i'm 5ft 3in and scared of bulking up

maidofstone
maidofstone Posts: 62 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I've just started exercising again along with my healthy eating, i'm doing the 30 day shred and turbo jam everyday and god i can feel it!! but i'm only 5ft 3in and i'm quite curvy (which i like) but since having my third child i look kind of bulky, i know its because i have a couple of stone to lose, but i'm scared i will just look butch!!

i'm not weighing at the moment, because i always gain when i start exercise i'm just going off clothes and i feel good after working out, but i do want to exercise and lose weight too and look lean not bulky.

i'm not good at explaining myself! but if anyone understood this waffle and has any encouragement for me or tips then i'd appreciate it : )

Replies

  • maidofstone
    maidofstone Posts: 62 Member
    Advice anyone??

    I really like working out, and maybe i'm seeing things but i'm sure i look bigger around my arms and shoulders and i don't like that look, when i just diet no exercise i lose weight and look thinner, i don't want to give up but i don't carry muscle well because i'm quite small.

    Will this start to even out when the weight loss properly kicks in?

    Any advice appreciated : )
  • sweetchildomine
    sweetchildomine Posts: 872 Member
    You are definitely not going to bulk up from 30 day shred and turbo jam. Don't be scared!! lol I've done both and I have yet to become a big muscle man haha.
  • KitchenAbs
    KitchenAbs Posts: 75
    You can't get bulky, women don't have enough testosterone to get bulky. Any bulk you do see will probably just be swelling where the muscles are retaining water to help them heal.

    I'm lifting 30kg plus, I'm 5ft 2" and I'm still tiny. In fact, I've lost 1.5" off my arms from heavy weight lifting... they haven't got bigger, don't worry!
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    1) I am assuming you are eating at a deficit
    2) you are female
    3) the routines you are doing are not considered strength training (not knocking them, they are more cardio/endurance)
    4) I assume you are not on steriods

    Any one of the above means that you will not bulk up.

    ETA: the slight size increase, if there is one, is probably due to water retention which happens when you exercise.
  • KarinFit4Life
    KarinFit4Life Posts: 424 Member
    Hi!

    Exercising causes muscles to retain water...that can make you "look" bigger as the muscles fill with water.

    Give it time, your body will adjust and soon you will be shredding fat.
    Its really hard building muscle, and even more so while eating at a deficit. You dont have to worry about bulking at all.
    Keep eating healthy and at a reasonable deficit (not too big as your exercising makes your deficit even larger and your body needs fuel for it) and keep exercising. You'll see results soon...remember it takes time, give it at least 2 weeks and take measurements!! The scale can lie big time.

    :wink:
  • Dragonnade
    Dragonnade Posts: 218 Member
    Having spent the past few days watching women's weightlifting obsessively, bulking up is not a thing that happens to women. Ever. Without drugs or major hormone imbalances and hours and hours of obsession. Honestly, it's not a thing to fret about as it's wholly paranoia; zero truth. :)
  • maidofstone
    maidofstone Posts: 62 Member
    Thanks everyone : )

    Maybe bulking up was the wrong term to use, i just look bigger around my shoulders and arms, but i have only just started so it probably is water, i was just worried that i don't carry it well or something, i want slim arms!

    I had a baby 13 weeks ago too so i'm probably still carrying extra arm fat and water and being too hard on myself! i just see all the success stories on here and i can't wait to see results! i'm being impatient i know.

    I'll stick at it, might take some pics so i can SEE the difference as i know the scale can lie when you start exercising.

    Really appreciate your replies , thanks : )
  • medoria
    medoria Posts: 673 Member
    It sounds like a lot of this is in your head. If you put on in the start of a new program its water, you know that right? Unless you eat a surplus of calories and tons of protein there is no way you will bulk. Keep in mind that fat and muscle are two different types of tissue so when you say you feel bulky its probably water weight and or fat, not muscle.
  • Dragonnade
    Dragonnade Posts: 218 Member
    It's probably just water. I told my PT I wanted to do pull ups so we've been killing my upper body for a couple of months. I'm still fatter than I'd like but it's toned my arms up a lot - heavy bench presses, assisted pull ups, bicep/tricep cable work, squat and press etc.

    There's a pic of my shoulders in my profile which I think you should be able to see - I'm still overweight by about 7.5kg but I'm ridiculously proud of how buff my arms and shoulders are starting to look. I can only recommend keeping at it and going heavy and acknowledging that although water will be retained temporarily, you'll look aces once it sorts itself out.

