How many women on here are lifting weights????????

Blueeyes1117

Ok so, as many women i am one of those that is scared to be lifting weights due to i'm afraid of bulking up. I have however been giving it a go for the past two weeks but even though i have been i'm still freaking myself out about it. I'm so worried about the whole "muscle weighs more than fat" deal! I want to see the number on the scale DROP not increase!! Anyways, i'd love to hear different things about lifting weights and if possible see pictures of women who have used strength training to help them to achieve their goals. I'm so... confused when it comes to strength training. Confused and very nervous about getting big instead of skinny and toned. HELP ME PLEASE UNDERSTAND!!! Thanks to all who respond ahead of time

zafferFL

maybe you should post this in "fitness and exercise" ?

annabellj

ya I agree with alex. but to answer your question, if you look thru my pics, the one where I am standing in jeans before using weights and losing 16 lbs. then bikini pic is with weights. i just put on jeans yesterday that i didnt wear for three yrs. i weigh 5 lbs more than i did then but the jeans were too big because my muscles are more compact

lizard053

Women do not and cannot bulk up because we don't have the testosterone for it. So lift weights, go heavy, and enjoy the results. Remember muscle takes up less space than fat on your body. You'll be smaller, and that's a good thing! And that's especially important if your weight loss stalls.
Muscle takes more calories to maintain than fat. Therefore, the more muscle you have on your body, the higher your calorie burn, and the bigger the deficit you can create by eating the same amount of food!

BAMFMeredith

Women do not and cannot bulk up because we don't have the testosterone for it. So lift weights, go heavy, and enjoy the results. Remember muscle takes up less space than fat on your body. You'll be smaller, and that's a good thing! And that's especially important if your weight loss stalls.
Muscle takes more calories to maintain than fat. Therefore, the more muscle you have on your body, the higher your calorie burn, and the bigger the deficit you can create by eating the same amount of food!

Allllll of this. I lift weights, and I LOVE how it makes me feel and look! I've only lost about 10 lbs total, but I've lost 2 pants sizes since starting strength training! Can't recommend it enough

Blueeyes1117

Sorry i'm a little dump founded when it comes to posting topics. Thank you

vettle

Women do not and cannot bulk up because we don't have the testosterone for it. So lift weights, go heavy, and enjoy the results. Remember muscle takes up less space than fat on your body. You'll be smaller, and that's a good thing! And that's especially important if your weight loss stalls.
Muscle takes more calories to maintain than fat. Therefore, the more muscle you have on your body, the higher your calorie burn, and the bigger the deficit you can create by eating the same amount of food!

yep this exactly. I lifted weights with Jillian Michaels ripped in 30 about halfway through my weight loss and my body SHRANK like crazy! do it!!!!!

marycmeadows

first off, muscle does not weigh more than fat. a pound is a pound. muscle takes up less space than fat though.
secondly. it is not possible for you to bulk up. you don't have the testosterone for it (as someone else said). Lifting heavy is great.

I have been lifting for close to a year. I have not bulked up (because it's not possible since I'm not roided out!) but I have noticed significant toning going on which was the idea.

BodyRockerVT

<

---

I lift. Not even slightly bulky just toning up.

AggieCass09

Unless you have a genetic anomoloy, it is IMPOSSIBLE for you (a female) to bulk up.

Impossible.

Now, you seem to be concerned about the scale but would you rather a) look better or b) see a smaller number but look worse? I'm all for A.

Google "Stacy+Nerd Fitness" for more proof that lifting is so advantageous for you.


My personal experience: I've been lifting since August and have only lost weight and inches...i look 10x better than I did even at a lower weight because muscle makes you look better. A great place to start is to check out the New Rules of Lifting for Women book. There is a program in there and lots of useful info. I've written a few blogs on this as well as have others on this site.

jshebat

I lift. I love it. I've read that 1 lb of muscle is 1/10th the size of 1 lb. of fat and ..... burns 4 times more calories. I don't have a reference, but I believe it.

grapenutSF

I look better, not worse.

Keep doing it. It's fun. It's healthy. You won't bulk up if you stay away from the juice. :flowerforyou:

Blueeyes1117

Thanks to all of your reply's definitely gives me a different outlook on lifting weights. I appreciate all or your replys

LorinaLynn

I do, and I'm only getting smaller. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/474504-seven-months-of-admittedly-inconsistent-strength-training

angied80

Women do not and cannot bulk up because we don't have the testosterone for it. So lift weights, go heavy, and enjoy the results. Remember muscle takes up less space than fat on your body. You'll be smaller, and that's a good thing! And that's especially important if your weight loss stalls.
Muscle takes more calories to maintain than fat. Therefore, the more muscle you have on your body, the higher your calorie burn, and the bigger the deficit you can create by eating the same amount of food!

Allllll of this. I lift weights, and I LOVE how it makes me feel and look! I've only lost about 10 lbs total, but I've lost 2 pants sizes since starting strength training! Can't recommend it enough

^ All of this. I have been lifing for a solid 9 months TRYING to gain muscle. You will build muscle but pretty girly muscles.. Otherwise, I would be skinny fat.. and who wants THAT!

grapenutSF

And here's Staci.

http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

amyy902

you should be including resistance work in your programme. you wont buklk you dont have enough testostrone to bulkk. im a PT and im tiny. i mix resistance work in with my work outs amd i do all my clients. and muscle dosnt weigh more than fat, a pound is a pound. muscle is denser than fat, thus meaning a pound of muscle takies up less room than a pound of fat in theory. and your bodys smart, you'll loose fat before you build muscle. and dont train for hypertrophy train for resistance = light weights lots of reps.

Mehagon

I lift weights 6 days a week usually. Let me give you some advice. . . don't worry about the scale!!! Weight is just a number and you don't wear it around your neck . Just go off of how you feel and how your clothes are fitting. . . trust me you'll be much happier and have a healthier frame of mind!!! Also, don't worry about bulking up. . .you will not look like a man and bulk up unless you are taking something. All lifting weights will do is tone your muscles, make things tighter and make you feel better about yourself!

Coco_puff901

I just started and I love it. My gym offers a weight training class, so I'm starting with that and starting out light, but it's addicting ! Good luck !

thatsnumberwang

I'm a lady, and I've been trying to build muscle for two months. I've been lifting really heavy weights three times a week, eating over 2000 calories a day (sometimes 2500 or more), having protein shakes after my workout and lots of protein during the day, and cutting WAY down on cardio. I haven't bulked up *anywhere* - despite my best efforts. So I think your risk of bulking up by accident is probably pretty small. :-) Good luck with the lifting, though!

jenhowse1

I lift - not as heavy as some but I'm working on it - managed 1.5x body weight deadlift now. Was so chuffed when I managed that!

<---- as you can see I'm really huge and bulky!