Women who put on muscle fast
Replies
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I wish I had this "problem". My legs are always kind of man muscular, but damn can I get some upper body to match?0
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I'm sorry to say but you women who think you gain muscle too fast or the muscle you have makes you look manly... you don't look manly. You don't even have that much muscle, and I sincerely doubt you can lift that much. You just have a distorted self image. :ohwell:
^^ So much this.
Body dysmorphia. Not a single lady that is claiming she has a "bulky" body has proven it. It's how they perceive their mirror image, nothing else.0 -
pics?I wish I had this "problem". My legs are always kind of man muscular, but damn can I get some upper body to match?0 -
I got really into weights and Les Mills BodyPump.. Was doing it a fair few times a week with heavy weights (no other women in the class were lifting what I was lifting & I wasn't taking anything apart from the odd protein shake here and there)
The long and short of it is I became 'bulky' my upper body, shoulders, back and arms was just horrible when I had clothes on
No, you didn't.
Show us the pics and measurements to prove it, because if that happened while you weren't gaining weight then you are a marvel of biology.
Why does she need to 'prove' anything? Her perception was that she started to look bulky doing those activities, and she changed her habits to avoid that. Her idea of bulky and yours may not be the same, but that doesn't mean that her perception of her own body is invalid or necessarily inaccurate.
Body image is an intensely personal thing, and what we perceive may not match others' perceptions of us, because their view is measured by a different fundamental scale to ours, produced by their own experiences. We all know someone who obsesses about some part of their appearance that we don't even notice. Just because their 'hooked' nose/'bulky' calves/'sticky-out' ears/ 'frizzy' hair doesn't bother our aesthetic sense, or measure up to our personal frame of reference for those things, does not mean that it isn't a real problem/issue and a source of self-consciousness to the person who owns the nose/ears/hair/calves/shoulders in question.0 -
I got really into weights and Les Mills BodyPump.. Was doing it a fair few times a week with heavy weights (no other women in the class were lifting what I was lifting & I wasn't taking anything apart from the odd protein shake here and there)
The long and short of it is I became 'bulky' my upper body, shoulders, back and arms was just horrible when I had clothes on
No, you didn't.
Show us the pics and measurements to prove it, because if that happened while you weren't gaining weight then you are a marvel of biology.
Why does she need to 'prove' anything? Her perception was that she started to look bulky doing those activities, and she changed her habits to avoid that. Her idea of bulky and yours may not be the same, but that doesn't mean that her perception of her own body is invalid or necessarily inaccurate.
Body image is an intensely personal thing, and what we perceive may not match others' perceptions of us, because their view is measured by a different fundamental scale to ours, produced by their own experiences. We all know someone who obsesses about some part of their appearance that we don't even notice. Just because their 'hooked' nose/'bulky' calves/'sticky-out' ears/ 'frizzy' hair doesn't bother our aesthetic sense, or measure up to our personal frame of reference for those things, does not mean that it isn't a real problem/issue and a source of self-consciousness to the person who owns the nose/ears/hair/calves/shoulders in question.
People need to learn to love their bodies, regardless of whether or not they are working to make improvements. No amount of diet or exercise will make you happy if you can't find happiness with who you are *right now.*0 -
I got really into weights and Les Mills BodyPump.. Was doing it a fair few times a week with heavy weights (no other women in the class were lifting what I was lifting & I wasn't taking anything apart from the odd protein shake here and there)
The long and short of it is I became 'bulky' my upper body, shoulders, back and arms was just horrible when I had clothes on
No, you didn't.
Show us the pics and measurements to prove it, because if that happened while you weren't gaining weight then you are a marvel of biology.
Why does she need to 'prove' anything? Her perception was that she started to look bulky doing those activities, and she changed her habits to avoid that. Her idea of bulky and yours may not be the same, but that doesn't mean that her perception of her own body is invalid or necessarily inaccurate.
Body image is an intensely personal thing, and what we perceive may not match others' perceptions of us, because their view is measured by a different fundamental scale to ours, produced by their own experiences. We all know someone who obsesses about some part of their appearance that we don't even notice. Just because their 'hooked' nose/'bulky' calves/'sticky-out' ears/ 'frizzy' hair doesn't bother our aesthetic sense, or measure up to our personal frame of reference for those things, does not mean that it isn't a real problem/issue and a source of self-consciousness to the person who owns the nose/ears/hair/calves/shoulders in question.
