Women and weight training

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  • kayx199189
    kayx199189 Posts: 42 Member
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    Bump
  • stroutman81
    stroutman81 Posts: 2,474 Member
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    You guys really need to start yelling at me about my grammar.
  • Feisty_Red
    Feisty_Red Posts: 982 Member
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    cardio will not reshape your body...and neither will throwing around 8 lbs dumbbells and doing bicep curls..

    sad..but true. Wake up ladies.. barbells=not just a man's toy anymore.... :heart:
  • ChristinaBarnhouse
    ChristinaBarnhouse Posts: 274 Member
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    Thank you for this post! I have one question too. Can I do cardio and lifting in the same session? I usually do cardio first for 45 minutes and then lift.

    I do the exact same thing and have questioned this as well. I only have about an hour to workout each time.

    BTW.... great post! :)
  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
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    JamieEasonPicture.jpg

    I met Jamie years ago: very tiny woman but has a lot of shape and curves due to the combination of muscle mass and leanness. Of course, she is extremely sweet as well.
  • Feisty_Red
    Feisty_Red Posts: 982 Member
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    JamieEasonPicture.jpg

    I met Jamie years ago: very tiny woman but has a lot of shape and curves due to the combination of muscle mass and leanness. Of course, she is extremely sweet as well.

    Yes...this! Muscles are pretty :)
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
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    Thank you for this post! I have one question too. Can I do cardio and lifting in the same session? I usually do cardio first for 45 minutes and then lift.

    I do the exact same thing and have questioned this as well. I only have about an hour to workout each time.

    BTW.... great post! :)

    Lift first then cardio. You need the glycogen (carbs) that is stored in your muscles to lift effectively. You can do cardio using whatever is left over (maybe even stored fat which is a win).
  • MariaMariaM
    MariaMariaM Posts: 1,322 Member
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    <---I lift weights, do I look bulky? I don't think so. I have very nicely defined arms, shoulders and legs. The only time you might see some "bulk" is when I am lifting. I am doing the JE Live Fit program and love it.
  • ZoeLifts
    ZoeLifts Posts: 10,347 Member
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    Great post!

    I agree with Rae, though, that a lot of (mostly) women have a different definition of bulky than what OP is alluding too. Many think that even the slightest curve in the bicep looks bulky, in their opinion. This blog post from Leigh Peele is one I like to link to a lot that does a great job of revealing what some women (not me) consider bulky, it is pretty enlightening! I encourage you to also check out the followup articles she posts as well on the topic.

    http://www.leighpeele.com/bulky-muscles-and-training-females-the-definition
  • rowdylibrarian
    rowdylibrarian Posts: 251 Member
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    Lots to read later!
  • butterfli7o
    butterfli7o Posts: 1,319 Member
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    But what if I WANT to look like that chick in the first picture???


    Just kidding... :bigsmile:
  • Squeeee
    Squeeee Posts: 71
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    Time to invest in some weights. Great post!
  • yecatsml
    yecatsml Posts: 180 Member
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    Lots of great reading and tons of info!
  • cbrrabbit25
    cbrrabbit25 Posts: 384 Member
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    amen!
  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
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    Thank you. I am tired of people thinking women will bulk up if they lift.

    I think a lot of times it's simply a disconnect in the meaning of "bulk", For example, the OP speaks of not bulking up, then gives instruction on how to gain more muscle. Yet, my definition of "bulking up" is gaining more muscle. Personally, I don't want more muscle than I have. I just want the muscles I have to be "toned". This is why I use mostly body weight exercises for strength and never more than 10 lb weights. Because I don't want to bulk up with new muscle.

    You can do two things with muscle: build them or let them atrophy. Toning is a myth, which it sounds like you already know by your use of quotations.

    No, actually I think toning absolutely possible and not a myth at all. But apparently I misuse the term (I was schooled by another poster on this site). The proper term is "toned up" (according to the dictionary) but I don't like that so I use toned with quotes as qualifiers. I mean making the most of muscles I have. Getting and keeping them firm, but not building them up so that they are bulky. And by bulky I mean lumpy. I don't want much visible muscle, but I want my tummy flat and my arms not to flap when I wave. That, by my definition, is toned. The way Jillian Michales arms look in the ad that pops up every time I open MFP (I"ve never seen her in anything else) is "bulky" and what I want to avoid.

