

BECAUSE YOU CAN'T FREAKING GROW WITH NEGATIVE CALORIES!!!!!!

Its simple laws of the universe, not just muscle growth. Energy cannot be created, only transferred. You can't create muscle from nothing. It has to have something to supply the energy. Period.

thesupremeforce

But how can you say it's the food? No change in diet, just what exercises you're doing.

BECAUSE YOU CAN'T FREAKING GROW WITH NEGATIVE CALORIES!!!!!!

Its simple laws of the universe, not just muscle growth. Energy cannot be created, only transferred. You can't create muscle from nothing. It has to have something to supply the energy. Period.

Tell that to the Incredible Hulk.

lithezebra

But how can you say it's the food? No change in diet, just what exercises you're doing.

BECAUSE YOU CAN'T FREAKING GROW WITH NEGATIVE CALORIES!!!!!!

Its simple laws of the universe, not just muscle growth. Energy cannot be created, only transferred. You can't create muscle from nothing. It has to have something to supply the energy. Period.

If you're eating enough protein, and you generate enough ATP from what you eat and your glycogen and fat reserves, you can make some muscle proteins without violating any laws of thermodynamics. It's not IDEAL for building muscle. Anyway, the OP might not be eating at a deficit if she's gone paleo, is eating a lot of protein, and isn't counting calories. So yeah, she might be bulking out. We don't know.

RGv2

Reading this whole thread was work day wasting gold.

Mia_RagazzaTosta

Reading this whole thread was work day wasting gold.

fo shizzle! I killed at least a half hour

dbmata

A new day, a new way to say:

Put the fork down, those aren't the lifts you are looking for.

Burn.

AntWrig

That is curious OP: You describe yourself as "short and curvy" usually building muscle with such genetics leads to something like this: does this look like a bad "bulky" to you?

there are women who have a more masculine bone structure that tends to get exaggerated with more muscle mass. for reference:



(both of these women have been training for years btw and don't seem to be on anabolic steroids so its not possible to look either way by accident.)

so are you sure it was muscle you gained?

Rehbands at the ankles.....

AntWrig

if a dude said that he wanted to bulk up, everyone would tell him lifting was the way.
just because the vast majority of women don't bulk up naturally, doesn't mean that this one hasn't.

she may have put on fat, water or muscle weight. they're all possible.

Actually no. You bulk up through eating in a surplus. So, I wouldn't tell a "dude" that nonsense.

JustJennie1

I get so tired of reading that women can't get bulky if they lift weights. Yes they can and I have in the past. I used to wt lift 3x a wk, and got up to 15lb dumbells for arm work like bicep curls, and 20lbs for lower body work All my clothes were getting tighter, esp in the butt and thigh area. I don't think I would get as big as a body builder of course, but for me, the muscles get bigger easily. Now I only lift wts twice a week and change up my wt work, doing weight workout DVD's like Jari Love and Kelly Coffee Mayer, and body weight workouts like barre style and ballet workouts. It is a good balance for me and works well. You should find what works for you and that gets the results you are looking for. And of course watch your caloric intake. Good Luck!

Sorry but you are not going to get "bulky" or big muscles tossing around 15 and 20lbs of weight.

myfrogs11

bump

mystiedragonfly

I actually am "bulking" or the way I say it is my body is "retaining muscle well". The way I am judging this (since I still have a LOT of fat to burn) is by my legs and arms where the fat has almost completely disappeared (for some reason, I hold all my fat in my belly/back) and the muscles on them are thick and large. I usually have to point out to other women that I am a freak. Most women will not hold muscle the way I have been doing. Somewhere in my gene pool is the right combination for this. I, personally, am okay with this.

I swim, lift heavy, and eat clean. I've cut out high fructose corn syrup and have gone (mostly) gluten free.

A few years into this, I have realized I will never be "skinny" or even thin. I will be a thick, but fit, woman. Again, I am okay with this.

"The New Rules of Lifting" by Lou Schuler has been the biggest help to me on understanding muscle and portion size in foods.

AnvilHead

if a dude said that he wanted to bulk up, everyone would tell him lifting was the way.

Anybody who knows anything about basic nutrition/exercise and the principles of mass gain would tell him to 1) Eat at a caloric surplus, and 2) Lift heavy. Doing the latter without the former would not give the desired results.

Here, have a read of an article by a well-known coach/researcher:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/muscle-gain-mistakes.html

In case you can't deduce the title from the link, the article is titled "Muscle Gain Mistakes". For anybody too lazy to click the link, guess what he lists as the #1 mistake? Hint: The heading at the top of the very first paragraph is "Not Eating Enough".



How many times does it have to be repeated? You. Don't. Gain. Mass. In. A. Caloric. Deficit.

jimmmer

How many times does it have to be repeated? You. Don't. Gain. Mass. In. A. Caloric. Deficit.

Many, it would appear......

....welcome to Groundhog Day (or the Twilight Zone? I'm not sure anymore).

Matt_Wild

But how can you say it's the food? No change in diet, just what exercises you're doing.

