Strength training - bulky?
Fatvaporizer
Posts: 139 Member
Hi, I just have a question regarding strength training. I'm male, and most would assume that I'd want to be buff and muscular, and have a wide torso that looks strong, but in fact, I don't. All I want is a toned chest with no visible fat, just flesh but it has to look toned, but not bulky or big. I want to be slim and muscular, if that makes sense. So to get to the point, I'm afraid that doing strength training ( 3 days a week currently ) is going to make me all bulky and big? I don't want to be like Arnold Schwarzeneggar. It's an exaggeration, but I don't want to be nearly like how he looks. All I want is a slim, fatless body. So should I continue doing strength training? Or should I stop it and just do cardio regularly. I'm going from 210 lbs, and I'm now at 183 (27 lbs down). Thanks for your help!
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Replies
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Continue to strength train and eat at a deficit. Losing body fat will help reveal what you have underneath.
If you are not satisfied with that, then you will probably have to eat in a surplus and 'bulk' to gain muscle. This can be a tough process and 'bulking' doesn't necessarily mean you will become Arnold big. That doesn't happen just overnight. But if you eat in a surplus and lift, you can build more muscle. And then cut again to get rid of the fat.0 -
You have to eat more to grow muscle. If you work out and eat to maintain the mass you have, you just end up lean and strong.
I work in an office full of endurance triathletes and plenty of them have the body type you are going for, so maybe cardio only would work for you, as long as what you are doing involves upper body.
Oh, and also there are strong guys in my yoga class with the body type you like. So maybe bodyweight training and cardio would work.
So based on guys I know I think you CAN get the look you want without lifting, but weight training is probably the most efficient way to get what you are looking for.0 -
You won't get bulky by accident. :yawn:
Do more cardio and less weights if you're really afraid.3 -
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Thank you for all the advice. I'm just afraid that I'll build all this muscle and turn my upper body into big and bulky, and won't be able to reverse it. I know I know sound a bit naive but it's just a concern and uncertainty as to whether I should do it or not.0
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Fatvaporizer wrote: »Thank you for all the advice. I'm just afraid that I'll build all this muscle and turn my upper body into big and bulky, and won't be able to reverse it. I know I know sound a bit naive but it's just a concern and uncertainty as to whether I should do it or not.
Don't worry you won't. It's not as easy as people think to build muscle. And calling it bulky is a bit insulting.
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Keep lifting. You want to preserve your muscles, or else when you reach your goal weight you'll look "skinny fat".
It's quite difficult to build muscle and lose weight at the same time, anyway.0 -
Lifting is good to add regardless and like a lot have said if you aren't eating and training to bulk you really won't have that problem.0
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Fatvaporizer wrote: »Thank you for all the advice. I'm just afraid that I'll build all this muscle and turn my upper body into big and bulky, and won't be able to reverse it. I know I know sound a bit naive but it's just a concern and uncertainty as to whether I should do it or not.
I on the other hand would like to build 50 pounds of muscle if I can - I'd love to get "big and bulky" and never reverse it. And yeah, do whatever you want, don't worry, you won't get strong on accident. It takes years of hard work.
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Chef_Barbell wrote: »Fatvaporizer wrote: »Thank you for all the advice. I'm just afraid that I'll build all this muscle and turn my upper body into big and bulky, and won't be able to reverse it. I know I know sound a bit naive but it's just a concern and uncertainty as to whether I should do it or not.
Don't worry you won't. It's not as easy as people think to build muscle. And calling it bulky is a bit insulting.
I'm sorry if it offended you. I just call it that because I was referring to 'bulk.' People say 'I do weight training to bulk' so 'bulking' just made sense. I didn't know it was rude.0 -
Fatvaporizer wrote: »Thank you for all the advice. I'm just afraid that I'll build all this muscle and turn my upper body into big and bulky, and won't be able to reverse it. I know I know sound a bit naive but it's just a concern and uncertainty as to whether I should do it or not.
