Man Muscles?

BeachGingerOnTheRocks

every body is different and those of us women who have higher t levels than most can get bulky just like men. I do have quite a few hormone problems but when I did a weight training for high school my muscles were not lean lovely girly muscles. Ask your doctor if you feel you bulk instead of lean maybe a hormone irregularity you have.

My testosterone levels are 3x higher than the average woman. I'm far from bulky.
225 pound deadlift (working set, not 1rm)

My first bodybuilding competition (I was average size and in the heavyweight division)

quoted for awesomeness

Re-quoting for awesomeness. Because it is.

brower47

I'm going to disagree with most on this board and I'm sure get slammed for it.

I recently ran into a female friend who started lifting heavy last year. Her thighs were huge. I mean seriously man-sized huge. When I first saw her from afar I thought she'd gotten fat, but when she got close (in shorts) she had these huge muscles bulging out from her outer thighs. Those were bulky thighs.

I'm sure she's very proud of them, and rightly so. But they were still bulky.

Haha, there's always one.

In, in hopes of shenanigans

Her thighs were bigger around than mine were at my heaviest, and thighs are my problem area. I will admit that I have not seen legs that bulky or big on any other women who were not fat, but to say it can't or won't happen without steroids is simply not true.

Of course, it's also easy enough to scale back if you see them starting to get too big. As I said, I'm sure she likes them and is proud of her accomplishments. And I'm happy for her. But it's not something I'd want for myself.

Assuming you're being truthful, she would be a rare outlier, an exception to the rule, therefore; women should not avoid heavy lifting since MOST would not lift to this effect.

BrainyBurro

If you find a way of building muscle easily, please let me know. I've been doing it for years, eating more calories, lifing more weights etc than you could shake a stick at and its still slow going.

Quick answer - you won't. You'll see you are building muscle long before its too much for you. They don't suddenly go TAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA over night. Years and years literally and then its slow going.

mine did.

happened in 1 afternoon.

crista_b

Check out taunto's "manly" friends: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/987513-lifting-is-the-most-horrible-thing-to-a-woman-since-twiggy

They're my inspiration and part of the reason I started lifting. I want to be "manly" like them.

LoraF83

Like CrankMeUp.....I've gotten significantly less bulky from lifting weights.

Me, very bulky (about 230lbs):




Me, much less bulky (currently 180lbs, still have 20+lbs to goal):

brower47

I would say just train to be toned and not ripped... women are meant to be curvy and naturally have more body fat than men. as stated above keep your body fat level at a healthy level.. between 20-30 only marathon runners and anorexics have single digit bfi.. good luck Jim

Since we aren't roughing it out in the wild anymore, women are meant to be any way (bf percentage wise) they put effort into being. We can consciously shape our bodies (within genetic parameters) with diet and exercise. If women want to go below 20%, they are more than welcome to and their goals shouldn't be dictated by idiotic statements like "women are meant to be curvy".

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

My favorite comment on this topic (from another post) is that it's like being afraid you'll go out jogging one day and run a marathon by mistake.

But then there was a thread a few days ago about a woman who ran 13 miles by accident, so. . . carry on.

Iron_Lotus

Oi :grumble:

crista_b

lol so many of you guys are just freaking hilarious but also helpful. Thanks for the advice everyone!

I wanted to mention that I'm glad you could see the sense of humor of the people here. Lots of women won't lift heavy for the same reason you started this thread so most people have started debunking the myth while joking/being sarcastic. Good for you for not getting pissy like some people do in this kind of situation. :drinker:

RebeccaHite

swim to tone

brower47

lol so many of you guys are just freaking hilarious but also helpful. Thanks for the advice everyone!

I wanted to mention that I'm glad you could see the sense of humor of the people here. Lots of women won't lift heavy for the same reason you started this thread so most people have started debunking the myth while joking/being sarcastic. Good for you for not getting pissy like some people do in this kind of situation. :drinker:

I thought the same thing. Good on you OP.

JustJennie1

I would say just train to be toned and not ripped... women are meant to be curvy and naturally have more body fat than men. as stated above keep your body fat level at a healthy level.. between 20-30 only marathon runners and anorexics have single digit bfi.. good luck Jim

20-30%? Are you serious? Women are meant to be any way they want to be: curvy, slender, muscular. There's no "rule" as to how a woman should look and 20-30% BODY FAT is not healthy. I would also be hard pressed to find a marathoner who has single digit body fat. It's just not going to happen.

LorinaLynn

I would say just train to be toned and not ripped... women are meant to be curvy and naturally have more body fat than men. as stated above keep your body fat level at a healthy level.. between 20-30 only marathon runners and anorexics have single digit bfi.. good luck Jim

20-30%? Are you serious? Women are meant to be any way they want to be: curvy, slender, muscular. There's no "rule" as to how a woman should look and 20-30% BODY FAT is not healthy. I would also be hard pressed to find a marathoner who has single digit body fat. It's just not going to happen.

Actually, 20-30% is considered healthy, or at least acceptable, for women.