This isn't a body image issue. Post that in another thread. The discussion is centered on women who claim to put on muscle quickly and explanations of why that is simply not physically possible.
I suppose though, thinking about your argument, that all those anorexics who suffer from body dysmorphia should just be supported in their dysfunction because that's their perceptions and "body image is an intensely personal thing." Perhaps the reality of a person's body fat %, LBM %, etc. do have a legitimate place in these discussions?0 -
lol! body pump is heavy lifting...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsm0A1RTu6k
"high rep high intensity barbell based program...it's more repetitions with higher weight...800 reps in some routines"
I wonder if they know that heavy lifting is lifting 85% your max weight for ~5 reps. And you lift what at bodypump? Gazillion reps of whatever lighter weight? If it 'feels heavy' that doesn't make it heavy lifting. If you run for a long time and your legs feel heavy to the point you cannot lift them anymore that doesn't mean that when you're walking you're doing heavy lifting...
OMG body pump is NOT heavy lifting. LMFAO clearly they do not. it pains me. really it does.
There is a woman who comes to my dance studio and says she's addicted to it and she loves how much weight she does because she feels so strong- she's like we do over 800 reps sometimes... I'm like. <epicfacepalm>
half range of movement doesn't count
800 reps of ANYTHING is NEVER heavy lifting unless you are doing sets of 2-3 and you are there all fracking night.I got really into weights and Les Mills BodyPump.. Was doing it a fair few times a week with heavy weights (no other women in the class were lifting what I was lifting & I wasn't taking anything apart from the odd protein shake here and there)
you weren't lifting heavy- and into weights. Body Pump is like almost the complete opposite of heavy lifting.
You didn't get bulky. Trust me. you didn't. You may not have liked the way you looked- but your diet probably didn't support the work and or you were having water retention/typical muscle tearing issues.
And for the record- women with stacked upper bodies- rarely look bad in clothes- they look amazing in tank tops and halters. nom nom... love it.0 -
I got really into weights and Les Mills BodyPump.. Was doing it a fair few times a week with heavy weights (no other women in the class were lifting what I was lifting & I wasn't taking anything apart from the odd protein shake here and there)
The long and short of it is I became 'bulky' my upper body, shoulders, back and arms was just horrible when I had clothes on
No, you didn't.
Show us the pics and measurements to prove it, because if that happened while you weren't gaining weight then you are a marvel of biology.
Why does she need to 'prove' anything?
Because the things she said happened are physically impossible. She literally said she got bulky.
Bulk literally means size. She got smaller. She may have gained some muscle definition, but she did not get bulkier. She got smaller, which is the opposite of bulk.0 -
I got really into weights and Les Mills BodyPump.. Was doing it a fair few times a week with heavy weights (no other women in the class were lifting what I was lifting & I wasn't taking anything apart from the odd protein shake here and there)
The long and short of it is I became 'bulky' my upper body, shoulders, back and arms was just horrible when I had clothes on
No, you didn't.
Show us the pics and measurements to prove it, because if that happened while you weren't gaining weight then you are a marvel of biology.
Why does she need to 'prove' anything? Her perception was that she started to look bulky doing those activities, and she changed her habits to avoid that. Her idea of bulky and yours may not be the same, but that doesn't mean that her perception of her own body is invalid or necessarily inaccurate.
Body image is an intensely personal thing, and what we perceive may not match others' perceptions of us, because their view is measured by a different fundamental scale to ours, produced by their own experiences. We all know someone who obsesses about some part of their appearance that we don't even notice. Just because their 'hooked' nose/'bulky' calves/'sticky-out' ears/ 'frizzy' hair doesn't bother our aesthetic sense, or measure up to our personal frame of reference for those things, does not mean that it isn't a real problem/issue and a source of self-consciousness to the person who owns the nose/ears/hair/calves/shoulders in question.
People need to learn to love their bodies, regardless of whether or not they are working to make improvements. No amount of diet or exercise will make you happy if you can't find happiness with who you are *right now.*
I don't believe that there is a person in this thread that would argue with that statement. What is being discussed is objective reality. I said earlier that it is very easy for people to misperceive what is happening with their own bodies, I have experienced it myself. Everyone believes that lifting weights makes people bigger but that only happens if that person is eating at a calorie surplus. For the vast majority of people on MFP, i.e. those who are dieting, lifting weights will simply preserve the LBM that they have as they lose weight. Even for the few who are completely untrained or who are genetically gifted and do gain some limited muscle mass while eating at a deficit, they will actually get smaller, as was illustrated by the fat/muscle comparison that CoderGal posted earlier.