It is not really that easy so do not worry about it. You are worrying about accidentally getting Mr. Universe's physique. To put it in perspective, that is like worrying about accidentally being able to rival Slash on guitar when all you want to do is jam at the coffee house on open mic night. Nobody becomes an accidental bodybuilder.9 -
Fatvaporizer wrote: »Chef_Barbell wrote: »Fatvaporizer wrote: »Thank you for all the advice. I'm just afraid that I'll build all this muscle and turn my upper body into big and bulky, and won't be able to reverse it. I know I know sound a bit naive but it's just a concern and uncertainty as to whether I should do it or not.
Don't worry you won't. It's not as easy as people think to build muscle. And calling it bulky is a bit insulting.
I'm sorry if it offended you. I just call it that because I was referring to 'bulk.' People say 'I do weight training to bulk' so 'bulking' just made sense. I didn't know it was rude.
Bulking also includes eating in a calorie surplus, and it can take some time to do (men can gain, I believe, 1/2 pound of muscle a week in a bulk under optimal conditions...women half of that).0 -
In all seriousness, getting bulky is a long, slow process. It doesn't happen overnight, and it doesn't happen by accident. If you start becoming more muscular than you like, simply alter your training or stop. You'll have plenty of warning.4
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agree . . . you'll see it coming in time to stop it, if that's what you want to do.Fatvaporizer wrote: »Thank you for all the advice. I'm just afraid that I'll build all this muscle and turn my upper body into big and bulky, and won't be able to reverse it. I know I know sound a bit naive but it's just a concern and uncertainty as to whether I should do it or not.
don't take me as the only source . but everything i've read and been told is that 'hypertrophy' (i.e. your body adding new muscle mass) happens if you lift in the 8-12 rep range. in other words, if you do 8-12 repetitions of an exercise in every set, your body's muscle-creation will be more strongly triggered.
lifting in the 5-rep range, even with heavier weights, has a different effect. you get stronger without adding very much visible 'bulk'. i'm a little hesitant about stating this as solid fact since i'm a woman and not all that disposed to growing muscle in the first place. but for what it's worth, i can tell you that for more than a year i've been lifting with four to six men of varying ages/physical types and fitness levels. almsot all of us are doing 3x5 or similar programs, and i've seen them all get stronger over the time i've been there. some of them have gotten leaner. nobody's totally changed builds or body types though.
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canadianlbs wrote: »agree . . . you'll see it coming in time to stop it, if that's what you want to do.Fatvaporizer wrote: »Thank you for all the advice. I'm just afraid that I'll build all this muscle and turn my upper body into big and bulky, and won't be able to reverse it. I know I know sound a bit naive but it's just a concern and uncertainty as to whether I should do it or not.
don't take me as the only source . but everything i've read and been told is that 'hypertrophy' (i.e. your body adding new muscle mass) happens if you lift in the 8-12 rep range. in other words, if you do 8-12 repetitions of an exercise in every set, your body's muscle-creation will be more strongly triggered.
lifting in the 5-rep range, even with heavier weights, has a different effect. you get stronger without adding very much visible 'bulk'. i'm a little hesitant about stating this as solid fact since i'm a woman and not all that disposed to growing muscle in the first place. but for what it's worth, i can tell you that for more than a year i've been lifting with four to six men of varying ages/physical types and fitness levels. almsot all of us are doing 3x5 or similar programs, and i've seen them all get stronger over the time i've been there. some of them have gotten leaner. nobody's totally changed builds or body types though.
While 8-12 reps generally is regarded as the optimal hypertrophy range, that doesn't mean that lifting in that rep range will make one get big/bulky. Putting on muscle is an excruciatingly slow, gradual process - and putting on large amounts of muscle like the OP is thinking is nearly impossible for most people and certainly won't happen quickly or by accident. It takes incredible dedication and years of training to build "big, bulky" muscles - and in the case of many bodybuilders, it also involves taking anabolic steroids and doing many bulk/cut cycles to put that mass on.
