"But I don't want to get bulky!"

questionablemethods

Just wanted to share this video of 97 lb Cheryl Anderson deadlifting 315 lbs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d72hotMWvIw

She doesn't look very bulky to me. :laugh:

So maybe powerlifting 315 lbs isn't your goal -- it isn't mine either. I just wanted to drive home the point that strength and bulk are not necessarily the same thing. Don't fear the weights!

July24Lioness

Just wanted to share this video of 97 lb Cheryl Anderson deadlifting 315 lbs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d72hotMWvIw

She doesn't look very bulky to me. :laugh:

So maybe powerlifting 315 lbs isn't your goal -- it isn't mine either. I just wanted to drive home the point that strength and bulk are not necessarily the same thing. Don't fear the weights!

Great post!!!

aippolito1

So true! I lift 5, 8, and 10 lb weights and my arms are getting smaller :happy:

DizzieLittleLifter

:noway: WOW! Amazing! great point too!

aymetcalf

Wow! Totally agree! Bump!

EKarma

I've been lifting weights since about Feb '10 and I always get comments about how my upper body is.!.. I just started throwing in push ups and ab exercises! I can't wait to get my abs going strong..

glfprncs2

There's also Crystal West who currently holds the world record in two pull-up 'divisions.' Here's a video of her doing a little pull-up freestyling...and she doesn't look bulky to me, either.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8O4C64c84uI

Rhaeven

Great post...always been my biggest fear (until recently) that I'd just bulk up instead of get lean and tone...I've got bulky muscles to begin with, but....not worried about that anymore. I know I'd have to do some outrageous training to to from sexy bulky to overly muscled lol

TheMaidOfAstolat

Thanks for this...so many women freak out over working out...saying that they should do light weights and more reps because they don't want to get 'big'. More weight and fewer reps will increase muscle mass, but in order for a female to 'bulk up' she'll have to either take steroids or hormone therapy. I can not tell you how many times I've had to explain this on the boards.

unknownndoll

thanks for the post. i didnt know much about weights etc before recently, but i wasnt aware of how many women fear it either. I do chalean extream and lift heavy to failure, and the women on there her, her sister, and the chick with 7 kinds are small and lean!!! not bulky at all!! I only lift 7.5-15 lbs so far but i cant wait to get to where chalene is!!! like 25+ lbs. obviously I cant imagine over 300 lbs, but still.

lculian

bump! I have to see this!

Fit4Vet

bump cuz I can't watch it at work, but I wanna come back!

aling01

actually the more you lift the toner your body gets esp if you're overweight. if you want to keep it toned, lower the weights and up the reps

Phoenix_Rising

Thanks for this...so many women freak out over working out...saying that they should do light weights and more reps because they don't want to get 'big'. More weight and fewer reps will increase muscle mass, but in order for a female to 'bulk up' she'll have to either take steroids or hormone therapy. I can not tell you how many times I've had to explain this on the boards.

It always cracks me up when women are afraid of bulking up. It takes a LOT of work to bulk up!

lilchino4af

Bump for later - thanks for the post!

Tobi1013

Bumping for later since I can't watch at work!

Yurippe

There's also Crystal West who currently holds the world record in two pull-up 'divisions.' Here's a video of her doing a little pull-up freestyling...and she doesn't look bulky to me, either.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8O4C64c84uI

This is the coolest thing I've ever seen.

glfprncs2

There's also Crystal West who currently holds the world record in two pull-up 'divisions.' Here's a video of her doing a little pull-up freestyling...and she doesn't look bulky to me, either.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8O4C64c84uI

This is the coolest thing I've ever seen.

She's my pull up hero...she did over 1000 pull ups in 80 minutes trying for a world record (one currently held by a man)

hiddensecant

actually the more you lift the toner your body gets esp if you're overweight. if you want to keep it toned, lower the weights and up the reps

I'm pretty sure the point of the video is, women shouldn't be afraid to up the weights and lower the reps. After all, that was 1 rep, haha.

questionablemethods

There's also Crystal West who currently holds the world record in two pull-up 'divisions.' Here's a video of her doing a little pull-up freestyling...and she doesn't look bulky to me, either.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8O4C64c84uI

Oh wow. I'm currently at 1.5 - 1.75 unassisted pullups. Can't wait until I can bust out like 10 in a row.

questionablemethods

actually the more you lift the toner your body gets esp if you're overweight. if you want to keep it toned, lower the weights and up the reps

I'm pretty sure the point of the video is, women shouldn't be afraid to up the weights and lower the reps. After all, that was 1 rep, haha.