I know this is a hard concept for people to learn. I've seen it again and again with others starting the process and quite far along in it, and I experienced it myself. No one is attacking anyone in this thread or challenging their "happiness." This is a genuine attempt to explain what is going on.0 -
pics?I wish I had this "problem". My legs are always kind of man muscular, but damn can I get some upper body to match?
why?0 -
I got really into weights and Les Mills BodyPump.. Was doing it a fair few times a week with heavy weights (no other women in the class were lifting what I was lifting & I wasn't taking anything apart from the odd protein shake here and there)
The long and short of it is I became 'bulky' my upper body, shoulders, back and arms was just horrible when I had clothes on
No, you didn't.
Show us the pics and measurements to prove it, because if that happened while you weren't gaining weight then you are a marvel of biology.
Why does she need to 'prove' anything? Her perception was that she started to look bulky doing those activities, and she changed her habits to avoid that. Her idea of bulky and yours may not be the same, but that doesn't mean that her perception of her own body is invalid or necessarily inaccurate.
Body image is an intensely personal thing, and what we perceive may not match others' perceptions of us, because their view is measured by a different fundamental scale to ours, produced by their own experiences. We all know someone who obsesses about some part of their appearance that we don't even notice. Just because their 'hooked' nose/'bulky' calves/'sticky-out' ears/ 'frizzy' hair doesn't bother our aesthetic sense, or measure up to our personal frame of reference for those things, does not mean that it isn't a real problem/issue and a source of self-consciousness to the person who owns the nose/ears/hair/calves/shoulders in question.
This isn't a body image issue. Post that in another thread. The discussion is centered on women who claim to put on muscle quickly and explanations of why that is simply not physically possible.
I suppose though, thinking about your argument, that all those anorexics who suffer from body dysmorphia should just be supported in their dysfunction because that's their perceptions and "body image is an intensely personal thing." Perhaps the reality of a person's body fat %, LBM %, etc. do have a legitimate place in these discussions?
I think you missed the point of my argument. No-one would disagree, surely, that an anorexic who suffers from extreme body dysmorphia, genuinely believed what he/she perceived about his/her own body ie. that he/she was 'fat'? Specialists work with people in that situation to help them move away from this disordered belief/perception. I hardly think that a perception of a bulky upper body is akin in its' dysmorphic tendencies to anorexia, but yes, this is a body image issue when women feel that to be visibly muscular is damaging to their femininity.
My argument, in response to a rather rude and dismissive demand for 'proof' that the woman quoted became bulky from lifting weights, was that body image is fundamentally about individual perception of one's own body. The woman who said she became bulky became so in her own view ie. she felt that the image she saw in the mirror - her body image - was too muscularly developed in a particular area for her own comfort. Her view and the reality of her body may not match up to the perception of 'bulk' held by the person who demanded proof, but that does not mean that her perception of her own body is necessarily invalid.0 -
I got really into weights and Les Mills BodyPump.. Was doing it a fair few times a week with heavy weights (no other women in the class were lifting what I was lifting & I wasn't taking anything apart from the odd protein shake here and there)
The long and short of it is I became 'bulky' my upper body, shoulders, back and arms was just horrible when I had clothes on
No, you didn't.
Show us the pics and measurements to prove it, because if that happened while you weren't gaining weight then you are a marvel of biology.
Why does she need to 'prove' anything? Her perception was that she started to look bulky doing those activities, and she changed her habits to avoid that. Her idea of bulky and yours may not be the same, but that doesn't mean that her perception of her own body is invalid or necessarily inaccurate.
Body image is an intensely personal thing, and what we perceive may not match others' perceptions of us, because their view is measured by a different fundamental scale to ours, produced by their own experiences. We all know someone who obsesses about some part of their appearance that we don't even notice. Just because their 'hooked' nose/'bulky' calves/'sticky-out' ears/ 'frizzy' hair doesn't bother our aesthetic sense, or measure up to our personal frame of reference for those things, does not mean that it isn't a real problem/issue and a source of self-consciousness to the person who owns the nose/ears/hair/calves/shoulders in question.
This isn't a body image issue. Post that in another thread. The discussion is centered on women who claim to put on muscle quickly and explanations of why that is simply not physically possible.
