Women getting bulky!??

tropaze

I enjoy my weight lifting classes and wouldn't change them. I enjoy trying to hit the "failure" point, and our trainers push it.

agamy4

I don't think its impossible for women to get bulky without supplements. I naturally have slightly bulky arms. Everyone comments on if I lift weights which annoy me because I do not! I would love to tone my arms more but I know they will just get more bulky so I'm forced to stick with cardio. :-/

Sweetsugar0424

I love lifting heavy and toning up...so glad I've never had the misconception that it would turn me in to She-Hulk.

My coworker and I were talking about lifting recently and she said that she didn't want to lift because she'd be less feminine. I then showed her a bicep pic and she was surprised as my arms don't look that 'bulky' when I'm not flexed. Unfortunately even that doesn't convince some people to change their thinking so they stick to cardio a couple times a week and keep gaining weight.

palmerig88

I actually have a question about this. When you women who lift heavy started did you "feel" more bulky at first? I dont mean body builder bulky, but just pants getting tight even though youre watching calories? I have started insanity and feel this way. I rememmber feeling this way when I lifted in high school too. I guess my question is, is this temporary?

Not all all, exactly the opposite. Lifting has brought my waistline in so I have trouble filling out my clothes. My pants always feel too loose. It just seems to tighten everything up and make it more compact. Easier to fit into the sleeves of smaller tops, etc. It sounds odd but lifting has made me smaller.

Stinkeymonkey

I love lifting weights and not at all afraid of becoming "bulky"

Jsnbabb1

I've been doing some heavy lifting lately. About 2-3 months and I haven't been making much progress. Perhaps my diet isn't right? Any tips? Meal plans? I'm on a real tight budget because its winter and work is slow.

Not making progress in what way? Strength progression or weight loss?

Not really too much in either...I'm pushing myself hard. My diet could definatly do some improvement but this time of year, whose diet doesn't suffer. I also had to cut back my food bill

Sarauk2sf

I've been doing some heavy lifting lately. About 2-3 months and I haven't been making much progress. Perhaps my diet isn't right? Any tips? Meal plans? I'm on a real tight budget because its winter and work is slow.

Not making progress in what way? Strength progression or weight loss?

Not really too much in either...I'm pushing myself hard. My diet could definatly do some improvement but this time of year, whose diet doesn't suffer. I also had to cut back my food bill

I had a quick look at your diary - it looks fine.

I would suggest doing 2 things:

1) take a 7 - 10 day diet break. Dieting is hard on our bodies (as is exercising) after a while our hormones can get out of whack causing weight loss to slow (usually more true for women). A diet break is a way of getting them back in sync. Also, what happens a lot of the time is that when we are tired our activity is less intense - eating at a deficit can cause this.Less food = less energy = less moving. You basically eat at maintenance during this time (plus it's good timing with the holidays coming up). Here is a good article that explains it in more detail:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html

2) after this, I would drop your calories a bit. I notice that you are eating all your exercise calories back. While this is a good thing in that you will not be creating too large of a deficit, the burns are just estimates and I would suggest eating back only 75% to leave some wiggle room. If you do this, I would not drop your base calories. I am assuming here that you have your weight loss goal set to 1 lb a week - if more, I would change it to that.

The other thing to make sure you do is be really diligent about weighing/measuring and logging.

brevislux

I lift and I'm definitely not bulky.

cindyhoney2

My sister actually told me it's not healthy to try to build muscles until you are at or close to your goal, said it would slow down weight loss, I guess if you are putting on lbs in muscle it would slow weight loss, lol. I agree w/an earlier post, I don't want to be bulky and I won't be w/o hormones, but I can't wait til I can do 100 pull ups too.

Sarauk2sf

My sister actually told me it's not healthy to try to build muscles until you are at or close to your goal, said it would slow down weight loss, I guess if you are putting on lbs in muscle it would slow weight loss, lol. I agree w/an earlier post, I don't want to be bulky and I won't be w/o hormones, but I can't wait til I can do 100 pull ups too.

With all due respect, your sister is wrong.

LorinaLynn

My sister actually told me it's not healthy to try to build muscles until you are at or close to your goal, said it would slow down weight loss, I guess if you are putting on lbs in muscle it would slow weight loss, lol. I agree w/an earlier post, I don't want to be bulky and I won't be w/o hormones, but I can't wait til I can do 100 pull ups too.