    So, my semantics may be wrong, but I want to be toned and not bulky.

    Same as me.. and I am sorry but to me BOTH those women look HORRIBLE..The first one especially but the second has no boobs, and all you can see are veins ...yuck. I am strong now - just fat. I'll take dropping the fat and exposing the muscles I currently have. I don't lift weights in the gym. I lift weight at work, 9 times out of 10 I am out lifting the men who work with me. I don't think seeing the shape of individual muscles is very sexy at all on a man OR a woman. Nice to see I am not the only 'crazy' woman.
  • Ghkffb56
    Ghkffb56 Posts: 263 Member
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    I LoLd ^^
  • stroutman81
    stroutman81 Posts: 2,474 Member
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    Thank you. I am tired of people thinking women will bulk up if they lift.

    I think a lot of times it's simply a disconnect in the meaning of "bulk", For example, the OP speaks of not bulking up, then gives instruction on how to gain more muscle. Yet, my definition of "bulking up" is gaining more muscle. Personally, I don't want more muscle than I have. I just want the muscles I have to be "toned". This is why I use mostly body weight exercises for strength and never more than 10 lb weights. Because I don't want to bulk up with new muscle.

    You can do two things with muscle: build them or let them atrophy. Toning is a myth, which it sounds like you already know by your use of quotations.

    No, actually I think toning absolutely possible and not a myth at all. But apparently I misuse the term (I was schooled by another poster on this site). The proper term is "toned up" (according to the dictionary) but I don't like that so I use toned with quotes as qualifiers. I mean making the most of muscles I have. Getting and keeping them firm, but not building them up so that they are bulky. And by bulky I mean lumpy. I don't want much visible muscle, but I want my tummy flat and my arms not to flap when I wave. That, by my definition, is toned. The way Jillian Michales arms look in the ad that pops up every time I open MFP (I"ve never seen her in anything else) is "bulky" and what I want to avoid.

    So, my semantics may be wrong, but I want to be toned and not bulky.

    Same as me.. and I am sorry but to me BOTH those women look HORRIBLE..The first one especially but the second has no boobs, and all you can see are veins ...yuck. I am strong now - just fat. I'll take dropping the fat and exposing the muscles I currently have. I don't lift weights in the gym. I lift weight at work, 9 times out of 10 I am out lifting the men who work with me. I don't think seeing the shape of individual muscles is very sexy at all on a man OR a woman. Nice to see I am not the only 'crazy' woman.

    Seeing the shape of the individual muscles has almost nothing to do with the size of the muscle and almost everything to do with the level of fatness of the individual. It's a massive optical illusion that scares many women out of the weight room who most definitely should be in there.

    I see it all the time with figure competitors. When their 'contest lean,' in the eyes of the outside onlooker, they look huge and muscle bound. But that's only because of their vascularity and definition. In the off-season, when their body fat levels rebound to normal levels, most would say they have the ideal, shapely feminine physique.

    Notice that nothing happened to the muscles in terms of size. The differences occur due to the flux in fat levels.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    bump
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    Same as me.. and I am sorry but to me BOTH those women look HORRIBLE..The first one especially but the second has no boobs, and all you can see are veins ...yuck. I am strong now - just fat. I'll take dropping the fat and exposing the muscles I currently have.

    You are not crazy! I think the first woman is HIDEOUS! I can't imaging why one would want to look like that on purpose!!??? The Jamie Eason picture I don't find horrible but she is too lean for me in that picture. I think women look best with about 18 to 20% body fat personally but that's just me. My wife, who began strength training a few months ago is about 19% body fat and has developed nice muscle structure and she is looking fiiiiiine to me these days!
  • tobnrn
    tobnrn Posts: 477 Member
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    Love this. Alot of women dont realize that the amount of definition in a physique is relative to the amount of bodyfat they are carrying.

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