OP is also trying to lose weight, which means he's eating in a caloric deficit, which makes building any significant amounts of muscle nearly impossible - and you're certainly not going to put on massive slabs of muscle and accidentally end up looking like a bodybuilder while weight training in a deficit. One is lucky if they preserve what muscle mass they have or perhaps put on a slight (very slight) amount of additional muscle when lifting in a caloric deficit.
If it was as easy as the OP thinks to get "huge", there would be a lot more "huge" guys walking around. Go into any gym anywhere and you'll see plenty of people lifting weights, gulping protein shakes and supplements, doing anything and everything they can in desperate efforts to put that muscle on. Every single one of them wishes it was as easy as some people think it is!6 -
Many people, myself included, spend years going to the gym, eating correctly, training hard and still don't see the results we expected. The "bulky" look is normally used to describe people who have some muscle mass with some excess fat over the top. Unless you are a genetic freak or taking a boat load of drugs, you will not get bulky by weightlifting and eating in a caloric deficit.
My advice would be to get as lean as you want to be before slowly increasing calories whilst continuing weight lifting.
Muscles won't appear over night.1 -
Fatvaporizer wrote: »Thank you for all the advice. I'm just afraid that I'll build all this muscle and turn my upper body into big and bulky, and won't be able to reverse it. I know I know sound a bit naive but it's just a concern and uncertainty as to whether I should do it or not.
As a natural lifter you really have to put a lot of effort into diet, lifting and rest to get big and you can reverse any muscle hypertrophy very quickly by just stopping or even lowering your lifting and caloric intake. That being said, you have no idea what you'll look like with a few extra pounds of muscle on you so you don't even know what you'll think of it yet. A lot of times we see women (I know you are a man but women are often more concerned about this) who are afraid to get "bulky" start to like the way they look with added muscle, but no they don't get bulky either but do add some muscle and definition.
Don't overthink it just do it and see how you like it. It's so easy to lose muscle you won't have to worry.0 -
One of the PTs at my gym went from a tall and skinny football (soccer) player to a huge and very muscular guy.
Between those points was 10 years of very hard and dedicated training.
He could have stopped growing at any point he wanted to.
Why don't you pick a sport that typically has the physique you desire and train like them?
You may well find that strength training plays a part in that ideal (for you) physique.2 -
canadianlbs wrote: »agree . . . you'll see it coming in time to stop it, if that's what you want to do.Fatvaporizer wrote: »Thank you for all the advice. I'm just afraid that I'll build all this muscle and turn my upper body into big and bulky, and won't be able to reverse it. I know I know sound a bit naive but it's just a concern and uncertainty as to whether I should do it or not.
don't take me as the only source . but everything i've read and been told is that 'hypertrophy' (i.e. your body adding new muscle mass) happens if you lift in the 8-12 rep range. in other words, if you do 8-12 repetitions of an exercise in every set, your body's muscle-creation will be more strongly triggered.
lifting in the 5-rep range, even with heavier weights, has a different effect. you get stronger without adding very much visible 'bulk'. i'm a little hesitant about stating this as solid fact since i'm a woman and not all that disposed to growing muscle in the first place. but for what it's worth, i can tell you that for more than a year i've been lifting with four to six men of varying ages/physical types and fitness levels. almsot all of us are doing 3x5 or similar programs, and i've seen them all get stronger over the time i've been there. some of them have gotten leaner. nobody's totally changed builds or body types though.
While 8-12 reps generally is regarded as the optimal hypertrophy range, that doesn't mean that lifting in that rep range will make one get big/bulky. Putting on muscle is an excruciatingly slow, gradual process - and putting on large amounts of muscle like the OP is thinking is nearly impossible for most people and certainly won't happen quickly or by accident. It takes incredible dedication and years of training to build "big, bulky" muscles - and in the case of many bodybuilders, it also involves taking anabolic steroids and doing many bulk/cut cycles to put that mass on.