Yup. :happy:

david1956

I think the fear of bulking up is perpetuated by myths and lack of understanding of what constitutes true dry lean muscle mass.

Knowledgeable body-building experts will tell you.. if a male doing everything absolutely correctly, perfect diet and exercise with that precise goal of gaining muscle mass, could gain 0.5-1 pound per month of muscle mass he would be doing extremely well. Forget the "THE secret to gaining 30 lb of muscle in 6 weeks" nonsense!

On a new (for me) really intensive strength training program I have lost 2" off my chest and waist in 9 weeks (and I am not really dramatically overweight). I was discussing this with my trainer the other day and another guy happened to be standing there. "Oh!" He looked perplexed at our statisfaction. "You've LOST 2" off your chest?" Like most guys he has a "bulk up" mentality. The reason I'm pleased is that while I'm getting stronger I'm loosing fat everwhere and like most guys the noticeable area is chest/stomach.

To superficially bulk up in a way that can look deceptively cool (for guys who want to look big) is simple.. eat tons of say pasta and push weights. But it will NOT be true muscle mass. It is fluid, fat and some muscle. You simply cannot bulk up muscle easily.

A good strength training program will if anything make measurements smaller. But your muscle becomes hard, dense, without a fat layer. The key is diet. Pushing weights with a poor diet can make you appear bulked, it's what typically happened to me when I first started training. But with a good diet, generally more good protein, you will not bulk up and for women it is even less likely you can do so.

To some extent genetics factor in here. For various bio-mechanical reasons, the potential size of a particular muscle is most governed by its length. And that has to do with where muscles are attached to bones given a particular person's physiology. So to some extent some people will tend to get a more muscular appearance than others. It's a bit like, most sprinters will always have a muscular build, marathon runners will always have a leaner build. They won't magically transform genetically, that simple. Eat right, exercise right and you'll develop your best physique and it will be good!

alantin

There's also Crystal West who currently holds the world record in two pull-up 'divisions.' Here's a video of her doing a little pull-up freestyling...and she doesn't look bulky to me, either.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8O4C64c84uI

This is the coolest thing I've ever seen.

She's my pull up hero...she did over 1000 pull ups in 80 minutes trying for a world record (one currently held by a man)

Holy cow!
My newest idol! I wanna know how she exercises! O_O

Edit:
Well, obviously doing pull ups, but the rest of it too! =P

Edit2:
@david1956, Great post! Thanks!

kcbythec

Thanks for this post, I always used to worry about bulking, and now I lifting heavier and losing weight. Right on point! Now I need to get my ticker to work but I have lost almost 3 lbs in a week, eating clean as well.

KC

kdiamond

I am 105 pounds and very feminine looking and I deadlift 50 pounds, bicep curls with 20 pounds each arm, leg press with 135 pounds, etc.. Lifting heavy reduced my body fat and made me look so tight!

Barneystinson

The amount of "bulk" one can get from lifting is proportional to the amount of the hormone testosterone in their body. So the super-bulk females are either in some ridiculously small minority of women with high levels of testosterone in their body OR they are using supplementation / steroids. If you check out women in competitive mode, look for "natural" weightlifters - i.e. the ones that aren't pushing supps. I guarantee they'll be slender and extremely ripped (and possibly have a super-fake spray tan, but that goes along with fitness competition).

There are entirely too many stereotypes that float around about women not needing to lift heavy. I call BS, as well as most respected trainers and most on this thread, LOL . I do a few heavy squats and deadlifts at home on my equipment - last weekend I squatted 60. Anyone who tells me "oh noes you're gonna get bulky" can suck it. I hope to increase that 60 to 80.

