"You won't get bulky!" they said...but I am! Please help!
Replies
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And personally (I've been personally training people since '99) since I employ heavy lifting for all my female clients under the age of 50, I haven't had any yet get "bulky" when on calorie deficit and I've trained well over a couple of hundred females during that time.
A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer/Group Fitness Instructor
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0 -
And personally (I've been personally training people since '99) since I employ heavy lifting for all my female clients under the age of 50, I haven't had any yet get "bulky" when on calorie deficit and I've trained well over a couple of hundred females during that time.
A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer/Group Fitness Instructor
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
but don't you know that some women are different!? :flowerforyou:0 -
"Did you take measurements? It's absolutely impossible for your measurements to go up while you are in a calorie deficit. So most likely you aren't in a calorie deficit."
Wrong. I am smaller everywhere else but my legs. My legs have grown considerabley and I AM at a calorie deficit. It is not water. It is muscle. I have lost weight and built muscle. My pants are now loose in the waist and hips and tight in the legs. Everybody is different and not every piece of wisdom (real or imagined) on these boards applys to everyone.0 -
but don't you know that some women are different!? :flowerforyou:
Yes there are some women who are genetically gifted who gain muscle easier than OTHER WOMEN but compared to a man, NO. There seems to be a lot of confusion especially on women that just because they gain muscle more easily than other women, they automatically assume that they can have bulky muscles like a man. We simply don't have equal amounts of testosterone levels to a man to build large muscles unless we take steroids. Also to be honest, these types of women are very RARE & even guys are having a hard time to gain muscles.
Whenever we gain muscle, we also gain some fat along with it which makes us look a bit bigger & thus we assume that we "bulk" easily. We cannot totally avoid gaining fat especially when we are in surplus but once you burn the fat while maintaining muscle, you will look smaller & more defined, not bulky. Which is the reason why body builders, bikini & fitness competitors do the bulk/cut cycle.
Genetics can influence us on muscle gain but its not the end all-be all. In fact it is just one of the factors & it should be COMBINED WITH A CLEAN DIET & TRAINING. Diet is still the main key here. Even if you're one of the "blessed" women in terms of gaining muscle but if you continue to eat crap then nothing will happen to your body except to gain more fat & possibly a clogged arteries or a high LDL cholesterol level (the bad kind).0 -
"Did you take measurements? It's absolutely impossible for your measurements to go up while you are in a calorie deficit. So most likely you aren't in a calorie deficit."Wrong. I am smaller everywhere else but my legs. My legs have swolen considerabley and I AM at a calorie deficit. It is not muscle. It is water, plus a small amount of gain because of my legs going from no real exercise to regular exercise and through an improved neuromuscular response. I have lost weight and maintained muscle. My pants are now loose in the waist and hips and tight in the legs. Nobody is different, though not every piece of wisdom (real or imagined) on these boards applies to everyone.
I fixed it for you. You are not a different species.0 -
"Did you take measurements? It's absolutely impossible for your measurements to go up while you are in a calorie deficit. So most likely you aren't in a calorie deficit."
Wrong. I am smaller everywhere else but my legs. My legs have grown considerabley and I AM at a calorie deficit. It is not water. It is muscle. I have lost weight and built muscle. My pants are now loose in the waist and hips and tight in the legs. Everybody is different and not every piece of wisdom (real or imagined) on these boards applys to everyone.
Unless you have had a DEXA scan it is impossible to make that statement with any sense of accuracy. Only a DEXA scan can tell you whether you have actually gained muscle. Water retention in muscle will increase inches. As the muscles in legs are larger, they will retain more water.0 -
:laugh: well done!"Did you take measurements? It's absolutely impossible for your measurements to go up while you are in a calorie deficit. So most likely you aren't in a calorie deficit."Wrong. I am smaller everywhere else but my legs. My legs have swolen considerabley and I AM at a calorie deficit. It is not muscle. It is water, plus a small amount of gain because of my legs going from no real exercise to regular exercise and through an improved neuromuscular response. I have lost weight and maintained muscle. My pants are now loose in the waist and hips and tight in the legs. Nobody is different, though not every piece of wisdom (real or imagined) on these boards applies to everyone.