I suppose though, thinking about your argument, that all those anorexics who suffer from body dysmorphia should just be supported in their dysfunction because that's their perceptions and "body image is an intensely personal thing." Perhaps the reality of a person's body fat %, LBM %, etc. do have a legitimate place in these discussions?
I think you missed the point of my argument. No-one would disagree, surely, that an anorexic who suffers from extreme body dysmorphia, genuinely believed what he/she perceived about his/her own body ie. that he/she was 'fat'? Specialists work with people in that situation to help them move away from this disordered belief/perception. I hardly think that a perception of a bulky upper body is akin in its' dysmorphic tendencies to anorexia, but yes, this is a body image issue when women feel that to be visibly muscular is damaging to their femininity.
My argument, in response to a rather rude and dismissive demand for 'proof' that the woman quoted became bulky from lifting weights, was that body image is fundamentally about individual perception of one's own body. The woman who said she became bulky became so in her own view ie. she felt that the image she saw in the mirror - her body image - was too muscularly developed in a particular area for her own comfort. Her view and the reality of her body may not match up to the perception of 'bulk' held by the person who demanded proof, but that does not mean that her perception of her own body is necessarily invalid.
Okay. You don't understand what is being discussed and want to harp on body image. Never mind. You can't be helped.0 -
pics?I wish I had this "problem". My legs are always kind of man muscular, but damn can I get some upper body to match?
why?
Because they want to examine your pics and then tell you why you're wrong and then lecture you on weights, body fat %, muscle definition, heavy lifting vs. baby pink dumbbells, and throw in a bunch of sarcastic digs so they can show that they're part of the cool kids' club. Ad nauseam.0 -
I got really into weights and Les Mills BodyPump.. Was doing it a fair few times a week with heavy weights (no other women in the class were lifting what I was lifting & I wasn't taking anything apart from the odd protein shake here and there)
The long and short of it is I became 'bulky' my upper body, shoulders, back and arms was just horrible when I had clothes on
No, you didn't.
Show us the pics and measurements to prove it, because if that happened while you weren't gaining weight then you are a marvel of biology.
Why does she need to 'prove' anything?
Because the things she said happened are physically impossible. She literally said she got bulky.
Bulk literally means size. She got smaller. She may have gained some muscle definition, but she did not get bulkier. She got smaller, which is the opposite of bulk.
I think it's likely your understanding of 'bulky' and hers may be different. In her context, I took the word 'bulky' to mean highly-defined, perhaps large in proportion to the rest of her body, and inelegant - not a lithe, svelte look, but visibly muscular, which many women believe is unfeminine and unappealing. I know 'bulk' has a particular connotation in weightlifting, but it's not the only way to use that word.0 -
My argument, in response to a rather rude and dismissive demand for 'proof' that the woman quoted became bulky from lifting weights, was that body image is fundamentally about individual perception of one's own body. The woman who said she became bulky became so in her own view ie. she felt that the image she saw in the mirror - her body image - was too muscularly developed in a particular area for her own comfort. Her view and the reality of her body may not match up to the perception of 'bulk' held by the person who demanded proof, but that does not mean that her perception of her own body is necessarily invalid.
We're not talking about body image. We're talking about physical reality. Whether a woman thinks she is "too bulky" is a completely separate issue of whether or not she, in reality, became more bulky during a given time frame.
She said she got too bulky while doing this class. The reality is that her bulk decreased. If her body image changed, that's a separate issue.
The point is that it's literally impossible to become bulkier while you're at a calorie deficit, no matter how much weight you lift. Period, end of story, thanks for playing, let's all go home now.0 -
pics?I wish I had this "problem". My legs are always kind of man muscular, but damn can I get some upper body to match?
why?
Because they want to examine your pics and then tell you why you're wrong and then lecture you on weights, body fat %, muscle definition, heavy lifting vs. baby pink dumbbells, and throw in a bunch of sarcastic digs so they can show that they're part of the cool kids' club. Ad nauseam.
Yea. So sorry, that people who have been through this process are attempting to illustrate a point. Go find someone who will give you a hug, pat your head, and tell you "wow, you're so bulky!" It's all about the teddy bears and rainbows for some, actual progress for others.0 -
I get terribly fed up with being told women don't bulk up, or women don't look like body builders without steroids. I put on muscle very easily, and although I don't end up looking like a body builder when I do heavy weights, I certainly get rather manish in the arms and legs. When I rowed a lot I had very big arm and thigh muscles, and was certainly not on steroids. I didn't even eat much protein by most people's standards (being vegetarian).