    After a workout, my arm circumference was the same as when I started at the gym in February, just with water rather than fat. And remember it's a long game and change doesn't happen overnight :)
  • hhump
    hhump Posts: 6 Member
    thanks for some of these comments. i'm been working out a bit more with some toning and felt like i was going to bulk too, but maybe it is just some water retention, because i do feel bloated/swollen.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    As others have said...

    female + 30 DS + deficit = no bulk.

    And FWIW - EVERYONE carries muscle well!
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    you're bulky because you're fat. lose the fat and you'll be less bulky.

    continue with the exercise program you're on and dont worry about getting bulky. i'm lifting heavy man sized weights which means i'm doing workouts that some people intentionally do to gain size and bulky (not knocking 30 DS, but it is more cardio and endurance training than strength) but because i'm eating to lose weight, i losing tons of fat and have lost 3 sizes
  • CorvusCorax77
    CorvusCorax77 Posts: 2,536 Member
    first, it's is generally true that women don't bulk easily...there are exceptions tho...some women have higher levels of testosterone. If this were you, you'd already know that, so it's not worth discussing (i just wanted to put that out there).

    Second, exercise shouldn't make you bigger. If it is, in the long run, it's because you're eating too much and the wrong things.

    I have never been tinier in my life and i credit it to MFP and lifting heavy (and some HIIT, too). Don't give up. Just stick with it. The bulky female look doesn't come accidentally- those ladies work bloody hard to look like that. You're not gonna end up like that without some serious and i mean more than what it takes to lose fat effort.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    you're bulky because you're fat. lose the fat and you'll be less bulky.

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  • porffor
    porffor Posts: 1,210 Member
    you're bulky because you're fat. lose the fat and you'll be less bulky.

    xthumb.gif

    hard words to swallow but I'm on this too.. high body fat despite having lost my baby weight from my now 2 year old. I'm upping the weight of my training and have joined a gym..

    check out the muscle v's fat when it comes to the space it takes, 5lb of fat is MUCH bigger (and bumpier) than 5lb muscle which is leaner and smoother..

    lose fat + build muscle will give you slimmer everything. :) You can't spot train your arms but you can lose that fat that covers your muscles. :)

    Good luck!
  • maidofstone
    maidofstone Posts: 62 Member
    Thanks everyone,

    I do realise that it takes hard work, i've done it before. I am eating a deficit and i eat healthy and have started running as well as the 30 day shred and turbo jam , but i've not long started all this and i was definitely looking bloated and it just freaked me out! i had a baby 13 weeks ago, so i am obviously still carrying lots of extra fat and water, and i know i retain water a lot because at TOM i can gain up to 5 lbs in water weight and it comes straight back off.

    I just had a little panic and had to put it out there, even though i kinda knew it was just water! : )
  • TheFitHooker
    TheFitHooker Posts: 3,357 Member
    I've done the 30 day shred twice, and if anything it's helped me a lot. I lost a lot of inches not so much actual weight but inches are great to lose :)
  • gjsmommy
    gjsmommy Posts: 90 Member
    Great job on taking up such a challenging exercise regimen after just having had a baby less than 4 months ago. I didn't even give exercise any thought til after my 6 month maternity leave was up. Don't be too hard on yourself as it took 9 months to gain that pregnancy weight. You might want to take measurements as they are better gauge on how big or small you're getting. Good luck to you!
  • NoxDineen
    NoxDineen Posts: 497 Member
    Unless you're taking steroids you're not in any danger of bulking up. Don't worry, just keep kicking *kitten*. :)
  • monaodom
    monaodom Posts: 1
    I'm glad I read this because I too feel "bulky" I've always been naturally muscular and now that I've begun working out and cutting back, I feel heavy and bulky. I understand what you guys are saying, but aren't some people's body make up differently? I'm 5'1 and yes overweight, but this ain't my first weight loss fittness rodeo. lol
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    I'm glad I read this because I too feel "bulky" I've always been naturally muscular and now that I've begun working out and cutting back, I feel heavy and bulky. I understand what you guys are saying, but aren't some people's body make up differently? I'm 5'1 and yes overweight, but this ain't my first weight loss fittness rodeo. lol

    Our bodies aren't really all that different. What's different is people's self image, and what they consider bulky vs attractive vs skinny. Some people think Kim Kardashian has the perfect body. Other people want to look like Dana Linn Bailey. Bulky is a relative term, so it really comes down to how you currently look vs how you want to look. If you feel like your'e too muscular, then you're going to feel bulky regardless. If you feel too skinny, then you're going to want to add muscle.

    It's all relative to what you like and what you don't like.

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