I fixed it for you. You are not a different species.0 -
This is not directed at any one person...but it never ceases to amaze me how many women believe they put on muscle mass by picking up a pair of dumbbells.
What allows men to gain muscle, is testosterone (there's more to it...but this is a key factor, and without it, you WON'T). In order for men to put on that muscle, they need to eat at a caloric surplus. Men who are doing so, can expect to gain 1-3lbs a month OVER THEIR ENTIRE BODY, of which 1-1.5lbs will be muscle, unless they're on an EXTREMELY dedicated program, in which case the best they could hope for is 2lbs/month.
This is what 1.5lbs of muscle looks like with a garlic clove for scale:
Now, you're a woman, you have a substantial percentage LESS testosterone than any average male does, even if you have HIGHER testosterone than any average woman. WORST CASE, if you had the SAME levels of testosterone as an AVERAGE man, the above picture is all you're going to gain, lifting HARD, eating a CRAPLOAD (no, not at maintenance).
And remember, that's spread over your ENTIRE body.
I'm sorry ladies, I love you all...and I absolutely hate telling you you're wrong (unless you called me a know it all of course)...but in this case...you are
.
All I got from this is I need a grill to put that puppy on!! YUMMY
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"Did you take measurements? It's absolutely impossible for your measurements to go up while you are in a calorie deficit. So most likely you aren't in a calorie deficit."Wrong. I am smaller everywhere else but my legs. My legs have swolen considerabley and I AM at a calorie deficit. It is not muscle. It is water, plus a small amount of gain because of my legs going from no real exercise to regular exercise and through an improved neuromuscular response. I have lost weight and maintained muscle. My pants are now loose in the waist and hips and tight in the legs. Nobody is different, though not every piece of wisdom (real or imagined) on these boards applies to everyone.
I fixed it for you. You are not a different species.
No you are wrong and I don't appreciate you telling me I don't know my own body. I have muscle in my legs and other places too. My legs are bigger than when I started. I do weigh less than when I started. My legs are not swollen. They look quite nice actually and my cellulite is gone. In addition to that, almost everything that used to jiggle on my body is now firm. My body fat percentage has dropped. I strength train and do cardio for my workouts. I do eat fewer calories than before and I do eat much healthier food. My daughter has the exact same body type as I do and her legs are also bigger and she weighs less.0 -
"Did you take measurements? It's absolutely impossible for your measurements to go up while you are in a calorie deficit. So most likely you aren't in a calorie deficit."
Wrong. I am smaller everywhere else but my legs. My legs have grown considerabley and I AM at a calorie deficit. It is not water. It is muscle. I have lost weight and built muscle. My pants are now loose in the waist and hips and tight in the legs. Everybody is different and not every piece of wisdom (real or imagined) on these boards applys to everyone.
You just said that you lost weight & built muscle? LMAO... Sorry but you can't lose weight when you just gained muscle. Have you noticed in a lot of forums where people said they lose inches but not on the pounds? That's LBM gain for you. Its one of the many reasons that we sometimes see a drop on inches but the scale's not moving.0 -
crisanderson has answered the question already.
But can all you fast bulking women send some more testosterone my way please? :happy:
me too LOL
I have PCOS & doctors tell me that my testosterone levels are above average for a woman & I always have a muscular build ever since I was a kid. I was always stronger than a lot of girls until now. Modesty aside when I was a kid, I can lift my desk chair made from heavy wood & stainless steel just like my male classmates & without their help.
Ha! I was thinking the same thing! I have always been stronger than other girls and have a muscular build. When I was in elementary school, I complained to my mom that my legs were fat because all the other girls had chicken legs and I had muscular legs and she just rolled her eyes at me and said grown women would kill to have shapely legs like mine, LOL!