So are there any other women on here like me, who actually do get big muscles doing weights, and don't really want them?
Yes, I'm like you in that I get pronounced muscles.
No, I'm not like you in not wanting them. I LOVE having muscles.0 -
I think it's likely your understanding of 'bulky' and hers may be different. In her context, I took the word 'bulky' to mean highly-defined, perhaps large in proportion to the rest of her body, and inelegant - not a lithe, svelte look, but visibly muscular, which many women believe is unfeminine and unappealing. I know 'bulk' has a particular connotation in weightlifting, but it's not the only way to use that word.
If only there were some book written, where we could collect definitions of words so that when we use them we could make sure we're using them correctly. You could have them in alphabetical order, and give the meanings of words right next to the word itself.
If such a book existed, and the word "bulky" was in it, it could, for instance, say "of relatively large size" and not "smaller yet more defined."
If only such a book existed.0 -
pics?I wish I had this "problem". My legs are always kind of man muscular, but damn can I get some upper body to match?
why?
Because they want to examine your pics and then tell you why you're wrong and then lecture you on weights, body fat %, muscle definition, heavy lifting vs. baby pink dumbbells, and throw in a bunch of sarcastic digs so they can show that they're part of the cool kids' club. Ad nauseam.
Yea. So sorry, that people who have been through this process are attempting to illustrate a point. Go find someone who will give you a hug, pat your head, and tell you "wow, you're so bulky!" It's all about the teddy bears and rainbows for some, actual progress for others.
LMAO!!!!
Sweetie, you've been here since March and you already have over 4000 posts. You seriously need to find something better to do with your time.0 -
My argument, in response to a rather rude and dismissive demand for 'proof' that the woman quoted became bulky from lifting weights, was that body image is fundamentally about individual perception of one's own body. The woman who said she became bulky became so in her own view ie. she felt that the image she saw in the mirror - her body image - was too muscularly developed in a particular area for her own comfort. Her view and the reality of her body may not match up to the perception of 'bulk' held by the person who demanded proof, but that does not mean that her perception of her own body is necessarily invalid.
We're not talking about body image. We're talking about physical reality. Whether a woman thinks she is "too bulky" is a completely separate issue of whether or not she, in reality, became more bulky during a given time frame.
She said she got too bulky while doing this class. The reality is that her bulk decreased. If her body image changed, that's a separate issue.
The point is that it's literally impossible to become bulkier while you're at a calorie deficit, no matter how much weight you lift. Period, end of story, thanks for playing, let's all go home now.
Your body will gain muscle on a caloric deficit up to a certain point when you first start out. But you will see the gains level out eventually. At that point it becomes all about maintaining the muscle you have while you burn fat.
She may also have great genetics.
Newbie gains I think the term is.0 -
pics?I wish I had this "problem". My legs are always kind of man muscular, but damn can I get some upper body to match?
why?
Because they want to examine your pics and then tell you why you're wrong and then lecture you on weights, body fat %, muscle definition, heavy lifting vs. baby pink dumbbells, and throw in a bunch of sarcastic digs so they can show that they're part of the cool kids' club. Ad nauseam.
Yea. So sorry, that people who have been through this process are attempting to illustrate a point. Go find someone who will give you a hug, pat your head, and tell you "wow, you're so bulky!" It's all about the teddy bears and rainbows for some, actual progress for others.
LMAO!!!!
Sweetie, you've been here since March and you already have over 4000 posts. You seriously need to find something better to do with your time.
When you have no better reply, just fling offtopic insults. Seems about right. He's giving good advice and explaining objective reality, while you're just tossing pointless insults and digs that help no one.0 -
My argument, in response to a rather rude and dismissive demand for 'proof' that the woman quoted became bulky from lifting weights, was that body image is fundamentally about individual perception of one's own body. The woman who said she became bulky became so in her own view ie. she felt that the image she saw in the mirror - her body image - was too muscularly developed in a particular area for her own comfort. Her view and the reality of her body may not match up to the perception of 'bulk' held by the person who demanded proof, but that does not mean that her perception of her own body is necessarily invalid.
We're not talking about body image. We're talking about physical reality. Whether a woman thinks she is "too bulky" is a completely separate issue of whether or not she, in reality, became more bulky during a given time frame.
She said she got too bulky while doing this class. The reality is that her bulk decreased. If her body image changed, that's a separate issue.