Now, if you're doing a more cardio-based endurance type of weightlifting with higher repetition (P90X, boot camp, etc) you'll be lifting 5-25 lbs in dumbbells, most likely. Essentially, you want to lift enough weight to push yourself to failure in the time allotted.

Actually, here's a really good blog about women and lifting heavy on Stumptuous:

http://www.stumptuous.com/lies-in-the-gym

And if you've never read Krista's writings over at Stumptuous, bookmark her blog! It's really motivational!

MrsSki

There's a great book that discuss's this and gives some good excercises for women. It's called, "The New Rules of Lifting for Women: Lift Like a Man, Look Like a Goddess" by Lou Schuler, Cassandra Forsythe, and Alwyn Cosgrove.

I found it really informative, there's also a version of the book for men too, not sure of the exact title though. Here's the Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1583333398/ref=oss_product

questionablemethods

If you check out women in competitive mode, look for "natural" weightlifters - i.e. the ones that aren't pushing supps. I guarantee they'll be slender and extremely ripped (and possibly have a super-fake spray tan, but that goes along with fitness competition).

Yes. Women who compete or model don't typically look that way ALL the time. Those women have done some pretty specific carb cycling and fiddling with sodium levels such that their muscles retain a bit of fluid (a "pump") while they lose the water between their muscles and skin. That is a very temporary state. Normally during the off season or when not prepping for a photo shoot, they also gain a few pounds of body fat (it is just too hard/unnatural for women to be that lean all the time) and have a bit of a softer look. The spray tan, oil, tiny bikinis, stripper shoes and very specific poses also highlight the muscle definition. They don't look that way walking through the grocery store. :laugh:

simona1972

The amount of "bulk" one can get from lifting is proportional to the amount of the hormone testosterone in their body. So the super-bulk females are either in some ridiculously small minority of women with high levels of testosterone in their body OR they are using supplementation / steroids.

That is SO true. When I was lifting years and years and years ago my period stopped for 6 months. I went to my doctor - he did some bloodwork and when the results came in, he called me right away and asked what I was taking. I said nothing and asked him why he asked that question. He said my testosterone levels were so high they'd rival any man. Explained why I wasnt getting my period. Put me on the pill and I stopped lifting [biggest misake I ever made]. But you're right...to get that bulk, you have to have high levels of testosterone. I never had too much bulk but had incredible strength

hiddensecant

Even P90X says to lift 10-15 reps to failure for women and 8-10 for men ... I lift 6-8 reps to failure :laugh:. But hey, it works ... you don't see any muscles bulging out of me, except when I flex and even then it's very modest.

The ripped look that other women in the elite fitness category requires years of lifting heavy on a calorie surplus. You also have to lean down first before you can get a deep cut. So you're not going to get the look unless you really don't have a lot of fat to lose.

lotusfromthemud

The amount of "bulk" one can get from lifting is proportional to the amount of the hormone testosterone in their body. So the super-bulk females are either in some ridiculously small minority of women with high levels of testosterone in their body OR they are using supplementation / steroids. If you check out women in competitive mode, look for "natural" weightlifters - i.e. the ones that aren't pushing supps. I guarantee they'll be slender and extremely ripped (and possibly have a super-fake spray tan, but that goes along with fitness competition).

There are entirely too many stereotypes that float around about women not needing to lift heavy. I call BS, as well as most respected trainers and most on this thread, LOL . I do a few heavy squats and deadlifts at home on my equipment - last weekend I squatted 60. Anyone who tells me "oh noes you're gonna get bulky" can suck it. I hope to increase that 60 to 80.

Now, if you're doing a more cardio-based endurance type of weightlifting with higher repetition (P90X, boot camp, etc) you'll be lifting 5-25 lbs in dumbbells, most likely. Essentially, you want to lift enough weight to push yourself to failure in the time allotted.

Actually, here's a really good blog about women and lifting heavy on Stumptuous:

http://www.stumptuous.com/lies-in-the-gym

And if you've never read Krista's writings over at Stumptuous, bookmark her blog! It's really motivational!

I love, love, love Krista! Her gym is actually in my hometown, and I've seen her at events. I would love to train with her. But, in the meantime, I settle for the blog.