I have always had really defined arms and legs, but the last several years I have added a layer of fat on top that lessens the definition. And that is the key, isn't it? To shave off the layer of fat so the muscles can show through and to be stronger. I used to say that I "bulk" up easily, but now that I know that it is not bulk, but that I was seeing but muscle definition from losing fat on top and gaining strength, it makes sense to me. Especially now that I am learning how hard it is to actually build muscle.0 -
It's so much easier to believe you're different and special and a unique f***ing sunflower so the hard work required for results doesn't really apply to you and wouldn't do you any good anyway.
If you want to lose weight, eat less.
If you want to gain weight, eat more.
If you want to lose weight and retain as much LBM as possible, eat at a healthy deficit with adequate macros and engage in a smart resistance training program.
If you want to increase muscle mass with minimal fat gains, eat at a healthy surplus with adequate macros and engage in a smart resistance training program.
If you want to strengthen your CV system and increase the amount of calories you can consume in a day while staying within your target calorie allotment, do cardio.
Strength training and cardio are not mutually exclusive, and although some forms of strength training are more efficient at reaching their goals (i.e. low reps for strength gains, mid reps for hypertrophy, high reps for muscle endurance) you should see some gains across the board as long as you are pushing yourself in your workouts. The same goes for cardio. To the extent that you are ok with a program taking more time and want something you can stick with, go with what you enjoy. To the extent that you are more focused on results, go with a program more geared towards what you want to see.
Work hard, get results. That's really all there is to it.0 -
I haven't read all the other posts so bear with me if this has already been said.
What you are probably experiencing are newbie gains.
Because you have gained muscle but not yet burned off an equivalent amount of fat, they have probably got slightly larger.
Give it some time, and you will see very little more muscle gain but a significant increase in fat loss which should counteract this.
You've only been doing this a VERY short amount of time so it's way to early to judge anything.0 -
but don't you know that some women are different!? :flowerforyou:
Yes there are some women who are genetically gifted who gain muscle easier than OTHER WOMEN but compared to a man, NO. There seems to be a lot of confusion especially on women that just because they gain muscle more easily than other women, they automatically assume that they can have bulky muscles like a man. We simply don't have equal amounts of testosterone levels to a man to build large muscles unless we take steroids. Also to be honest, these types of women are very RARE & even guys are having a hard time to gain muscles.
Whenever we gain muscle, we also gain some fat along with it which makes us look a bit bigger & thus we assume that we "bulk" easily. We cannot totally avoid gaining fat especially when we are in surplus but once you burn the fat while maintaining muscle, you will look smaller & more defined, not bulky. Which is the reason why body builders, bikini & fitness competitors do the bulk/cut cycle.
Genetics can influence us on muscle gain but its not the end all-be all. In fact it is just one of the factors & it should be COMBINED WITH A CLEAN DIET & TRAINING. Diet is still the main key here. Even if you're one of the "blessed" women in terms of gaining muscle but if you continue to eat crap then nothing will happen to your body except to gain more fat & possibly a clogged arteries or a high LDL cholesterol level (the bad kind).
I was being sarcastic. ^_^ It just seems like no matter how much proof someone provides, there will be some women who think they gain faster and more than a man.0 -
It's so much easier to believe you're different and special and a unique f***ing sunflower so the hard work required for results doesn't really apply to you and wouldn't do you any good anyway.
If you want to lose weight, eat less.
If you want to gain weight, eat more.
If you want to lose weight and retain as much LBM as possible, eat at a healthy deficit with adequate macros and engage in a smart resistance training program.
If you want to increase muscle mass with minimal fat gains, eat at a healthy surplus with adequate macros and engage in a smart resistance training program.
If you want to strengthen your CV system and increase the amount of calories you can consume in a day while staying within your target calorie allotment, do cardio.
Strength training and cardio are not mutually exclusive, and although some forms of strength training are more efficient at reaching their goals (i.e. low reps for strength gains, mid reps for hypertrophy, high reps for muscle endurance) you should see some gains across the board as long as you are pushing yourself in your workouts. The same goes for cardio. To the extent that you are ok with a program taking more time and want something you can stick with, go with what you enjoy. To the extent that you are more focused on results, go with a program more geared towards what you want to see.