The point is that it's literally impossible to become bulkier while you're at a calorie deficit, no matter how much weight you lift. Period, end of story, thanks for playing, let's all go home now.
Your body will gain muscle on a caloric deficit up to a certain point when you first start out. But you will see the gains level out eventually. At that point it becomes all about maintaining the muscle you have while you burn fat.
She may also have great genetics.
Newbie gains I think the term is.
No quantity of newbie gains will make any person or body part actually bigger. In some cases, a person in a calorie deficit can gain small amounts of muscle mass with newbie gains, but this is more than offset by a drop in fat mass.
No one actually gets larger in a calorie deficit, and bulk is literally size. You cannot increase your bulk in a calorie deficit.
Anyone who says they did failed to take proper measurements and track actual progress.0 -
pics?I wish I had this "problem". My legs are always kind of man muscular, but damn can I get some upper body to match?
why?
Because they want to examine your pics and then tell you why you're wrong and then lecture you on weights, body fat %, muscle definition, heavy lifting vs. baby pink dumbbells, and throw in a bunch of sarcastic digs so they can show that they're part of the cool kids' club. Ad nauseam.
Yea. So sorry, that people who have been through this process are attempting to illustrate a point. Go find someone who will give you a hug, pat your head, and tell you "wow, you're so bulky!" It's all about the teddy bears and rainbows for some, actual progress for others.
LMAO!!!!
Sweetie, you've been here since March and you already have over 4000 posts. You seriously need to find something better to do with your time.
When you have no better reply, just fling offtopic insults. Seems about right. He's giving good advice and explaining objective reality, while you're just tossing pointless insults and digs that help no one.
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so unless you're a certain inch size you can't look bulky? and becasue you're a woman if you drop body fat, your defined muscles can't look masculine? what does it matter if someone gained inches and bulked up? if you look bulky you look bulky. a person doesn't need to gain to look bulky if it's already there. there are plenty of women with broad shoulders, large quads, large calves, big arms, naturally and sometimes working them just makes them bigger which some women don't like.0
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pics?I wish I had this "problem". My legs are always kind of man muscular, but damn can I get some upper body to match?
why?
Because they want to examine your pics and then tell you why you're wrong and then lecture you on weights, body fat %, muscle definition, heavy lifting vs. baby pink dumbbells, and throw in a bunch of sarcastic digs so they can show that they're part of the cool kids' club. Ad nauseam.
Yea. So sorry, that people who have been through this process are attempting to illustrate a point. Go find someone who will give you a hug, pat your head, and tell you "wow, you're so bulky!" It's all about the teddy bears and rainbows for some, actual progress for others.
LMAO!!!!
Sweetie, you've been here since March and you already have over 4000 posts. You seriously need to find something better to do with your time.
When you have no better reply, just fling offtopic insults. Seems about right. He's giving good advice and explaining objective reality, while you're just tossing pointless insults and digs that help no one.
I suppose your'e right. The pat on the head and the hug thing was condescending and set me off. Time to leave the room and get back to work. Apologies.
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I got really into weights and Les Mills BodyPump.. Was doing it a fair few times a week with heavy weights (no other women in the class were lifting what I was lifting & I wasn't taking anything apart from the odd protein shake here and there)
The long and short of it is I became 'bulky' my upper body, shoulders, back and arms was just horrible when I had clothes on
No, you didn't.
Show us the pics and measurements to prove it, because if that happened while you weren't gaining weight then you are a marvel of biology.
Why does she need to 'prove' anything? Her perception was that she started to look bulky doing those activities, and she changed her habits to avoid that. Her idea of bulky and yours may not be the same, but that doesn't mean that her perception of her own body is invalid or necessarily inaccurate.
Body image is an intensely personal thing, and what we perceive may not match others' perceptions of us, because their view is measured by a different fundamental scale to ours, produced by their own experiences. We all know someone who obsesses about some part of their appearance that we don't even notice. Just because their 'hooked' nose/'bulky' calves/'sticky-out' ears/ 'frizzy' hair doesn't bother our aesthetic sense, or measure up to our personal frame of reference for those things, does not mean that it isn't a real problem/issue and a source of self-consciousness to the person who owns the nose/ears/hair/calves/shoulders in question.
This isn't a body image issue. Post that in another thread. The discussion is centered on women who claim to put on muscle quickly and explanations of why that is simply not physically possible.