Essential Fat 10-12%
Athletes 14-20%
Fitness 21-24%
Acceptable 25-31%
Obese 32% plus

saxmaniac

Please show us a picture of what you want and what you don't.

Finally, a sensible reply. This should be the standard reply to this topic, each time it comes up. Otherwise we just go around in circles.

Committing this phrase to memory.

crista_b

I would say just train to be toned and not ripped... women are meant to be curvy and naturally have more body fat than men. as stated above keep your body fat level at a healthy level.. between 20-30 only marathon runners and anorexics have single digit bfi.. good luck Jim

20-30%? Are you serious? Women are meant to be any way they want to be: curvy, slender, muscular. There's no "rule" as to how a woman should look and 20-30% BODY FAT is not healthy. I would also be hard pressed to find a marathoner who has single digit body fat. It's just not going to happen.

Fitness and average fall in the 20-30% body fat range for women. The fitness range is healthy. The average can be healthy but can start to lean toward unhealthy so it's not entirely accurate to say, "20-30% BODY FAT is not healthy".
Also, while I agree that there's no "rule" as to how a woman should look, women naturally do need more body fat than men (clear by the "essential fat" section of the chart).
Lastly, I agree that you won't find a female with single digit bf%, at least not one who isn't about to die. Your brain and other organs need fats to function. Without a high enough bf%, your body lacks the essential fats it needs to operate your organs so they shut down and you die.

brower47

I would say just train to be toned and not ripped... women are meant to be curvy and naturally have more body fat than men. as stated above keep your body fat level at a healthy level.. between 20-30 only marathon runners and anorexics have single digit bfi.. good luck Jim

20-30%? Are you serious? Women are meant to be any way they want to be: curvy, slender, muscular. There's no "rule" as to how a woman should look and 20-30% BODY FAT is not healthy. I would also be hard pressed to find a marathoner who has single digit body fat. It's just not going to happen.

Actually, 20-30% is considered healthy, or at least acceptable, for women.

Essential Fat 10-12%
Athletes 14-20%
Fitness 21-24%
Overweight 25-31%
Obese 32% plus

Fixed it for you.

crista_b

I would say just train to be toned and not ripped... women are meant to be curvy and naturally have more body fat than men. as stated above keep your body fat level at a healthy level.. between 20-30 only marathon runners and anorexics have single digit bfi.. good luck Jim

20-30%? Are you serious? Women are meant to be any way they want to be: curvy, slender, muscular. There's no "rule" as to how a woman should look and 20-30% BODY FAT is not healthy. I would also be hard pressed to find a marathoner who has single digit body fat. It's just not going to happen.

Actually, 20-30% is considered healthy, or at least acceptable, for women.

Essential Fat 10-12%
Athletes 14-20%
Fitness 21-24%
Overweight 25-31%
Obese 32% plus

Fixed it for you.

So there's nothing between being fit and being overweight?

JewelsinBigD

you lack testosterone, so you go on and lift those weights and will not turn into He-Man.

NOT TRUE - WOMEN HAVE TESTOSTERONE - and men are very happy about it since it usually drives libido. Some women, rarely, will develop muscles that are larger but the majority will not. I have developed muscles but they are not big manly muscles.

cmeiron

Since we aren't roughing it out in the wild anymore, women are meant to be any way (bf percentage wise) they put effort into being. We can consciously shape our bodies (within genetic parameters) with diet and exercise. If women want to go below 20%, they are more than welcome to and their goals shouldn't be dictated by idiotic statements like "women are meant to be curvy".

QFT.

brower47

I would say just train to be toned and not ripped... women are meant to be curvy and naturally have more body fat than men. as stated above keep your body fat level at a healthy level.. between 20-30 only marathon runners and anorexics have single digit bfi.. good luck Jim

20-30%? Are you serious? Women are meant to be any way they want to be: curvy, slender, muscular. There's no "rule" as to how a woman should look and 20-30% BODY FAT is not healthy. I would also be hard pressed to find a marathoner who has single digit body fat. It's just not going to happen.

Actually, 20-30% is considered healthy, or at least acceptable, for women.

Essential Fat 10-12%
Athletes 14-20%
Fitness 21-24%
Overweight 25-31%
Obese 32% plus

Fixed it for you.

So there's nothing between being fit and being overweight?

So there's nothing between being average and being obese?

Delicate

You will not develop a penis with lifting, no

thats the only 'man muscles' that come to mind

You don't have enough testosterone so will never have the same muscle development.

Joydriven

Read this - http://www.leighpeele.com/bulky-muscles-and-training-females-the-definition

Generally, you won't be able to accidentally get man muscles, just like you won't accidentally be a millionaire by getting a job. It takes specific sustained effort.

Thank you for this! So many posts like this one lately have made my head swim in confusion:

I do get bulky when I've lifted in the past.
People have stated, no, you can't get bulky, then proceed to post a pic of someone's who bulky as evidence of non bulkiness.
In Contreras' Strong Curves he gives the example of two women, same program. One "bulked" up quickly and with great success, the other slower and never to the same level of "bulk". Some women add muscle quicker than others.