Work hard, get results. That's really all there is to it.
This ^^^^ A thousand times!!
The only thing I might change is saying "some gains across the board" because the "women that are afraid to bulk" might misinterpret it to mean gaining muscle, gaining weight, etc. Unless you mean it that way, but I assume you mean gains to whatever goal you are reaching for. Other than that, you should post this on every single dang topic that covers: the "1200" diet, don't want to look like a man/bulk etc, Look at my diary, why am I not losing, etc etc. Heck, just make it a sticky for every topic to infinity and beyond.0 -
"Did you take measurements? It's absolutely impossible for your measurements to go up while you are in a calorie deficit. So most likely you aren't in a calorie deficit."Wrong. I am smaller everywhere else but my legs. My legs have swolen considerabley and I AM at a calorie deficit. It is not muscle. It is water, plus a small amount of gain because of my legs going from no real exercise to regular exercise and through an improved neuromuscular response. I have lost weight and maintained muscle. My pants are now loose in the waist and hips and tight in the legs. Nobody is different, though not every piece of wisdom (real or imagined) on these boards applies to everyone.
I fixed it for you. You are not a different species.
No you are wrong and I don't appreciate you telling me I don't know my own body. I have muscle in my legs and other places too. My legs are bigger than when I started. I do weigh less than when I started. My legs are not swollen. They look quite nice actually and my cellulite is gone. In addition to that, almost everything that used to jiggle on my body is now firm. My body fat percentage has dropped. I strength train and do cardio for my workouts. I do eat fewer calories than before and I do eat much healthier food. My daughter has the exact same body type as I do and her legs are also bigger and she weighs less.
Then please, as has been suggested, submit yourself for genetic/physiological/DNA testing, because you're going to be rich if what you're saying is true.
And also...to clarify...swollen isn't 'bruised and red'. The swelling happens on a cellular level (which has nothing to do with your phone...just covering that base).
Let me ask you a question, since you know your body so well. What's your BMR? What's your TDEE? What is your goal caloric intake? Do you meet it regularly? How long of a time frame are you talking about here? Did you eat at that same caloric deficit the entire time? 'Fewer calories than before' doesn't quantify any of the above, please tell us what your 'before' calories were, what they are now, and when you changed them?
I could go on for an hour...but the point is that there are SO many variables, and without them all...you don't know WHAT your body is doing. What I can promise you though, is that if you gained real, measurable muscle (by the way, it wouldn't have just been on your legs, unless the only workouts you did were leg workouts), you were either very overweight (in which case your measurements would have been smaller not larger), or you were previously an athlete (and I mean an athlete with legs larger and stronger than your current ones), or...and this is the most likely by about 95%...you were eating at a caloric surplus.
I'm sorry, I don't know you from Eve, but I know you're a human being. And that's all that's necessary to know in this case.0 -
but don't you know that some women are different!? :flowerforyou:
Yes there are some women who are genetically gifted who gain muscle easier than OTHER WOMEN but compared to a man, NO. There seems to be a lot of confusion especially on women that just because they gain muscle more easily than other women, they automatically assume that they can have bulky muscles like a man. We simply don't have equal amounts of testosterone levels to a man to build large muscles unless we take steroids. Also to be honest, these types of women are very RARE & even guys are having a hard time to gain muscles.
Whenever we gain muscle, we also gain some fat along with it which makes us look a bit bigger & thus we assume that we "bulk" easily. We cannot totally avoid gaining fat especially when we are in surplus but once you burn the fat while maintaining muscle, you will look smaller & more defined, not bulky. Which is the reason why body builders, bikini & fitness competitors do the bulk/cut cycle.