I suppose though, thinking about your argument, that all those anorexics who suffer from body dysmorphia should just be supported in their dysfunction because that's their perceptions and "body image is an intensely personal thing." Perhaps the reality of a person's body fat %, LBM %, etc. do have a legitimate place in these discussions?
I think you missed the point of my argument. No-one would disagree, surely, that an anorexic who suffers from extreme body dysmorphia, genuinely believed what he/she perceived about his/her own body ie. that he/she was 'fat'? Specialists work with people in that situation to help them move away from this disordered belief/perception. I hardly think that a perception of a bulky upper body is akin in its' dysmorphic tendencies to anorexia, but yes, this is a body image issue when women feel that to be visibly muscular is damaging to their femininity.
My argument, in response to a rather rude and dismissive demand for 'proof' that the woman quoted became bulky from lifting weights, was that body image is fundamentally about individual perception of one's own body. The woman who said she became bulky became so in her own view ie. she felt that the image she saw in the mirror - her body image - was too muscularly developed in a particular area for her own comfort. Her view and the reality of her body may not match up to the perception of 'bulk' held by the person who demanded proof, but that does not mean that her perception of her own body is necessarily invalid.
Okay. You don't understand what is being discussed and want to harp on body image. Never mind. You can't be helped.
Merely trying to add another perspective to the discussion, and responding a specific part of a specific post, not the whole thread. If you don't want to acknowledge that a woman may feel herself to be too 'bulky' despite the scientific difficulties in that matching up to your view of that term, please, continue on in blissful ignorance.0 -
Women can get bulky!
- a great blog entry.
Does strength training make you look like this?
Boy, where do I start with this one. I can’t tell you how many female clients have come to me worried that strength training was going to make them bulky. I hear this at least a couple times a month. Why is this such a big issue for women? Is it a legitimate concern?
According to the American College of Sports Medicine (2011) women that participate in high volume and high intensity exercise can experience significant increases in hypertrophy. Furthermore, Kell (2011) states that adult men and women respond to resistance training in very similar fashions across the board. Meaning pound for pound, women do gain as much muscle mass as men when you look at the percent of muscle mass gained. Uh oh! This is exactly what most women are trying to avoid. It’s not looking good so far. Maybe you women are on to something. Or maybe not…
To build muscle 3 things must be present:
A positive net protein balance. Without this, your efforts in the gym may actually be catabolic (muscle wasting). This would certainly keep women from hulking out. This is also why so many people buy protein shakes. (I’m guilty!)
Intense and heavy lifting. This is what stimulates your body to make a change. To do this, you’re going to need to perform at least one set on any exercise that is exhaustive and between 1-12 repetitions. The resistance needed for this is going to be different for everybody and may not really be considered “significant” amounts of resistance for some people, in particular women and beginning lifters. For example, using 100lb dumbbells for a dumbbell bench press would put me in this arena. For my wife to get the same results, she would likely use about 20lb dumbbells. Not a very significant amount for me, but definitely significant enough for her.
The infamous testosterone! The presence of testosterone increases our ability to use the ingested protein and the more testosterone a person has the more protein they can ingest (because it will get used) and that’s a great recipe for making bigger muscles. We all know that men have more testosterone than women. In fact men have 10-15 times the amount (Tipton, 2001), thus men have a greater ability to gain muscle…oh sorry…”hulk-out”. But does this mean it’s impossible for women to get bulky?
The difference in testosterone levels seems to explain the majority of muscular differences between men and women. There are also a couple other major differences that affect muscle mass between men and women that are often forgotten or overlooked. For instance women typically have a greater percentage of type I (slow-twitch) muscle fibers than men which are smaller than type II (fast-twitch fibers) (Tipton, 2001). Also, there is some evidence that female hormones may actually inhibit muscle protein synthesis (Tipton, 2001). Even so, the fact remains that women still have some testosterone and thus an ability to gain at least some muscle. But they should be thankful for that! Why? Keep reading and find out…
There are a great number of articles written on the web that discuss how women cannot get bulky because they lack the testosterone levels of men. Big revelation there! It’s obvious that men generally have more muscle mass than women and as I previously discussed, this is directly correlated to higher testosterone levels, but I think they are missing the point. The fact is women CAN get bigger muscles! BUT…does that mean they can get bulky? Well, that’s a matter of opinion. For example, if a woman gains 5lbs of muscle does that mean she’s gotten bulky? For some yes, for others no. There’s more to the story than just muscular hypertrophy (gaining muscle size) though. In most cases women who’ve gained muscle mass have also lost fat and actually gotten smaller but since they have more muscle definition and can actually see their muscles they feel like they’ve gotten bulky. Even the slightest bit of muscle definition can make a woman feel like she’s becoming “man-like”.