BECAUSE YOU CAN'T FREAKING GROW WITH NEGATIVE CALORIES!!!!!!

Its simple laws of the universe, not just muscle growth. Energy cannot be created, only transferred. You can't create muscle from nothing. It has to have something to supply the energy. Period.

If you're eating enough protein, and you generate enough ATP from what you eat and your glycogen and fat reserves, you can make some muscle proteins without violating any laws of thermodynamics. It's not IDEAL for building muscle. Anyway, the OP might not be eating at a deficit if she's gone paleo, is eating a lot of protein, and isn't counting calories. So yeah, she might be bulking out. We don't know.

Its not that simple. You need enough leucine in ones diet to signal to the body there is enough dietary protein to begin protein synthesis. On top of this there needs to be enough ATP going into the body as well, via the carb input.

Put it this simply - I know lots of bodybuilders. A lot of them are assisted with various hormones. NONE of them grow whilst they diet. I know pro's, top end amateurs, I worked for one of the biggest nutrition brands in the world, I'm working for Europes biggest supplement supplier and I coach a large number of people. I know hundreds of people in this sport. Its my job after all.

You get the appearance because the fat around joints drop away making the muscle look bigger but it is an illusion - which bodybuilding is in a large part of it.

Yet you women with the hormone levels of a 10 year old boy defy all physics and hormonal laws? Just wow.

I'd agree if doing paleo she's eating at a surplus, which would explain muscle growth. Because that works with basic laws of physics and human protein synthesis.

mystiedragonfly

if a dude said that he wanted to bulk up, everyone would tell him lifting was the way.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/muscle-gain-mistakes.html

In case you can't deduce the title from the link, the article is titled "Muscle Gain Mistakes". For anybody too lazy to click the link, guess what he lists as the #1 mistake? Hint: The heading at the top of the very first paragraph is "Not Eating Enough".



How many times does it have to be repeated? You. Don't. Gain. Mass. In. A. Caloric. Deficit.

That was my number 1 mistake for years. I wasn't losing anything and was SO frustrated. I kept lowering my calorie intake thinking that would do it. Then this past January (2013), I added 500 (making that 2000 calories a day)... and I've been burning fat and dropping inches like crazy.

mag11389

I would add some yoga or some sort of stretching to your routine. My thighs were getting really bulky so I added some light yoga to my routine and it helped.

kingkoopaluv

....

LoraF83

I'm just going to repeat again that you don't get "bulky" without a calorie surplus.

You might notice your muscles getting more defined, as the fat covering them disappears. And when you aren't used to seeing muscles, you might freak out about that a little and think that you're turning into a she-hulk. This is not the case. Take measurements and you will notice that you are actually getting smaller.

For example - I have a lot of visible muscle in my legs, which you can see on my profile picture. However, my legs aren't getting bigger. They are getting smaller. My knee high boots won't stay up anymore. I've lost several inches from each leg. They aren't bulky, but I do have more visible muscle.

If someone is actually getting larger/bigger/bulkier, that means they are also having increased measurements. That indicates they are eating at a calorie surplus, getting adequate protein, etc. It's not as simple as "putting on muscle".

UsedToBeHusky

So you know that both classes were essentially doing the same thing and just working different parts of the body, right?

With one exception. Boxing is a cardio activity so you went from a program that combined strength training and cardio to a class that just focused on strength training.

Perhaps, you could just do some extra cardio on your own.

FYI, ladies don't get "bulky" from strength training unless they have hormone issues. You might want to get that checked out.

AntWrig

But how can you say it's the food? No change in diet, just what exercises you're doing.

BECAUSE YOU CAN'T FREAKING GROW WITH NEGATIVE CALORIES!!!!!!

Its simple laws of the universe, not just muscle growth. Energy cannot be created, only transferred. You can't create muscle from nothing. It has to have something to supply the energy. Period.

If you're eating enough protein, and you generate enough ATP from what you eat and your glycogen and fat reserves, you can make some muscle proteins without violating any laws of thermodynamics. It's not IDEAL for building muscle. Anyway, the OP might not be eating at a deficit if she's gone paleo, is eating a lot of protein, and isn't counting calories. So yeah, she might be bulking out. We don't know.

Its not that simple. You need enough leucine in ones diet to signal to the body there is enough dietary protein to begin protein synthesis. On top of this there needs to be enough ATP going into the body as well, via the carb input.

Put it this simply - I know lots of bodybuilders. A lot of them are assisted with various hormones. NONE of them grow whilst they diet. I know pro's, top end amateurs, I worked for one of the biggest nutrition brands in the world, I'm working for Europes biggest supplement supplier and I coach a large number of people. I know hundreds of people in this sport. Its my job after all.

You get the appearance because the fat around joints drop away making the muscle look bigger but it is an illusion - which bodybuilding is in a large part of it.

Yet you women with the hormone levels of a 10 year old boy defy all physics and hormonal laws? Just wow.

I'd agree if doing paleo she's eating at a surplus, which would explain muscle growth. Because that works with basic laws of physics and human protein synthesis.

I was going to be an *kitten* with my comment but good work.