Genetics can influence us on muscle gain but its not the end all-be all. In fact it is just one of the factors & it should be COMBINED WITH A CLEAN DIET & TRAINING. Diet is still the main key here. Even if you're one of the "blessed" women in terms of gaining muscle but if you continue to eat crap then nothing will happen to your body except to gain more fat & possibly a clogged arteries or a high LDL cholesterol level (the bad kind).
I was being sarcastic. ^_^ It just seems like no matter how much proof someone provides, there will be some women who think they gain faster and more than a man.
That's very true & its the main reason why a lot of us end up becoming more skinny-fat instead of a firm & toned one. Why do we want to equate ourselves with men despite all the scientific studies & numerous data showing that women's physiology isn't & will never be equal to men? Unless these women have submitted themselves to some tests & the tests proved it, there's no way they should claim to be any different than your average woman. According to three doctors that I went thru because of my hormonal problems that resulted in PCOS, I have an above average testosterone levels for a woman & I have been stronger than a lot of women since I was a kid. I also have a naturally muscular build & believe me, I can easily lift 5 gallons of distilled drinking water like a man. In fact according to my assessment when I joined a gym, it said that I'm a mesomorph or the one who are "genetically inclined" to build muscle easily. However up to this time, I'm having hard time to gain muscle. Sure I'm getting stronger but in my year of lifting heavy, so far I only gained 2 lbs. Like what I said above, genetics is only one of the factors & so its not the end all-be all. In fact its contribution is very minimal compared to a strict diet combined with an intense training.0 -
I strength train and do cardio for my workouts?
This is what you are doing currently? If so, it means that your body is holding on to water and glycogen for muscle repair.0 -
Not saying I gain faster than a man, but I definitely put on muscle faster than any females I know. I lifted for 3 years in college when I was a competitive swimmer. I was bigger and fatter than I am now (a whole 2-3 pants sizes bigger) and I had a good diet (and worked out a good 4-6 hours a day).
Some women simply do bulk up. Why you may think that this look is attractive, some women don't like it. I've been teased ALL my life for having large muscles. Not saying I gain faster than a male, just saying that my muscular build is not "feminine" like many people on here claim will happen when women lift heavy.
Some women are simply stronger and more muscular than others from higher testosterone levels and genetics. Not all women need to "lift heavy" to have muscles.
I'm just sick of everyone saying that you HAVE to lift to look good and have a firm muscular look. Some women have them naturally. Every body is different.0 -
Not saying I gain faster than a man, but I definitely put on muscle faster than any females I know. I lifted for 3 years in college when I was a competitive swimmer. I was bigger and fatter than I am now (a whole 2-3 pants sizes bigger) and I had a good diet (and worked out a good 4-6 hours a day).
Some women simply do bulk up. Why you may think that this look is attractive, some women don't like it. I've been teased ALL my life for having large muscles. Not saying I gain faster than a male, just saying that my muscular build is not "feminine" like many people on here claim will happen when women lift heavy.
Some women are simply stronger and more muscular than others from higher testosterone levels and genetics. Not all women need to "lift heavy" to have muscles.
I'm just sick of everyone saying that you HAVE to lift to look good and have a firm muscular look. Some women have them naturally. Every body is different.
I think heavy lifting is the most efficient route to achieving 'a firm muscular look' but it's by no means the only one. Do what you enjoy, as long as you're not overly worried about reaching your goal in the fastest possible manner, going with what makes you happy is probably the better option anyhow since you're more likely to stick with it.
While everybody is different, there are plenty of things that are universal across all people. We aren't all that special. While some of your experience can (and should) be contributed to genetic makeup and your own history, the vast majority can be explained perfectly reasonably with scientific backing. You're not a genetic freak.
I'm not going to attempt to make such explanations for a couple reasons:
1) It's really none of my business. If you're having success doing what you're doing then more power to you.
2) I don't have enough information to go off of. To be able to answer with any degree of scientific certainty would require a lot more precision than 2-3 pants sizes and a good diet, etc.
3) While I have done some research to further my own fitness pursuits, I don't know everything and would be doing a disservice speculating on something with insufficient background information.
For the things I do 'know', reference my previous post in this thread.0
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