Maggie Diubaldo: Sexy or bulky?
A question I often ask myself is why do women even worry about this? If strength training truly makes you bulky, then get over it! That’s who you are! Why should it matter right? Well, you might be asking yourself that question if you are a male, but if you’re a female you’re probably thinking something along these lines, “Duh! Nobody wants to look like a hulked out freak!” Probably true for most women, but I’m sure there are a lot of female bodybuilders that would disagree, especially the ones that are drug-free, and wouldn’t consider themselves “freaks”. There are many women that would be considered feminine and sexy that perform a lot of strength training. Not only that, they push themselves very hard in order to gain a more sexy physique! Would you consider Maggie Diubaldo a manly hulk or a sexy fitness model? Keep in mind, she does a lot of strength training!
Personally, I do believe many women simply think they are getting bulky when really they are not. I’ve seen this many times in my personal training career. I once had a female client tell me she could no longer use the Stairmaster® Stepmill because she was developing thunder thighs…after only 2 weeks! That’s pretty darn close to impossible. I also often meet with women about starting a strength training program and the first thing out of their mouth is, “I don’t want to get bulky”. To which I typically respond by asking them if they are taking steroids. When they respond with “no”, I then tell them to stop worrying about it. But then I realize that sounds mean so I ask this follow up question, “Does the thought of getting bulky outweigh the plethora of benefits to be had from strength training?” Truly the answer is no! Becoming a she-hulk really should be the last of your worries ladies. However, overcoming a woman’s fear of becoming an Amazon-woman is almost impossible. I wish there were some magic words to make those fears go away but I digress; all I or anybody else can do is educate women about the many health benefits that can be derived from strength training.
If you are the type that is worried strength training will turn you into a “man” then here are my suggestions:
Only perform 2 full body circuits per week
Perform just 1 exercise per body part or perform 10-12 exercises that work several muscles at once
Keep your repetitions between 15-20
USE ENOUGH RESISTANCE TO CAUSE MUSCLE EXHAUSTION (hey, you still want some benefit, right? There are just some things you can’t avoid.)
Keep your calorie intake at or below your basal metabolic rate (BMR).
Just to be sure – check daily for facial hair such as a beard or mustache as this is a sure sign you’re becoming a man.
Follow these guidelines and it will pretty much be impossible for you to gain a significant amount of muscle mass.
Also, remember this: strength training is the best exercise anyone can do to improve health; particularly long term health. That’s right! Even better than aerobic exercise. Aerobic training (aka cardio) is good but not near as good for you as strength training.
So ladies, do yourself a favor and stop worrying about becoming a mastodon and get out there and pump some iron. Your health depends on it.
References
ACSM. (2011). Quantity and quality of exercise for developing and maintaining cardiorespiratory, musculoskeletal, and neuromotor fitness in apparently healthy adults: Guidance for prescribing exercise. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 43(7), 1334-1359.
Kell, R. T. (2011). The influence of periodized resistance training on strength changes in men and women. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 25(3), 735-744.
Tipton, K. D. (2001). Gender differences in protein metabolism. Opinion in Clinical Nutrition & Metabolic Care, 4(6), 493-498.
From here. http://www.matrixfited.com/2011/11/women-can-get-bulky/0 -
This month I think I have lost 3 pounds. I don't have a before legs. But here is my arm pic before using weights. Everything before this was body weight.
Looks the same just different lighting....one picture is not in the sun so you cant see lines as well as the one in light with shadows lightly casting on your arm0 -
Merely trying to add another perspective to the discussion, and responding a specific part of a specific post, not the whole thread. If you don't want to acknowledge that a woman may feel herself to be too 'bulky' despite the scientific difficulties in that matching up to your view of that term, please, continue on in blissful ignorance.
Again, this thread is specifically not about how anyone feels at the moment.
The entire thread is about change over time. It's not about being bulky or having muscle, it's about getting bulky or gaining muscle.
You can have muscle or not have muscle. You can be bulky or not be bulky. That's not what this is about. This is about whether you can BECOME bulkier or GAIN muscle while losing weight.
The answer is "you cannot."0 -
Swim and that will fix that...ok next trend:ohwell:0
This discussion has been closed.
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