OP is also trying to lose weight, which means he's eating in a caloric deficit, which makes building any significant amounts of muscle nearly impossible - and you're certainly not going to put on massive slabs of muscle and accidentally end up looking like a bodybuilder while weight training in a deficit. One is lucky if they preserve what muscle mass they have or perhaps put on a slight (very slight) amount of additional muscle when lifting in a caloric deficit.
If it was as easy as the OP thinks to get "huge", there would be a lot more "huge" guys walking around. Go into any gym anywhere and you'll see plenty of people lifting weights, gulping protein shakes and supplements, doing anything and everything they can in desperate efforts to put that muscle on. Every single one of them wishes it was as easy as some people think it is!
Just what he said. It takes. Years of working out and eating and steroids0 -
While 8-12 reps generally is regarded as the optimal hypertrophy range, that doesn't mean that lifting in that rep range will make one get big/bulky.
thanks for this. not being a guy, i don't really know what happens to you people when you even lift
but if the op is really worried, i thought it would help him to be even more sure he's probably safe if he decides to go with any of the starter programs that typically use 5 reps per set.
irrelevance: i overheard these two young bros in the rec centre this year, and lol'd. sort of not-funny that boys are getting just as uptight about body image as women have always been, but sort of yes-funny too, in a come-a-long-way-the-wrong-way sad kind of way.
bro 1: you only do 4-6 reps per set?
bro 2: yeah . . . girls don't like bulky guys, see.
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You're not going to get big and bulky unless you want to get big and bulky.
One of the strongest guys at my gym (this guy squats over 400 lbs) is built like a gymnast and probably weighs 160/170lbs soaking wet.
Follow a program like Stronglifts 5 x 5 and you'll get stronger, you'll probably notice some more muscular definition but you won't turn into Arnold.....bodybuilders take years and years of hard work (often with Mother Nature getting a helping hand) to get the size and definition they want, and they're hitting the gym way more than 3 days a week.
I didn't check how old you are but if you start strength training now and keep at it (along with whatever other activities you enjoy) your body will thank you as you age. Typically males start losing about 1% of their lean muscle mass when they hit 40 unless they strength train, get enough protein etc. Most of the frail old men you see hobbling around with their walkers could have mitigated their health problems had they strength trained; we evolved to do hard physical labour, modern sedentary lifest7les are killing us.0 -
canadianlbs wrote: »
While 8-12 reps generally is regarded as the optimal hypertrophy range, that doesn't mean that lifting in that rep range will make one get big/bulky.
thanks for this. not being a guy, i don't really know what happens to you people when you even lift but if the op is really worried, i thought it would help him to be even more sure he's probably safe if he decides to go with any of the starter programs that typically use 5 reps per set.
irrelevance: i overheard these two young bros in the rec centre this year, and lol'd. sort of not-funny that boys are getting just as uptight about body image as women have always been, but sort of yes-funny too, in a come-a-long-way-the-wrong-way sad kind of way.
bro 1: you only do 4-6 reps per set?
bro 2: yeah . . . girls don't like bulky guys, see.
The thing is, the whole hypertrophy vs. strength thing is on a continuum, as opposed to being an on/off "light switch" thing. It's not like if you do 3-5 rep sets you're going to build NO muscle, and if you do 8-12 reps you're going to build NO strength. In both cases you can get stronger and add muscle (you don't see many scrawny powerlifters), even though the rep ranges are geared toward different goals.
The point is that hypertrophy isn't something that happens quickly or in large quantities. In the beginning, one's strength will grow quickly due to neuromuscular adaptations (your central nervous system becomes more efficient at firing the muscles), but muscle growth happens much more slowly. Even under optimal diet/training/lifestyle conditions, a male in his prime with good genetics and who is new to lifting can expect to put on about a half pound of muscle per week, or around two pounds per month. That's with everything being optimal and focused 100% on hypertrophy, which is rarely the case for most of us.
Unless the OP trains like an animal, eats at a surplus and starts taking anabolic steroids, he doesn't have to worry about becoming "buff and muscular" against his will, regardless of what routine/rep range he chooses to lift in. Those who train with exactly those goals in mind wish it was that quick and easy.1
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