OMG lifting heavy made me so bulky!!

emhargs

hey Heidi, I have a similar deficit of around 200-300 a day (besides the last 2 days) and am also losing inches and am now 1 -2 sizes smaller, from 6 weeks of lifting and having a very small deficit.
what do you make of this theory that you NEED cardio to get lean? couldn't the same results be achieved, just more slowly, by having a smaller deficit and still getting all the food/nutrients we need? Isn't it essentially the same - but just slower?

KittieLea

OMG I know what you mean. I lift heavy and sometimes my shirts just rip right off of me since they're all so tight due to how bulky I've become! :laugh:
Keep it up, you look amazing!

blonde71

You look great!! Yeah, I've been lifting heavy for almost a year now while eating on workout days ~2000-2100 calories and am the leanest I've ever been. Great thread to motivate women to start lifting some iron. :bigsmile:

HeidiMightyRawr

hey Heidi, I have a similar deficit of around 200-300 a day (besides the last 2 days) and am also losing inches and am now 1 -2 sizes smaller, from 6 weeks of lifting and having a very small deficit.
what do you make of this theory that you NEED cardio to get lean? couldn't the same results be achieved, just more slowly, by having a smaller deficit and still getting all the food/nutrients we need? Isn't it essentially the same - but just slower?

I already answered in an above post, I don't believe you NEED it to get lean. I am going to test it out myself however, so I can speak from experience, since my only "cardio" is walking a lot (which doesn't count according to someone here) and bodypump once a week. I loathe traditional cardio.

I do see the benefits of it, cardiovascular health etc. I also see the importance of eating enough - if you are sedentary you may be eating very little, and depriving yourself of vital nutrients. However, I am physically fit, and work my cardiovascular system enough with the daily activity, and also heavy compound lifts to not have to worry about that. I also eat more than enough to get nutrients I need.

Natx83

i do actually know one girl who bulks up huge when she lifts. SHe has naturally high testosterone. But she doesn't need to work out at all...she's got like 2% BF. Her abs pop and her muscles are super defined...and she doesn't work out. at. all.

I ENVY her.

Impossible, she would probably look dead at that low.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/tinamarina2.htm

RunningDirty

You're awesome! Thanks for posting this. :flowerforyou:

FR89

You look amazing! I am wanting to start heavy lifting, got the NROLFW, but nervous to go into the mostly male dominated area of the gym. I need a lifting partner...

exactly that!

mamitosami

What an awesome thread! You look amazing!! I love all the information that is coming out in this post.... love my lifting... Even if I have a few extra pounds on my frame, I feel far better lifting heavy than just from all the running I used to do. I too walk a lot and don't do any formal cardio anymore. I have more energy and feel stronger now than ever. The only reason I'm bulky is because I eat a little too much still! But I'm working on that....

higgins1988

stupid question and i'm sure it's different for everyone butt.... what is "heavy" in Kg?

female 5ft8 147lbs new to strength training...

thanks

HeidiMightyRawr

stupid question and i'm sure it's different for everyone butt.... what is "heavy" in Kg?

female 5ft8 147lbs new to strength training...

thanks

Heavy is relative and very specific to the person. It's not based on the actual weight (I work in KG too) but more so the rep. A guy could be bench pressing 140kg and people could say "wow that's a heavy weight" but if he is doing it for 15 reps, it's not heavy for him.

When I first started lifting, I remember the bar (20kg) in bench press feeling heavy, now when I lift 40kg, that just feels light to me. It really does depend on the reps and the person.

I usually don't go above 8 reps (and prefer <6 reps) At the moment, I'm following 5x5.

herownkindofwonderfull

stupid question and i'm sure it's different for everyone butt.... what is "heavy" in Kg?

female 5ft8 147lbs new to strength training...

thanks

heavy is whatever is heavy to you. it is not dependent on your weight and height, but moreso on personal strength. get to the gym and test it out. for me, I can lift about 7kg most free weights (15.5lbs) like dumbells for curls, etc. and to me, at this point, that is heavy. I am closer to 20lb now though.

Basically, if you do 15 and you feel like you can do more... you're not lifting heavy enough.

herownkindofwonderfull

stupid question and i'm sure it's different for everyone butt.... what is "heavy" in Kg?

female 5ft8 147lbs new to strength training...

thanks

Heavy is relative and very specific to the person. It's not based on the actual weight (I work in KG too) but more so the rep. A guy could be bench pressing 140kg and people could say "wow that's a heavy weight" but if he is doing it for 15 reps, it's not heavy for him.

When I first started lifting, I remember the bar (20kg) in bench press feeling heavy, now when I lift 40kg, that just feels light to me. It really does depend on the reps and the person.

I usually don't go above 8 reps (and prefer <6 reps) At the moment, I'm following 5x5.

5x5 ... i'll have to try that!

Zero2hero2013

this is why all women should do some resistance training! work wonders for anyone! great job heidi looking a million dollars!

higgins1988

thanks for the advice guys - i've hurt my ankle so cardios off the menu, so i guess there's no time like the present to start lifting!

DixiedoesMFP

Great job!

kpnuts23

\m/ lifting is awesome! :-D

LennyInFlorida

Terrific job, you should be so proud!

seckler

You look great!! Truly an inspiration!

HeidiMightyRawr

Ok...the reason he says you NEED to do cardio, it that if you rely on diet alone, you will have to eat VERY LITTLE calories to get that lean. This is counter productive to maintaining your muscle mass, and does not give you enough food to supply the nutrients you need to be healthy. It's better to eat more and burn off with cardio than not eat. Even if you burn off calories..you don't burn off the nutrients of the food you ate...just the energy storage in fat. Starving will force your body to lose fat..but also force you to lose muscle, and deprive your body of essential vitamins in sufficient quantities.

I'm far from starving, and firmly believe in eating enough. I eat 2300 a day, and on exercise days (4-5 times a week) this works out at around 1800-1900 NET. Strength burns calories too, even if it's not as much in that particular session.
- Around 140g protein, 250g carbs, 70g fat.
- I also get around 20-30g fibre, and try and get 5 fruit & veg a day.

I'm fairly active in daily life with walking everywhere, but not excessively so. This combined with regular strength training activity allows me to still lose weight (albeit slowly) at the amount I'm on. I don't support 1200 calorie diets at all, unless you're tiny, and completely sedentary.

Yes I got that. I'm talking about if you want to get really lean..like shredded lean. Think 12 - 15% body fat(or less). You have to diet and calorie restrict to get there. That is why fitness/figure competitors have their "off season" bodies and their competition bodies. It's not healthy to maintain that lean a body mass...and the diet that is required to maintain it is not healthy.

Good point, I didn't think of competing I'm sure it's extremely hard to get down to that level, I couldn't do it.
What is your opinion on a lean fat %, but one that is maintainable year round for a woman who may not want to compete, such as 15-18%? Surely this could be achieved with just a small deficit. (My lowest was 16-17% I think, but I didn't have as much muscle, hence going on a bulk.) At that level of body fat, a woman should be able to see definition and be quite cut, as long as they have the muscle to show. That would still be classed as very lean IMO, but not so much so that it becomes impossible to maintain.