It's the idea of what's bulky that's being misunderstood.

That article did a great job pointing that everyone's idea of bulky is different and they're all right.

.

crista_b

I would say just train to be toned and not ripped... women are meant to be curvy and naturally have more body fat than men. as stated above keep your body fat level at a healthy level.. between 20-30 only marathon runners and anorexics have single digit bfi.. good luck Jim

20-30%? Are you serious? Women are meant to be any way they want to be: curvy, slender, muscular. There's no "rule" as to how a woman should look and 20-30% BODY FAT is not healthy. I would also be hard pressed to find a marathoner who has single digit body fat. It's just not going to happen.

Actually, 20-30% is considered healthy, or at least acceptable, for women.

Essential Fat 10-12%
Athletes 14-20%
Fitness 21-24%
Overweight 25-31%
Obese 32% plus

Fixed it for you.

So there's nothing between being fit and being overweight?

So there's nothing between being average and being obese?

touché :laugh:

But those are the breakdowns given by the American Council for Exercise.

I don't think they named the last couple correctly and should have an extra breakdown so that it lists: essential, athlete, fit, average/healthy, overweight, obese.

murphy612

I would say just train to be toned and not ripped... women are meant to be curvy and naturally have more body fat than men. as stated above keep your body fat level at a healthy level.. between 20-30 only marathon runners and anorexics have single digit bfi.. good luck Jim

All of the things I want to say will get me banned from the forums for sure.

Agreed!! There is so much fail in this post I'm speechless.

brower47

I would say just train to be toned and not ripped... women are meant to be curvy and naturally have more body fat than men. as stated above keep your body fat level at a healthy level.. between 20-30 only marathon runners and anorexics have single digit bfi.. good luck Jim

20-30%? Are you serious? Women are meant to be any way they want to be: curvy, slender, muscular. There's no "rule" as to how a woman should look and 20-30% BODY FAT is not healthy. I would also be hard pressed to find a marathoner who has single digit body fat. It's just not going to happen.

Actually, 20-30% is considered healthy, or at least acceptable, for women.

Essential Fat 10-12%
Athletes 14-20%
Fitness 21-24%
Overweight 25-31%
Obese 32% plus

Fixed it for you.

So there's nothing between being fit and being overweight?

So there's nothing between being average and being obese?

touché :laugh:

But those are the breakdowns given by the American Council for Exercise.

I don't think they named the last couple correctly and should have an extra breakdown so that it lists: essential, athlete, fit, average/healthy, overweight, obese.

I agree, it's a bit semantical (don't know if that's a proper word) and I agree that the breakdowns need some extras in there. :drinker:

LorinaLynn

Actually, 20-30% is considered healthy, or at least acceptable, for women.

Essential Fat 10-12%
Athletes 14-20%
Fitness 21-24%
Overweight 25-31%
Obese 32% plus

Fixed it for you.

Didn't fix it for me. I didn't make it up. :indifferent:

Mrsallypants

Yeah, she did squats, deadlifts and bench press for only a month and ended up looking like this.

NovemberJune

My favorite comment on this topic (from another post) is that it's like being afraid you'll go out jogging one day and run a marathon by mistake.

But then there was a thread a few days ago about a woman who ran 13 miles by accident, so. . . carry on.

Huh? I missed that one :laugh:

LiftAllThePizzas

I would say just train to be toned and not ripped... women are meant to be curvy and naturally have more body fat than men. as stated above keep your body fat level at a healthy level.. between 20-30 only marathon runners and anorexics have single digit bfi.. good luck Jim

20-30%? Are you serious? Women are meant to be any way they want to be: curvy, slender, muscular. There's no "rule" as to how a woman should look and 20-30% BODY FAT is not healthy. I would also be hard pressed to find a marathoner who has single digit body fat. It's just not going to happen.

Actually, 20-30% is considered healthy, or at least acceptable, for women.

Essential Fat 10-12%
Athletes 14-20%
Fitness 21-24%
Overweight 25-31%
Obese 32% plus

Fixed it for you.

So there's nothing between being fit and being overweight?

So there's nothing between being average and being obese?

The average American is overweight. Same thing.:laugh:

PikaKnight

I'm going to disagree with most on this board and I'm sure get slammed for it.

I recently ran into a female friend who started lifting heavy last year. Her thighs were huge. I mean seriously man-sized huge. When I first saw her from afar I thought she'd gotten fat, but when she got close (in shorts) she had these huge muscles bulging out from her outer thighs. Those were bulky thighs.

I'm sure she's very proud of them, and rightly so. But they were still bulky.

Haha, there's always one.

In, in hopes of shenanigans

Her thighs were bigger around than mine were at my heaviest, and thighs are my problem area. I will admit that I have not seen legs that bulky or big on any other women who were not fat, but to say it can't or won't happen without steroids is simply not true.

Of course, it's also easy enough to scale back if you see them starting to get too big. As I said, I'm sure she likes them and is proud of her accomplishments. And I'm happy for her. But it's not something I'd want for myself.

I'm calling SHENANIGHANS!!!!