And does "weight loss" matter one hill of beans if your body is continuing to get smaller, healthier or stronger?

If your goal is to have a vanity number on the scale - keeping in mind that you are the ONLY one who sees that number - then avoid strength training.

If your goal is to look fantastic, you have to accept the scale isn't always going to be your best friend. But there's so many other more satisfying ways of tracking your progress... measurements, how clothes fit, progress photos, health and fitness markers, etc.

I didn't start heavy lifting until after I reached my goal weight, and my one regret is not starting sooner. It would have been nice to avoid the whole "droopy *kitten*" phase in weight loss, rather than spend months trying to build it back up again.

positivepineapple

That's what happens when women inject male hormones. If you think this is bad, look up "Renee Toney"

I just looked her up. It was scary lol

WendyTerry420

My sister actually told me it's not healthy to try to build muscles until you are at or close to your goal, said it would slow down weight loss, I guess if you are putting on lbs in muscle it would slow weight loss, lol. I agree w/an earlier post, I don't want to be bulky and I won't be w/o hormones, but I can't wait til I can do 100 pull ups too.

With all due respect, your sister is wrong.

I'm not sure why people think that. My brother is also losing weight (75 pounds so far, with about 30 or so to go), and he said he wanted to drop another 10 pounds before he starts lifting. I told him that I wish I had his gym membership, so I could start now. He has been in a plateau for several months. I told him that weight training could help him break through his plateau, but instead he just decided to switch from the elliptical to the treadmill. Go figure. Even men have weird ideas about lifting. It's not just women. :ohwell:

sarahrbraun

I wish I could get a little bulky! Been lifting on and off for a decade but I'm just soft and jiggly because I love cake and beer far more than I like losing weight - apperantly I love that ripped sectioned shoulder look, and guns. Yeah. Sometimes I think about telling my doctor my asthma is out of control so I can get advair and then I can become a beefcake, because that is a steroid medicine and that is totally how it works

So THAT is why I can leg press so much?! Does singulair help too? Cause I am on both, and I def have muscle now that I have never seen before

runnermama81

I actually have a question about this. When you women who lift heavy started did you "feel" more bulky at first? I dont mean body builder bulky, but just pants getting tight even though youre watching calories? I have started insanity and feel this way. I rememmber feeling this way when I lifted in high school too. I guess my question is, is this temporary?

When you exercise, you retain water in your muscles (when they repair themselves). It is temporary and usually lasts between 2 - 7 days (decreasing over time).

Good. Thank you. I thought that was the case but wanted to make sure I wasnt doing something wrong:)

ZoeLifts

In agreement! I started working out doing compound moves with 'heavy' weights (for me anyway) and I dropped inches in my belly! I had been busting my butt doing cardio and just maintaining.....start lifting weights I finally started to see the changes I was working for!!!

Squats, lunges, pushup, pullups, overhead presses, bench presses.....these are the moves ladies!!!!

I'm starting this same thing...I hope it works for me too!!

Replace lunges with deadlift and you will really see stuff start to move!! (I guess you don't have to replace it, but start trying some deadlifts, you wont care so much about doing lunges any more!)

phatycake

I just learned this myself. I'm actually doing Body Beast and am very excited about the end results!

ZoeLifts

My sister actually told me it's not healthy to try to build muscles until you are at or close to your goal, said it would slow down weight loss, I guess if you are putting on lbs in muscle it would slow weight loss, lol. I agree w/an earlier post, I don't want to be bulky and I won't be w/o hormones, but I can't wait til I can do 100 pull ups too.

I only lift weights, no cardio and I am no where near my "weight goal" because, frankly, I don't pay attention so much to what the scales says. I want to lose body fat, and if the scale goes down, which is has steadily, btw, then that is just icing compared to losing the body fat, losing inches and my clothes getting looser and looser, all while I am getting stronger. Yes, if you want to only lose weight you can continue to diet like crazy and run on the hamster wheel, and you will lose fat and lean muscle mass. But building any muscle is healthy and improves the overall health of your body. It is unhealthy to try to just lose everything, including lean muscle, just to be happy with a number on a scale.